Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/861263
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> A FINE LINE The Nittany Lions' rapidly improving offensive front is set to receive another boost as Andrew Nelson and Brendan Mahon await their return to action n July 2012, a couple of weeks after the NCAA levied a myriad of un- precedented sanctions that threat- ened the very existence of the Penn State football program, six recruits walked into the office of Bill O'Brien. They were there to tell the then-head coach that they intended to follow through on their commitment to play for the Nittany Lions. Five of those six went on to sign with PSU the following February. Now only two remain. As the 2017 season opens – five years removed from the darkest days the program has endured – offensive linemen Brendan Mahon and Andrew Nelson are ready for their swan song. Both chose Penn State over a host of other scholarships, from schools in major conferences, taking a leap of faith that the program would right ship during their tenure. When it did, they were a large rea- son for the revival. Both found their way into the starting lineup as redshirt fresh- men and then became pivotal compo- nents of the offense for the next couple years. But when Penn State beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game last De- cember, when it traveled to Pasadena, Calif., for the Rose Bowl, when it tasted the success that many once thought was permanently out of reach for PSU, both Mahon and Nelson were forced to watch from the sideline as they healed from in- jury. "Brendan and I were playing and were here during the toughest times that Penn State has had and we've done everything we can to help grow Penn State University as a football team and to help this pro- gram in every way we can," Nelson said this preseason. "Last year we saw some of the fruits of all that hard labor, but unfortunately we weren't able to partake in a lot of that. "We obviously were still part of the program – and it was special and it was amazing and I had a blast last year just watching the guys – but Bren- dan and I, we want to be out there. We want to be leading the team. We didn't have the opportunity to do that much last year, so that's something we want to do." Now they're back. At least partially. Nelson injured his leg in week six against Maryland last year and missed the final eight games of the season. In his ca- reer, he's missed 12 of a possible 40 games due to injury. Mahon, meanwhile, went down on the first offensive drive against Iowa in November and never returned for | I LINE OF FIRE Offen- sive linemen take part in a drill during the first day of Penn State's preseason practice. The line made big strides in 2016 despite losing starting tackles Nel- son and Mahon to season-ending in- juries. Photo by Patrick Mansell