It should be a spring of few worries when it comes a couple of Penn State offensive positions.
Running back.
And offensive line.
The Nittany Lions return a pair of 1,000-yard backs in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The fourth-year players may be limited during spring drills.
The offensive line is definitely a strength. It’s been a gradual build. There have been several trying seasons for James Franklin when it comes to the position group.
Franklin, now in his 12th season, had to rebuild a unit weakened by sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal upon his arrival before the 2014 season.
Penn State wasn’t particularly deep back then, and the many of the linemen in the program weren’t exactly high-profile recruits. One exception was Donovan Smith, an offensive tackle who would be picked in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
During his Tuesday news conference, Franklin was asked about his deep offensive line, a unit coached by Phil Trautwein that returns four starters from the 2024 team that averaged 202 rushing yards per game.
“It’s interesting because you guys know this, but when I got here I think there was a kind of an NFL philosophy feeling with how to handle the sanctions and reduced numbers,” Franklin said.
“And (we) really took like an NFL model where we had five starters and a couple swing guys, and we barely had that.”
“This was pre-(transfer) portal so (we) couldn’t solve problems quickly,” Franklin continued.
“I’m a big believer that you got to develop and recruit up front on the O-line and D-line, and you really don’t ever want to come short in recruiting of those positions.”
Franklin signed a few offensive linemen in Penn State’s 2025 class — Malachi Goodman, Owen Aliciene, Michael Troutman and possibly Brady O’Hara, who could play offensive line or tight end.
Penn State also added former Texas A&M offensive lineman TJ Shanahan Jr. in the transfer portal.
But it’s the returning starters up front and the primary backups who should have Penn State fans excited about the offensive line in the fall.
The Lions return three tackles who have starting experience: Drew Shelton, Nolan Rucci and Anthony Donkoh. Shelton is a fixture at left tackle, and Donkoh and Rucci both started at right tackle. Donkoh is still rounding into top health after suffering a long-term injury against Minnesota in November.
Nick Dawkins is back for his second season as Penn State’s center, and left guard Vega Ioane returns after earning second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024.
Sal Wormley, the starter at right guard, has moved on, but veteran JB Nelson has starting experience at guard and prized second-year Lion Cooper Cousins could push to start, as well.
Penn State also has another option in third-year player J’ven Williams, a former five-star recruit from Wyomissing High School.
“The other thing is, a lot of times those positions take time,” Franklin said of his O-line group.
“We talked about it. The closer you are to the ball, it’s a man’s game in there. Age and strength and size is a major factor. So we worked very hard at building those numbers, and ‘Traut’ (Trautwein) has done a phenomenal job.”