Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545675
A U G U S T 2 0 2 6 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / O F F E N S I V E L I N E M E N / / / / / / / "Cooper Cousins is special," first-year offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser gushed back in April. Cousins is not just gearing up for more playing time, of course. A longtime leader dating back to his days as a prep player at McDowell High, the Nittany Lion is step- ping up off the field, as well, as he was cited by many new teammates this winter and spring as a key person who helped bring the program's many newcomers and returners together. "Cooper Cousins, he's a guy that's been here, and he voiced his opinion early," said senior safety Jamison Patton, who joined the Lions from Iowa State. Trevor Buhr, a redshirt junior who moved from Ames to State College, as well, and will man the left guard position opposite Cousins, added his praise: "He's been great," Buhr said. "He's a great vocal leader. He's going to be the first one to talk, and he's always trying to hype everyone up. He's doing it well. He's played. He knows what he's doing. So, it's definitely nice having someone like that in the room, just being able to say whatever and get it done." Cousins has long been a no-nonsense, "get the job done" kind of guy. This made it no surprise when he shot down the no- tion that it was a challenge to learn all- new coaching points as a junior, saying, "You've got to just go with the flow now." He focused on improvements in all ar- eas of his game between the end of the Pinstripe Bowl and now, believing that all the work will set him up for success come the fall. "There were some hiccups last year, not with just me, just with the team," Cousins said. "We got a good thing going now, and I'm ready to put it on film. I'm ready to go out there, dominate and do my job ef- ficiently and show everybody in the coun- try what we're capable of as a team. So, I'm super excited, not only for myself, but for the team." With Cousins and Buhr manning the guard spots, redshirt junior Anthony Donkoh looks set to return at right tackle, while redshirt freshman Malachi Good- man becomes a first-time starter at left tackle. Then, at center, a battle will take place in summer camp, but Texas State transfer Brock Riker, a redshirt sopho- more, built a lead over returning redshirt senior Dominic Rulli this spring. The for- mer was available while the latter was out with an injury. Beyond that group, Penn State likes its depth up front, and Cousins feels good about what the team looks like overall entering fall camp. "The goal is to grind toward a national title and a Big Ten title, and I think we're on pace to do that," he said. "I think we have a really good group of guys. I think we're ready to make big strides and big steps, and we're ready to go out there and put on a good show." ■ 2025 vs. 2026: Stock Up Or Down? Penn State will not have an entirely new offensive line in 2026, but close. Redshirt junior Anthony Donkoh is the lone returning starter, but he will fi- nally be a full-time tackle after splitting time between that spot and guard, and playing the latter primarily in 2025. On paper, the Lions do not have as much experience as last year's starting unit did, but they have a chance to produce better results. The battle at center between redshirt sophomore transfer Brock Riker and returning redshirt se- nior Dominic Rulli should be a highlight of preseason practice. While redshirt junior transfer Trevor Buhr has big shoes to fill, replacing first-round NFL Draft pick Olaivavega Ioane, the combination of junior Coo- per Cousins at right guard and Donkoh at right tackle could absolutely create a better result than last year's pairings on the right side of the line did. The ultimate wild card is redshirt freshman Malachi Goodman. If he's a ready-made Big Ten starting left tackle, this will be a stock-up group quickly in September. X-Factor You could make a strong case that it's the winner of the center battle between Riker and Rulli, considering how many times Matt Campbell has said that a great center usually leads to a great of- fensive line. But the pick is Goodman. Penn State will need to deal with strong edge rushers in Big Ten play, and the redshirt freshman must be ready to deal with the best of them to keep quarter- back Rocco Becht upright. It's also true that if Goodman isn't ready, position coach Ryan Clanton would need to turn to redshirt fresh- man Owen Aliciene, who is progressing well but is inexperienced. Freshman Outlook Penn State would undoubtedly prefer not to dip any deeper than necessary into its pool of freshman-eligible offen- sive linemen beyond Goodman. But Will Tompkins, a 6-foot-5, 311-pound Iowa State transfer, could earn the top backup job at one of the guard spots, and Al- iciene projects as the backup left tackle. Scholarship Players (16) No. Player Yr. Ht. Wt. 77 Owen Aliciene R-Fr. 6-7 303 56 Mason Bandhauer Fr. 6-6 297 70 Trevor Buhr R-Jr. 6-4 318 50 Cooper Cousins Jr. 6-6 320 68 Anthony Donkoh R-Jr. 6-5 334 — Pete Eglitis Fr. 6-7 295 78 Malachi Goodman R-Fr. 6-6 330 79 Donnie Harbour R-So. 6-3 333 72 Tyshon Huff R-So. 6-4 292 54 Vaea Ikakoula R-Fr. 6-3 326 74 Kuol Kuol II R-Fr. 6-6 291 55 Chimdy Onoh R-Jr. 6-5 320 51 Brock Riker R-So. 6-4 291 52 Dominic Rulli R-Sr. 6-3 298 71 Garrett Sexton R-So. 6-6 315 66 Will Tompkins R-Fr. 6-5 311