Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
NO PAIN, NO GAIN Penn State looks to reap the benefits of last season's trial by fire | A t times this summer, you can find Andrew Nelson in the film room, not only studying tape from his first sea- son as a Penn State starter, but also studying offensive tackles who have been playing his position much longer than he has. He meticulously scrutinizes the play of NFL veterans like Joe Staley of the San Francisco 49ers, Joe Thomas of the Cleve- land Browns and Trent Williams of the Washington Redskins. He pays close at- tention to "their stances, how their sets are, how their footwork is – things like that," he said. "I've just been trying to mimic those guys who are good players, and that's something that helps." Classmate Brendan Mahon takes a sim- ilar approach. His favorite player to watch is offensive guard Chris Snee, formerly of the New York Giants. During his high school career, Mahon worked out at the same New Jersey gym as Snee and ever since, he said, he's been "trying to follow in the same footsteps." Great offensive linemen for Nelson and Mahon to model their game after – no doubt. Between them, Staley, Thomas, Williams and Snee have been selected to the Pro Bowl 19 times. More than that – simpler than that – they all possess an at- tribute that was almost entirely absent from Penn State's offensive line a year ago. The Lions will have more of that attribute in 2015 than they did last year, but they still won't have as much as they would like, as it's something that only time can create. Experience. A year ago, only one opening-day of- fensive lineman – Donovan Smith – had previously started a game, and only one other – Angelo Mangiro – had seen live game reps on the O-line. The storyline is changing in 2015. Although Smith forwent his final season of eligibility, Mangiro, a fifth-year senior, is back, and he's the de facto captain of the offensive line, leading informal off- season workouts and serving as the voice O F F E N S I V E L I N E M E N P R E V I E W