Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546159
3 4 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Campbell, Coach Clanton and the rest of the staff," he wrote in the Dec. 30 social media post announcing his decision to forgo the transfer portal. "I believe they will help restore Penn State's tradition of excellence while continuing to support my growth to be the man that God has called me to be." Driven To Succeed Penn State's new staff prioritized Donkoh's return, and it isn't hard to see why. In addition to his obvious athletic ability — "His football traits are off the charts," Clanton noted — he has the kind of personality the Lions needed in their locker room if they were going to assemble a real team out of their disparate parts. With 24 players arriving from Iowa State, the potential for factionalism was very real. But in Donkoh, Campbell saw a player who could set the right example and, in so doing, help bring everyone together. "You want to talk about who's the leader — he's the leader," Campbell said last winter. "He's a 3.8 student, one of the best players here, and he's got a chance to be one of the absolute best players in our football program." Academic pursuits were top-of-mind for Donkoh long before he arrived at Penn State. He took AP calculus and physics at Lightridge High in Aldie, Va., and his interest in the Nitttany Lions was driven in large part by his desire for a mechanical engineering degree. At the time of Donkoh's commitment in January 2022, Lightridge head coach Bobby Eavenson told BWI that all of the lineman's meetings with college coaches tended to end the same way — with the staffer gushing about what an impres- sive prospect he had just stumbled across. Said Eavenson, "It's the easiest sell of a kid that I've probably ever had as a coach." Donkoh was a three-star prospect at the time, a two-way lineman who had just started to pick up Power Four offers and whose only other campus visit was to Virginia Tech. But his academic per- formance was indicative of an all-en- compassing drive for self-improvement, and Eavenson was confident it would yield results once he got to college. "This kid just wants to be good at ev- erything he does," Eavenson said. "He's always been a kid who is really driven to find success, and I think he's going to have a whole lot of success in football up at Penn State. No matter what he does after college, I have no doubt he'll be successful." Once on campus, Donkoh shifted his academic focus to planetary science and astronomy. But aside from his major, nothing else changed. He was still push- ing himself as hard as he could, on and off the field. Optimistic Outlook Donkoh's sense of determination quickly caught the staff's attention. He redshirted as a true freshman but saw action in four games, including an ex- tended audition at right tackle in Penn State's 38-25 loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. A year later, Donkoh was a starter. He played in 11 games at right tackle dur- ing the 2024 campaign, all but one of which he started. He had compiled a 68.1 blocking grade from Pro Football Focus before a knee injury against Min- nesota ended his season in November. Despite having to sit out the Nittany Lions' final five games, he received hon- orable mention All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media. The 6-foot-5, 334-pound Donkoh was healthy again at the start of the 2025 sea- son and was installed as the starter at right guard, with his replacement the year be- fore, Nolan Rucci, continuing as the right tackle. Donkoh started the first four games before being forced into a backup role against UCLA and Northwestern due to an injury. He returned to the starting lineup at right guard at Iowa, then slid over to tackle at Ohio State and back to guard for the rest of the regular season. When Rucci opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl, Donkoh moved back to tackle, a position that he believes plays to his strengths. "I play pretty long, so that's why I like tackle a little bit more," said Donkoh, Donkoh is the only return- ing starter on a rebuilt Penn State offensive line. He's set to man the right tackle position on a first-team unit that is also expected to include two transfers and a redshirt freshman. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS