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P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N the spring, replacing the graduated Brendan Mahon. His strong perform- ance gave the impression that the only element of uncertainty on Penn State's starting offensive front was at right tackle, where Wright and Fries were doing battle. But offensive line coach Matt Limegrover had another move in mind as the team prepared for preseason camp in August. Limegrover believed that Menet was capable of handling the starting center position, and he already knew that Mc- Govern could play guard, as the 6-foot- 5, 326-pounder had won the starting spot as a true freshman in 2016. With two ca- pable players ready to go, Limegrover framed the flip-flop as a low-risk, high- reward experiment. "It's really a pretty minor thing," he said, "but I really believe in the long run that if those guys get com- fortable and settle in, it will just [allow] our production to be even higher." The experiment worked well enough in preseason practice that Franklin agreed to keep Menet and McGovern at their new positions during the nonconference por- tion of the season. "I actually think Connor moving to guard plays to his strengths a little bit," Franklin said. "We're getting pretty com- fortable with Menet at center and with Connor, who is a little bit bigger of a guy, at guard for us. Menet maybe has a little bit more quickness, so I think that's a nice little combination right now and he's doing really well." With the left side of the line holding steady in familiar spots, Menet and Mc- Govern settling in at center and right guard, respectively, and Fries edging out Wright for the starting right tackle job by week two, the group produced a perform- ance against Pitt that Franklin had long envisioned. "I was excited about the offensive line last year. I thought we made great progress," he had said in August. "I think there's still a difference between having the legitimate Big Ten offensive line that we had last year and being able to have an offensive line that allows to you compete consistently with top-10 programs. We took a really nice step forward last year, and that's still what we're working toward." Against the Panthers, that strength was evident on the stat sheet. The Lions turned in one of their more balanced offensive efforts, finishing with 179 yards through the air (with only one sack) and pushing Pitt around to the tune of 211 yards on the ground. It was the fifth consecutive game in which they topped the 200-yard rushing threshold, and they did it again the following week, piling up 297 yards on the ground against Kent State. The streak began last Novem- ber when they gouged Nebraska for 263 yards and continued as they totaled 286 yards at Maryland, 203 against Washing- ton in the Fiesta Bowl and 205 against Ap- palachian State. Then came the visit to Heinz Field in which everything went their way in the second half. That the Nittany Lions were able to ex- tend their streak this season without the services of running back Saquon Barkley was a sign of the line's steady develop- ment. And while the schedule is about to get a lot tougher, the Lions now believe even greater heights are still ahead. "Two hundred yards isn't bad," Menet said. "I think there's always room for im- provement. No matter how many yards we have rushing, I think we can always do better and I think obviously that starts with us. But when you have great backs like we do, they… have a lot of great skill sets that allow us to do really great things with the ball in their hands. So I think our rushing game can continue to keep grow- ing throughout the season." ■ GUARDED OPTIMISM Penn State's coaching staff knew that McGovern would be a good fit at guard, because he had excelled at the position as a true freshman in 2016. Photo by Steve Manuel

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