Blue White Illustrated

>> KEY PERSONNEL C: Wendy Laurent, Angelo Mangiro; G: Miles Dieffenbach*, Derek Dowrey, Brian Gaia, Andrew Ter- lingo; T: Albert Hall, Andrew Nelson, Brendan Mahon, Donovan Smith*, Chance Sorrell, Chasz Wright LOSSES C: Ty Howle*; G: Anthony Alosi, Bryan Davie, John Urschel*; T: Kevin Blanchard, Garry Gilliam*, Adam Gress*, Eric Shrive RISING STAR Nelson made a push as a true freshman to break onto the two- deep. But with an abundance of senior of- fensive tackles on the roster, the previous staff held firm and preserved his redshirt. This year, senior offensive tackles are in extremely short supply. In fact, there are none. So the Rivals.com three-star prospect from Hershey, Pa., is the default choice to fill the opening at right tackle. Nelson missed much of spring practice with a knee injury. He's expected to be healthy in time for the start of preseason camp, but he wasn't able to reap the benefits of a full strength-training regi- men or the hands-on training of new of- fensive line coach Herb Hand. That would have benefited a soon-to-be first- year starter. Still, if Nelson is healthy and the reports of his performance on the Dirty Show last year were accurate, the Lions should be OK at this position. BIGGEST LOSS Graduation took a toll, but no loss stings more than that of Dieffenbach, who went down in the spring with a knee injury. Penn State moved former defensive tackles Dowrey and Gaia to guard prior to spring prac- tice, and those moves helped soften the blow. But even if Dieffenbach is able to return for the final month of the season, this was a bad break that couldn't have come at a worse time. NUMBERS GAME Smith, a redshirt junior from Owings Mills, Md., has 20 career starts under his belt, which is 20 more than the rest of the team's offen- sive linemen combined. OUTLOOK The concerns over Penn State's depth issues have been voiced re- peatedly. Given all the hand-wringing, you could be excused for thinking it will be open season on the quarterbacks. But is the situation really so bad? While Penn State certainly can't afford to suffer any injuries, its first-line play- ers are a formidable bunch. Smith has NFL potential, Mangiro is a veteran, Dowrey can squat more than 500 pounds and Nelson has been earning raves from program insiders for nearly a year. If it can avoid injuries, this group should be fine. And it gets stronger with the arrival of four freshman offensive tackles, two of whom – Wright and Sor- rell – might be capable of contributing their first year. – T.O. RIGHT TACKLE NO NAME YR HT WT 59 Andrew Nelson Fr. 6-5 305 70 Brendan Mahon Fr. 6-4 292 RIGHT GUARD 72 Brian Gaia So. 6-3 291 67 Andrew Terlingo Fr. 6-4 289 CENTER 66 Angelo Mangiro Jr. 6-3 309 55 Wendy Laurent So. 6-2 284 LEFT GUARD 53 Derek Dowrey So. 6-3 323 74 Evan Galimberti Fr. 6-4 268 LEFT TACKLE 76 Donovan Smith Jr. 6-5 335 77 Chasz Wright Fr. 6-7 321 * Starting experience in 2013 Dieffenbach eyes late-season return Sheepish grins accompany essentially every interview Penn State offensive guard Miles Dieffenbach gives. At Lift for Life on July 12, Dieffenbach spoke to the media for the first time since suffering a torn anterior cruciate liga- ment in late March. More than three months into the rehabilitation of his knee, the Nittany Lions' senior leader flashed his trademark smile when dis- cussing the possibility of a return to ac- tion in his final year of eligibility. "I'm very hopeful," he said. "The knee is doing very well, and I hope to make it back for the season." It's unknown at this point just how long it will take for Dieffenbach to get back on the field, but he's working every day at the Lasch Building from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. and said he's hoping to be available for the team's final three or four games. Strength coach Dwight Galt echoed Di- effenbach's optimism, saying the senior has been "really, really doing well" in his rehab. "We're pushing him as far as Dr. [Scott] Lynch and [head athletic trainer] Tim Bream will allow us to push him, but he's really doing a great job," Galt said. "He took his weight down, which is really smart. … When you're a big lineman and you've got to get your movement back, take your weight down, get everything back and then right before you play, you get it back up, so he's been really smart with that. Hopefully we'll get to see him a lot this year." As he works his way through a strenu- ous rehabilitation process, Dieffenbach has been looking to serve as a mentor to a young group of offensive linemen. "That's definitely a big part of my role this summer, especially since I can't really do a lot of the workouts they're doing. I'm really kind of a coach for them," he said. "We've really got to get these guys ready for a tough season, which it will be. So we have some good talent up front, and I think we're going to do a great job." – N.B. >>

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