Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
2 6 O C T O B E R 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 P enn State offensive lineman Olai- vavega Ioane is far from home. The redshirt freshman's offi- cial Penn State bio lists his hometown as Graham, Wash., a mere 39-hour drive from Happy Valley. At Graham-Kapow- sin High, he was an all-state player on a team that averaged 456.3 yards and 44.1 points per game in 2021 and, for a while at least, a University of Washing- ton commit. His heart, however, is another 5,000 miles away in his native Samoa. "It's a long way from home," Ioane said prior to the start of Penn State's 2023 football season. "Of course that's hard, but coming in I had really good guys to be around like [fellow offensive linemen] Drew Shelton, Dominic Rulli, my room- mates. So, it's been pretty easy for me. Anybody who leaves their family, it's hard at first, but I got adjusted real quick. Football kept me busy, and I'm thankful for all of that. "For me, it was hard leaving everything I knew back home, moving to Washing- ton and then coming here. I didn't really know much, so I just came in not trying to pay attention to all that, but focus on what's in front of me." Staying engaged after his arrival in State College meant focusing on football. Shortly after enrolling at Penn State last summer, Ioane established himself in the weight room as an exciting prospect. At a square 6-foot-4, 348 pounds, he was hard to ignore. Ioane won the Nittany Lions' Scout Team Player of the Week award ahead of the season opener at Purdue and made his collegiate debut a week later versus Ohio in Beaver Stadium. The coaching staff carefully managed his playing time in order to ensure that he didn't use up a season of eligibility. He was able to stay within the four-game limit, but even though the circumstances required him to play only a limited role, his presence on the field last November gave Penn State's injury-depleted offen- sive line a lift, and it also allowed then- sophomore lineman JB Nelson to take a redshirt year of his own. 'A Cool Experience' Ioane said when he got to Penn State, he was focused on giving his best and seeing where that took him. He logged 40 snaps on the offensive line, earning a solid 83.2 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus and a 57.4 mark for his run blocking. "The only goal was to get in the game, do as much as I could and stay locked in," he said. "I came into practice, and as a young guy I tried to do everything I could to show the coaches and players that they can trust me to be on the field. "It worked out, it was a cool experi- ence. I got in a few games. Of course, we Rising star Olaivavega Ioane has earned high marks in his short time as part of the Penn State offensive line S E A N F I T Z | S E A N . F I T Z @ O N 3 . C O M DISTANCE LEARNING "The only goal was to get in the game, do as much as I could and stay locked in. I came into practice, and as a young guy I tried to do every- thing I could to show the coaches and players that they can trust me to be on the field." I O A N E Ioane has emerged as an important backup for the Nittany Lions at offensive guard, a role that has been magnified by the recent loss of projected starter Landon Tengwall to a career-ending injury. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL