Blue White Illustrated

T H E 2 0 1 9 S E A S O N ositioned with his back against a painted cinderblock wall, Steven Gonzalez sat slouched, the first Nittany Lion player to answer reporters' questions. Half an hour earlier, the veteran Penn State offensive lineman had taken every snap during the team's first loss of the 2019 season. The demoralizing 31-26 de- cision at Minnesota was certain to knock the Nittany Lions from their perch as the fourth-ranked team in the initial College Football Playoff poll, but Gonzalez of- fered his teammates and the media on hand an alternate message. A fifth-year senior who has been start- ing on the Lions' offensive line since late in his redshirt freshman season, Gonzalez is known for his steady demeanor. He un- derstood the raw emotions of the mo- ment. And he also knew how to handle them. "Everyone is obviously upset. We didn't want to lose that game. They played well, we played our hearts out, and things hap- pen," Gonzalez said. "The leaders of the team are just trying to spread the mes- sage to keep our heads up high and we'll be fine." That Gonzalez was the first to express the message – or that he was even still on Penn State's roster – might have surprised Matt Limegrover when the longtime offensive line coach arrived in University Park in January 2016. Gonzalez had redshirted in the fall of 2015, and he caught his new position coach's eye the following winter. But Limegrover had concerns that had noth- ing to do with his on-field performance. "I thought, this guy, he's going to have a hard time playing here. He doesn't communicate with anybody. He doesn't seem to have any friends, anybody close to him on the O-line or on the team, kind of a loner. I didn't know what was going to happen with this kid." Nearly four years have passed since that moment, and Limegrover now has his an- swer. A central figure on Penn State's offen- sive line, along with veterans Michal Menet and Will Fries, Gonzalez has built himself up from being a late-season fill- in on an offensive line that propelled the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship in 2016 to a constant pres- ence in each of the past three seasons. Heading into the final weeks of the 2019 campaign, PUTTING IT ALL ON THE LINE With a trio of experienced veterans leading the way, the offensive front has strived to keep Penn State on the move throughout the season | P C O V E R S T O R Y SNAP DECISION Michal Menet gets ready to snap the ball dur- ing Penn State's game against Minnesota earlier this month. The Lions totaled 518 yards in their loss to the Gophers. Photo by Steve Manuel

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