As per tradition, Penn State football enters spring practice looking to answer plenty of questions along its offensive front. While the Nittany Lions had more than a few issues across the board in 2021-22, much of Penn State’s struggles offensively came down to an often inconsistent offensive line.
In turn, steadying the offensive front could go a very long way toward the Nittany Lions finding their way back into the win column more consistently.
The unfortunate news for Penn State: With the likes of Rasheed Walker, Eric Wilson and Mike Miranda no longer part of the program due to graduation or NFL departures, the Nittany Lions and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein find themselves looking to answer even more questions this spring than before.
“Right now we’ve got this thing penciled out,” Penn State coach James Franklin said on Monday afternoon. “… We don’t have great depth there this spring. So that will be important that we do a great job of running practice, so they can get as many reps as they possibly can. But we’ve also got to keep those guys healthy.”
According to Franklin the preliminary offensive line depth chart would have the following players starting if a game where tomorrow:
- Left Tackle: Olu Fashanu
- Left Guard: Landon Tengwall
- Center: Juice Scruggs
- Right Guard: Saleem Wormley
- Right Tackle: Caedan Wallace
Penn State went to the transfer portal last offseason to acquire Eric Wilson from Harvard — a route it could very well go again between now and the start of camp in the fall. Wilson provided the Nittany Lions with solid play along the front, but like always, the transfer portal is an uncertain source of talent at times. Hits and misses are always possible, so making the most of the talent you already have is key to any success in the trenches rather than putting all your eggs in the transfer basket.
“[We’re] making sure that these 15 practices, we’re getting enough reps [of run plays], from a scheme perspective, from a technique perspective, and that we’re emphasizing it enough,” Franklin added, also noting that the Nittany Lions will need to lean on their tight ends and running backs to continue to grow and develop as blockers as well. “But I think there’s been really good discussions. Obviously, we all know that’s an area that we that we must improve on.”
