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No position group is facing more scrutiny heading into Penn State's 2015 football season than the offensive line. And no position on the offensive line is facing more scrutiny than the left tackle spot. Speaking to reporters a few days into preseason practice, James Franklin said no one had seized the starting spot in the early going. "We're going to have to make a decision here," he said. "Are we moving some guys around to get the best five on the field? We're not at that point yet." Franklin said prior to the start of pre- season drills that he was hoping one of the candidates for Donovan Smith's for- mer spot – juco transfer Paris Palmer, true freshman Sterling Jenkins and red- shirt freshman Chance Sorrell are among those vying for playing time – would step forward so that the Lions could avoid moving one of their other starters to the spot, thus creating a domino effect that would result in a number of linemen playing out of posi- tion. Franklin said Palmer has made signifi- cant physical improvements since arriv- ing at Penn State in January following two seasons at Lackawanna College. "He's bigger, he's stronger and he's more confident," Franklin said. "But he's probably playing in a lot of ways like some of the offensive linemen played last year: tentative, not as confident, not as aggressive as we want to be. "Those guys who all played last year, they're playing like that now, they're playing with more confidence, they're more aggressive, they're more sudden in their movements, and he's not right now. He's not playing with that type of confidence, which I guess is expected to a degree. We've just got to speed up his maturation process as much as we pos- sibly can." One of Penn State's other off-season additions, graduate transfer Kevin Reih- ner has likewise been working to adjust to a new offense. And unlike Palmer, the former Stanford center has some veteran competition standing in the way as he vies for playing time. Fifth-year senior Angelo Mangiro is a returning starter, while redshirt junior Wendy Laurent has been one of the Lions' most improved players. Franklin said Reihner "has done a great job. We love him. He's great in the meet- ing rooms. Right now, I would say that Mangiro and Wendy are ahead of him, but he's done a great job with everything we've asked him to do. He's still adjust- ing." Laurent, who started three games at center last year when injuries elsewhere forced Mangiro to switch positions, has come so far that Franklin said he could see the 6-foot-2, 288-pounder pushing for significant playing time. "Wendy has done really well," Franklin said. "At guard he's done well, at center he's done well. He's a guy who is going to create a little more flexibility for us. "I think playing experience helps. It helped him, I don't think there's any FOOTBALL Franklin addresses questions on oense NEWS & NOTES EYE ON THE BALL Barkley is fighting for playing time at running back. Photo by Steve Manuel

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