Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
5 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M OFFENSIVE LINEMEN PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern STARTERS ★★ The Nittany Lions have two returning first- teamers in redshirt senior center Juice Scruggs and redshirt junior right tackle Caedan Wallace. Both were 13-game starters last season, giving the Nittany Lions something to build upon as they refashion their offensive front. Only three of Scruggs' starts were at center — the other 10 were at right guard — but he's a been a steady performer in the middle of the offensive line since late in the 2020 season. Last year, he claimed honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. At the other spots, Penn State is longer on po- tential than experience. Sophomore Olu Fashanu made his first start in the Outback Bowl and was Penn State's top pass blocker according to Pro Football Focus, earning a grade of 87.5. Redshirt freshman Landon Tengwall, redshirt senior trans- fer Hunter Nourzad and redshirt junior Sal Worm- ley will battle for the guard spots in preseason camp. Nourzad was a second-team FCS All- American at Cornell, while Tengwall is a former four-star prospect who saw action in three games last year. Wormley was on track to start in 2021 before suffering a season-ending injury in August. EXPERIENCE ★★ Aside from Scruggs and Wallace, the Nittany Lions have only one offensive lineman on their roster with starting experience at the FBS level. That's Fashanu, who has just the one start against Arkansas to his credit. Nourzad was a 20-game starter at Cornell, but he's making a big jump from the Ivy League to the Big Ten. DEPTH ★ This is definitely a cause for concern. Coming out of spring practice, the backup offensive line appeared to consist of five players with sopho- more eligibility: Jimmy Christ and Ibrahim Traore at tackle, Golden Israel-Achumba and JB Nelson at guard, and Nick Dawkins at center. (Nourzad had not yet arrived on campus.) Between them, that quintet has seen action in 13 games to date. It will be interesting to see whether any of the incoming freshmen — Vega Ioane, Drew Shelton or Maleek McNeil — are able to compete in pre- season camp for a spot on the depth chart. You wouldn't expect that to happen on the offensive line, but the Lions are thin enough here that it can't be ruled out. OVERALL GRADE ★★ It's hard to know what to make of this unit. Personnel upheaval is supposed to be a bad thing in college football, especially within a unit like the offensive line that requires precise teamwork. But the Nittany Lions' performance in this area during the past two years suggests that maybe it's for the best that they are (mostly) turning the page. This much is certain: The doubts will persist until the Lions show they can run the ball more proficiently than they did last year when they managed a meager 3.2 yards per carry. Among Big Ten teams, only Purdue (2.8) fared worse on the ground on a per-carry basis. BY THE NUMBERS 9 Years since the Nittany Lions have had a first- team All-Big Ten offensive lineman. The most recent Penn State offensive lineman to be so hon- ored was guard John Urschel, who won first-team recognition in 2012 and '13. 2.82 Average number of sacks per game that Penn State has allowed since the start of the 2020 season. In 22 games over the past two seasons, the Lions have surrendered 62 sacks. They have ranked last in the Big Ten in that category both years, allowing 28 sacks in 2020 and 34 last fall. 11 Total rushing touchdowns by Penn State last season. Only one team in the Big Ten had fewer — Purdue with 7. Michigan led the con- ference with 39 rushing touchdowns, and Nebraska was second with 31. Redshirt junior right tackle Caedan Wallace will be looking to help Penn State cut down on sacks this year. The Nittany Lions surrendered a Big Ten-high 34 sacks in 2021. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL PERSONNEL POSITION COACH Phil Trautwein: When Trautwein arrived at Penn State in January 2020 after two sea- sons at Boston College, the timing seemed perfect. The Nittany Lions were a program on the ascent after three 11-win seasons in four years, and Trautwein was one of the coaching profession's rising stars, having helped all five of his starters win All-ACC honors in his final year with the Eagles. But due to circumstances that no one could have anticipated, Trautwein's timing turned out to be far less than optimal. The COVID-19 pandemic forced PSU to cancel spring practice, and the new assistant coach didn't have a real offseason to work with the players he had inherited. The Nittany Lions' performance during the shortened 2020 campaign suffered accordingly. They finished a respectable fifth in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (174.3) but gave up a league-worst 28 sacks. Last fall, they fared worse in both areas. They were still last in the league in sacks allowed with 34, and their rushing average plummeted to 107.8 yards. Despite the Nittany Lions' recent difficul- ties, Trautwein is frequently mentioned as one of the game's brightest young talents. Last year, he was named to the American Football Coaches' Association's "35 Under 35" list, a survey of the nation's top coaches under age 35. He's putting together a stellar offensive line class in the 2023 cycle, with Penn State having landed three commit- ments already, including pledges from a pair of players who have received five-star ratings. Those players are Alex Birchmeier, a five-star prospect in the On3 Consensus, and Jven Williams, who received his five- star designation from On3. RETURNING SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS JIMMY CHRIST R-So. | 6-7 | 315 • Made his collegiate debut against Rutgers last November, seeing action at tackle in his only on-field appearance of the season. • Was named the scout team's offensive player of the week three times, claiming the honor ahead of the Wisconsin, Iowa and Maryland games. • Twice was named the scout team's of- fensive player of the week as a true freshman.