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return for his junior season: "I talked to my parents and I felt like I just wasn't ready to live by myself and handle the re- sponsibilities as a young adult that I would have to do in the world living by myself. And just the physical stuff, I think I have more to develop in my body in col- lege. I feel like I have more time that I need here in college to make the most of my college experience. There are football aspects of it and school, too. I'm not nearly as close in my grades. I need to be staying here. An extra year would help me get a lot of credits done." OFFENSIVE LINE KEY RETURNEES C: Hunter Kelly, Michal Menet, Juice Scruggs; G: Bryce Effner, Mike Miranda, C.J. Thorpe, An- thony Whigan; T: Will Fries, Des Holmes, Rasheed Walker, Caedan Wal- lace, Sal Wormley KEY LOSS G: Steven Gonzalez NEWCOMERS Golden Achumba, Jimmy Christ, Nick Dawkins, Olu Fashanu, Ibrahim Traore OUTLOOK What to make of this position group? The Nittany Lions ended their season with a record-setting perform- ance against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl, rushing for 396 yards, the most ever by a Penn State team in a bowl game. Three days later, they fired their offen- sive line coach. Surprising? Yes. Inexplicable? Not en- tirely. This much we know: Barring any in- juries or unexpected transfers, Penn State will field a veteran-laden line in 2020. Menet and Fries both announced in De- cember that they planned to return for their senior seasons at center and right tackle, respectively, while Wallace will be back for his redshirt sophomore season at left tackle. The Lions will also welcome back a pair of experienced guards in Thorpe and Miranda. They were essen- tially co-starters at right guard this past season, so it's likely that one of them will slide over to the opposite side of the line to fill the spot vacated by the graduated Gonzalez. In addition to having an experienced starting five, the Nittany Lions should have some depth up front, too. Of the 15 offensive linemen listed on their Cotton Bowl depth chart, Gonzalez is the only one who isn't eligible to return next fall. He's a big loss, having started 42 games over the course of his career. But Thorpe and Miranda will both have junior eligi- bility next fall, so it's not as if the Lions will have to rely on an inexperienced player to take over the position. After its big day in the Cotton Bowl, Penn State finished fourth in the Big Ten in rushing offense with an average of 190.6 yards per game. Only Ohio State, Wisconsin and Nebraska fared better. The Lions were third in the league in total rushing yards with 2,478, better than all but the Buckeyes and Badgers. But Penn State hasn't been as success- ful at protecting its quarterbacks. The Lions surrendered 32 sacks in 2019, in- cluding four against Memphis in the Cot- ton Bowl. It's possible to give up a lot of sacks and still win big; Ohio State gave up 2.5 sacks per game, equaling Penn State's average. But in general, fewer sacks mean more wins. Of the seven teams that fin- ished in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings in this category, four finished with losing records. F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K NEXT MAN UP Brooks, shown here pressuring Brady White in the Cotton Bowl, is first in line to inherit the Lions' starting middle line- backer position. Photo by Steve Manuel

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