Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> Menet is set to fill a vacancy at the right guard spot that opened up with the grad- uation of Brendan Mahon, who is fight- ing for a roster spot on the Carolina Panthers. With his rise, starting last fall when he finally began to regain his stride following an injury and continuing throughout this spring and into the sum- mer, he factors squarely into the plans being formulated by head coach James Franklin and position coach Matt Limegrover as they work to get their five best offensive line- men on the field. For 2018, that means putting Menet, a former top-100 recruit from Reading, Pa., into the lineup. If it's at the cost of sitting one of their battle-tested tackles, then that's how it's got to be. Tackles Ryan Bates, Will Fries and Chasz Wright all have experience on the inside. They also each have spent time in the starting lineup, but as it stands for this fall, one is going to be left out, with either Fries or Wright serving as a key sixth man. That his coaches are so determined to get Menet on the field suggests that he is set to be a key cog in the Nittany Lions' offense in 2018. The head coach's praise only reinforces it. "Menet has had a great off-season. He's probably one of the more improved play- ers in our program from the end of the season until now," Franklin said. "We think he has the ability to play all three inside positions – right and left guard as well as center." During the Blue-White Game in April, he played every down on offense for the Blue team. On the final series, he snapped the ball from the center position, display- ing the kind of versatility that gives the Nittany Lions an abundance of options across their offensive line. For Menet, who has been patiently – or maybe impatiently – waiting his turn, it's a payoff for the toil of his first two years of college football. "There are just a lot of things that have come together for me between the end of fall and spring ball," he said. "I've just been feeling better and playing better. … I think it's awesome for me to see every- thing coming together." In high school he was a two-way mauler, wreak- ing havoc on both the of- fensive and defensive lines for Exeter Township. At Penn State, Franklin continues to use Menet as the athletic benchmark for the team's offensive line- men, often noting that he could play de- fensive tackle at the Big Ten level if needed. Menet arrived at Penn State as part of the same recruiting class as Fries, start- ing center Connor McGovern and reserve tackle Alex Gellerstedt. He was the high- est rated member of that bunch and the WEIGHTY MAT- TERS Menet talks to Nittany Lion strength coach Dwight Galt during a weight lifting session this past spring. The redshirt sophomore guard is set to join the starting lineup this season. Photo by Nate Bauer

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