Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
1 6 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State's offensive line made big strides in Phil Trautwein's third season in charge of the position group. The Nittany Lions improved their rushing average by 73.3 yards per game from the previous season while giving up only 1.62 sacks per game. They'll be looking to build on that momentum this fall, and while upper- classmen such as junior tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu, redshirt senior guard Sal Wormley and super senior center Hunter Nourzad will anchor the unit, the Lions will also be looking to work their next generation of linemen into the rotation. Two members of last year's offensive line class made big im- pressions as true freshmen. Drew Shelton started five games at left tackle in place of the injured Fashanu, while Olaivavega "Vega" Ioane appeared in four games at guard and was a candidate to forgo his redshirt late in the season. This year's class features four true freshman linemen — J'ven Williams, Alex Birchmeier, Anthony Donkoh and Chimdy Onoh — with all but Onoh en- rolling early and participating in spring practice. Trautwein isn't all that far removed from his own playing career. A lightly recruited high school player in his na- tive New Jersey, he went to Florida and developed into an All-SEC left tackle on teams that won national championships in 2006 and '08. Now, he draws on that experience to help Penn State's offensive linemen reach their potential. QUESTION: Do you think your guys had a chip on their shoulder last year? It's tough to be the position group that everyone is talking about if it's in a nega- tive way. TRAUTWEIN: "I used a lot of articles to make sure that they were motivated through the summer to prove people wrong. I just always have been an under- dog myself. Coming out of high school, I was told I was never going to play at Florida. But I ended up becoming who I wanted to be because of hard work. "I can relate to them and tell them what I've been through and tell them that we can do whatever we need to do as long as we put our mind to it. "Our saying in the O-line room is 'NTT.' It's the no-talent things that make us great. That's what we thrive on every single day." QUESTION: What are those things? TRAUTWEIN: "Just the little things, like doing extra film study, all the things that take no talent. A lot of people look at the four- or five-stars, but the best play- ers sometimes are the three-stars. The ones who have a chip on their shoulder and work harder than the four- and five- stars. "That's our mindset here, just making sure every single day we grind, we do the little things that no one else wants to do." QUESTION: What did you see from J'ven Williams in the spring? Is he reach- ing his potential? TRAUTWEIN: "He's working, but he still has a long way to go. He's never been in a two-point stance. You saw him firing off the ball in a three-point stance [in high school], but he's now working to fire off the ball in a two-point stance. "It's just those little things that he has to grind on, but he has the athleti- cism, he has the feet, he has the want, he has the grit, he has the power. I just have to work and get it out of him, and he has to work to get it out of himself. I think he has a mindset that he wants to do it." QUESTION: Do you think the true freshman linemen that you've had a chance to see so far — J'ven Williams, Alex Birchmeier and Anthony Donkoh — are going to be in position to see any playing time this year? TRAUTWEIN: "I think all three of them can be guys who can play in four games. I said the same thing about Drew Shelton last year, and he ended up play- ing in seven and starting five. All three of them have the tools to be able to do that. It's just, how fast are they going to progress? How fast are they really going to understand the game? "I didn't start till my junior year. Every- body's timeline is different. It's just going to be a question of how fast do they really understand it? They haven't gone through a week of preparation for a game. There are a lot of things that people don't really think about." QUESTION: Vega Ioane looks im- pressive. What did you see from him this spring, and what is his ceiling as he gets ready for his redshirt freshman year? TRAUTWEIN: "He'll be an NFL guy for sure. He'll be a guy who's knocking on the door to play a lot, maybe even beat someone out. That's just the kid's mind- set. "He can play anywhere inside. He can be a guy who plays center, plays both guards. He's powerful. He's a great kid, great person, smart. I love the kid." Sitting Down With Offensive Line Coach Phil Trautwein Trautwein is getting set for his fourth season as a member of the Nittany Lions' coaching staff. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE