During 2014, Penn State was short on offensive linemen. As a result, defensive linemen Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia switched over to the offensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n
In 2016, the Nittany Lions lost to Temple where Christian Hackenberg was sacked 10 times.<\/p>\n
For the 2022 spring game, the Nittany Lions had 11 offensive linemen suit up.<\/p>\n
After years where the room struggled and faced adversity, the 2025 batch of offensive linemen is arguably one of the strongest on the team and is more than likely going to be in the running for the Joe Moore Award, which is given to the best offensive line unit in college football.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I got here, people just brushed us over like, no big deal, but we had like four offensive linemen, I think was the number when I got here in the entire program,\u201d James Franklin said. \u201cI think now we\u2019re at 22, 25, something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Offensive lineman Drew Shelton (66) lines up during Penn State football’s White Out game against Washington on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions crushed the Huskies 35-6.<\/p>\n
Kate Hildebrand<\/p>\n
Locks to start<\/strong><\/p>\n Penn State will enter this season with a trio of players who will return as starters<\/p>\n The headliner of the group is Vega Ioane at left guard, who was named a preseason first-team All-American by ESPN and second-team by Walter Camp.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s always going to be big,\u201d strength coach Chuck Losey said of Ioane in July. \u201cHe\u2019s always going to be strong \u2014 be able to push people off the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n The next returning starter is left tackle Drew Shelton, who held down the spot at every game last season.<\/p>\n Rounding out the trio is center Nick Dawkins, who was a captain last year and likely will be again this season.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at it from a holistic standpoint, you’d be like, \u2018I need to work on run game. I need to work on pass pro.\u2019 Those answers kind of don’t suffice anymore,\u201d Dawkins said in April. \u201cIt’s specific things. It’s hand placement. It’s in my first step. Am I gaining enough ground? Am I getting set myself on a track in order to reach a G or a 2i (technique) on an outside zone scheme more efficiently? It’s just trying to find ways to fine tune my game in the most specific details.\u201d<\/p>\n Offensive lineman Nolan Rucci (72) blocks during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Boise State on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The Nittany Lions beat the Broncos 31-14.<\/p>\n Sienna Pinney<\/p>\n Right tackle\/right guard competition<\/strong><\/p>\n Anthony Donkoh was the starting right tackle for Penn State last year until he went down with a season-ending injury against Minnesota.<\/p>\n In turn Nolan Rucci took over, stepping up and was arguably the best offensive lineman in the entire College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll be a battle between the two for the spot, but that also doesn\u2019t eliminate the possibility of both starting. With Sal Wormely off to the NFL to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars after three years of starting at right guard, Donkoh has seen work at right guard during camp<\/a>, and originally played guard when he arrived at Penn State.<\/p>\n \u201c(Donkoh\u2019s) looked good. He\u2019s a talented guy, as you know,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cHe\u2019s athletic enough to play tackle, but he\u2019s also 323 pounds, so he\u2019s got enough physical size, strength, power to get movement at guard.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The other possibility if one of Rucci or Donkoh takes the right tackle spot is Cooper Cousins emerging and winning the battle for right guard.<\/p>\n He’s getting better and better and better every practice. And he’s a ball guy, he just cares about ball,\u201d offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said in April. \u201cHe’ll probably be inside right now watching the film, because that’s just who he is. He’s going to compete and he’s going to work hard.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s an embarrassment of riches for Trautwein, but right now he\u2019s focused on finding the right group to start come Week 1 against Nevada.<\/p>\n \u201cBasically, it\u2019s who\u2019s the starting five, and then from there, who do we feel good that needs to get in,\u201d Trautwein said. \u201cIt\u2019s also about staying healthy hopefully till Jan. 20. So it\u2019s about making sure we stay healthy, but also we build depth so that they\u2019re ready to play because they got game reps.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn State offensive lineman J’ven Williams (74) blocks at the Military Appreciation Game against Kent State on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions crushed the Golden Flashes 56-0.<\/p>\n Kate HIldebrand<\/p>\n Rotational pieces<\/strong><\/p>\n If Cousins doesn\u2019t see the field as a starter, it\u2019s more than guaranteed that he sees snaps as a rotational piece. With the unit being as deep as it is, Trautwein will have the luxury of rotating talented guys off the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way college football is now, you know you only have so many series in the first half,\u201d Trautwein said. \u201cYou only have so many plays, so just making sure they all play. So I would say it has to be somewhere around eight or probably eight or nine.\u201d<\/p>\n J\u2019ven Williams is another option to see time, providing the Nittany Lions position flexibility as he\u2019s been cross training between guard and tackle.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big J\u2019Ven Williams fan,\u201d Franklin said in April. \u201cBeen awesome since the day that he stepped on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Potential options to round out the group are Alex Birchmeier, who Franklin said in April the \u201clight has gone on\u201d for, and 4-star freshman Malachi Goodman, who ranked as the No. 56 player nationally, No. 9 offensive tackle and No. 2 in New Jersey in the 247Sports composite rankings.<\/p>\n Offensive lineman Dominic Rulli (52) blocks during a field goal attempt at the Penn State football game against Minnesota in Huntington Bank Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Nittany Lions beat the Golden Gophers 26-25.<\/p>\n Sienna Pinney<\/p>\n Others<\/strong><\/p>\n Dominic Rulli, who was responsible for calling the fake punt<\/a> in the win against Minnesota, was put on scholarship for the upcoming season and will be a key contributor on special teams.<\/p>\n TJ Shanahan Jr.\u2019s a transfer from Texas A&M who\u2019s seeing work across all three spots on the offensive line and could carve out a role on the two-deep.<\/p>\n Outside of Goodman, the Nittany Lions brought in 4-star Owen Aliciene, 3-star Brady O\u2019Hara and 3-star Michael Troutman III.<\/p>\n The rest of the room is rounded out by Ian Harvie, Chimdy Onoh, Liam Horan, Eagan Boyer, Jim Fitzgerald, Henry Boehme, Garrett Sexton, Caleb Brewer, Matt Detisch, Mason Carlan and Donnie Harbour.<\/p>\n MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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