Penn State Sports Magazine
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of the offensive line. In addition to Man- giro, Nelson and Mahon started a combined 22 games during their redshirt freshman season, and fellow offensive linemen Brian Gaia, Derek Dowrey and Wendy Laurent have each started at least one game and have legitimate live experience. Penn State also added two transfers in Kevin Reihner and Paris Palmer who have experience playing in the Pac-12 and junior college ranks, respectively. The collective experience of the 2015 squad, Nelson said, "will help a ton." "Everyone harps on the fact that the of- fensive line needs to play together and play as one," he added. "[Having] that experience on the field – not only is it helping you to get used to the speed of the game and how college football is played, but you're starting to get used to the guys who play next to you and you're able to feed off each other and learn each other's strengths and weak- nesses and where they need help." Despite starting every game in 2014 – and receiving strong praise from Bill O'Brien a year earlier as a true freshman – Nelson didn't even have the benefit of spring practice last year. He was hampered by a knee injury throughout the off-season, so this year was the first in which he was able to participate fully in spring drills. In contrast to the regular season, when the team spends most of the week prepar- ing for the upcoming opponent, Nelson said the spring is a perfect time to focus inward and hone in on technique and fun- damentals. "So it was definitely great to be able to do that and go out and work on things that maybe you're not comfortable with and try to get better in areas where you feel you're weak," he said. "I feel like some of my best play was done this spring." Additionally, Nelson and Mahon are in their third year at Penn State. James Franklin maintains that ideally he doesn't want his offensive linemen to shoulder a full starting responsibility until their redshirt sophomore season. Guys like Nelson and Mahon were forced into action a year early. With that year under their belt, however – and in Nelson's case, his first full spring practice, too – they should have an added advantage in year No. 3. "That will just propel me to play even better this year," Nelson said. "I think our offensive line has taken the mindset this year that our team is going to go as far as we're going to take us. I know me, per- sonally, and the rest of the offensive line have been working our asses off this sum- mer to just prepare to be the best we pos- sibly can be. Now that we're experienced, we don't have that excuse. "Listen, we've played together and I've had starting reps. We've all had that, so we're definitely ready to come out this year and be a different offensive line." Nelson has seen Mahon take a similar approach. Mahon is the first to admit that he "didn't have the greatest season this past fall," so he revamped his efforts in the off-season. It paid off in the form of the 2015 Robert "Red" Worrell Award, which goes to the most improved player on Penn State's offense in spring practice. In addition to focusing on his personal improvement, Mahon has taken more of a big-picture approach. "The leadership aspect is what I'm fo- cusing on now because I've been there," he said. "I was thrown into the fire and I know what it takes: the competition and to play in front of all those people. As a leader, I try to bring these guys up and [help them get] past their fears and [show them that] it's there for them to take." He also has another message for his of- fensive linemates. "The biggest thing we need to work on is being a nasty offensive line and coming out there and finishing blocks and blocking to the whistle and being that kind of dom- inant offensive line, like we are a Penn State team," Mahon said. "Be that smash- mouth kind of football team that we know we can be." Mahon played a few different positions in 2014, including both guard spots and right tackle. He practiced primarily at left guard this spring and is settling in there nicely. However, the position to the left of him – the only spot that boasted any ex- perience a year ago – is the only position this year whose candidates don't have start- ing experience in major college football. Palmer, who transferred from Lack- awanna (Pa.) College with two years of eligibility remaining, saw the most work with the first team during spring practice, but redshirt freshman Chance Sorrell is pushing him for playing time. Given that Mahon has played a variety of positions and learned alongside an NFL draft pick last year, he's using his experi- ence – however much it might be – to help guide them along. "It's been passed down, almost generation to generation," Mahon said. "Last year I was getting advice from Donovan and Ang. Those guys helped me out a lot during the game. I took their advice. Now I'm kind of the veteran, and I can take from Donnie and Ang and what their experience taught me and pass that down to Paris and Chance and help them out as much as I can. That's what the older guys did for me, and it really helped out a lot." It's another positive side effect of having seen game action. Said Nelson, "It's a lot easier for those guys because they're able to lean on guys who have a little more ex- perience and understanding." Even better, it gives Penn State options. Mahon wasn't the only player to fill in at several positions in 2014; Nelson did, too, playing both the right and left tackle spots. He was the first-team right tackle this spring, but if the team needs him to slide over to the left side this fall, he can handle that as well. In fact, he's repping on both sides of the ball during informal workouts this summer. The versatility doesn't end there. With experienced additions such as Palmer and Reihner, plus five other offensive linemen who have starting experience, line coach Herb Hand has multiple combinations with which to work. "Coach Hand is huge into guys being versatile, being able to play multiple po- sitions, and I think that's very smart be- cause at the end of the day, you want to have your five best offensive linemen out there – no matter what position you're playing," Nelson said. "If you need to move one guy to right tackle, like Brendan, to be able to get your second-best backup in at guard, that's what he's going to do. So I think it only helps our team." ■ 2 0 1 5 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L