Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1499919
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 3 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M O P I N I O N THOMAS FRANK CARR T F R A N K . C A R R @ O N 3 . C O M D uring a two-day span in April, Penn State assistant coach Phil Traut- wein and the offensive recruiting staff accomplished a rare feat for the Nittany Lion football program. For only the fourth time under head coach James Franklin, the team secured two bookend tackle prospects in the same recruiting class. On April 24, offensive tackle Garrett Sexton of Hartland, Wis., committed to the Nittany Lions. The following day, Eagan Boyer of Cornelius, N.C., made the same decision. Both have received three-star designations in the On3 In- dustry Ranking. To explain why the commitments of the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Sexton and 6-8, 260-pound Boyer are so important, it's necessary to look at Penn State's re- cent history when it comes to recruiting linemen with pure tackle dimensions. When Trautwein, Penn State's offen- sive line coach since 2020, goes looking for tackles, he's seeking tall players with really long arms. These players should stand 6-5 or taller with an arm length of at least 33 inches. That's the physical prototype for an offensive tackle in mod- ern college football. Of course, length isn't the only quality that offensive tackles must possess to be effective at the Power Five level, and the scarcity of players with all the necessary attributes leads to an inescapable real- ity: A lot of these prospects simply don't work out. When we look at the previous classes of the Franklin era in which Penn State recruited two offensive linemen with pure tackle dimensions, the team's suc- cess rate was only about 50 percent. In 2015, Paris Palmer almost worked out at the position but struggled to stay healthy, eventually ceding his spot to converted guard Ryan Bates. Sterling Jenkins, a towering 6-8 lineman, never made much of an impact at PSU and ended up transferring to Duquesne. Three years later, Nana Asiedu retired due to a medical condition, while Ra- sheed Walker went on to start for three years, becoming the team's longest- tenured left tackle under Franklin. In 2020, Penn State signed Jimmy Christ and Olumuyiwa Fashanu. At 6-7 and with 33-inch arms, Christ met the physical specifications but lacked the athleticism to play at Penn State. Last month, following the conclusion of spring practice, he entered the transfer portal and later resurfaced at Virginia. It's been a different story for the shining star of this list, Fashanu. Now a fourth-year junior, the 6-6, 323-pounder has the size, length and movement skills to be a first-round draft choice. Indeed, he might have been a first-rounder if he had come out follow- ing the 2022 season. Like the players listed above, Sexton and Boyer possess the physical traits you would want to see in an offensive tackle. Both are over 6-6 and comfortably ex- ceed the 33-inch arm-length threshold. What sets them apart is their athleti- cism. Both players move well and have the athletic ability to dance on the edge of the pocket. As blockers, both have good pad levels despite their size and show promise in the run game. Sexton, a converted quarterback, is still very raw but already shows signs of picking up the game at a deeper level. His speed and change-of-direction skills in- dicate a ceiling on par with Fashanu's. Boyer is further ahead of Sexton in his development but is slightly behind in his movement skills. He's a bit stiffer and has more difficulty redirecting in open space, but he has the feet, technique and length to be a dominant right tackle for Penn State. The Nittany Lions have never found two players with this many traits simul- taneously. Do they need to gain weight? Sure, but that's a natural and expected part of the process. It's the easiest factor to control. The impressive feat is that Penn State identified both players and secured their commitments early in the process. Sex- ton has already been upgraded to four- star status by On3's scouts and should soon rise in the On3 Industry Ranking, which is a weighted average of the scores from the four major recruiting sites. We still need to see some testing num- bers, but the film checks out. It's clear as day that these two can play. So, despite signing elite 2023 pros- pects Alex Birchmeier and J'ven Williams in December, Penn State's upcoming offensive line class represents the next level of recruiting. While Birchmeier was a polished prospect, his fit was always inside. Williams, a high-upside athlete, can play tackle but had less proof on tape than either of the 2024 tackles. Having two players with a good shot of hitting at the position means more because of how critically important tackle is. And the best news for Penn State fans? It sounds like the team isn't done adding tackles to this class. ■ Assistant coach Phil Trautwein has prioritized tackles with outstanding size and length, such as Wisconsin prospect Garrett Sexton, a recent addition to Penn State's class of 2024. PHOTO COURTESY SEXTON FAMILY To Build An Elite Offensive Line, PSU Plays The Long Game Upon Further Review