Tag: Landon Tengwall

What will Penn State’s offensive line look like following retirement of Landon Tengwall?

Penn State’s offensive line took a hit with Landon Tengwall’s retirement, but it still looks to be a strength in 2023.

One of the biggest strengths Penn State had to look forward to entering the 2023 season was the offensive line. In the 10 years with James Franklin as the head coach, this is expected to be the best offensive line the program has had after years of rebuilding the quality depth for the line through recruiting efforts and continued development. That outlook took a little bit of a hit just days before the start of the regular season with the news of the sudden retirement of Landon Tengwall.

Tengwall announced his retirement from playing football due to a result of an injury he described as one that would prevent him from continuing to play safely. Tengwall was projected by many to be a starter at left guard alongside returning starting left tackle [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] and center [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag]. Now, a new opportunity to start is up for grabs.

Who will start at left guard now?

The most likely name to move into a starting role will be [autotag]JB Nelson[/autotag]. Nelson is a redshirt junior and one of the many players to come through the Penn State program as a JUCO transfer from Lackawanna College in Scranton. Penn State has had success with their Lackawanna College transfer additions with players like Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown on the defensive side of the football. Nelson has been praised for his development and was expected to be the first name on the depth chart behind Tengwall. Moving him into a starting role seems like the most natural move for James Franklin and offensive line coach [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag].

Franklin’s comments in his Wednesday post-practice media availability suggested fans should see Nelson getting the starting nod this Saturday as the Nittany Lions host West Virginia in the season opener.

If Nelson is going to be the new starting left guard, the entire offensive line is still looking to be in good shape across the line. Here’s how it may look:

  • LT Olu Fashanu
  • LG JB Nelson
  • C Hunter Nourzad
  • RG [autotag]Sal Wormley[/autotag]
  • RT [autotag]Caedan Wallace[/autotag]

By moving Nelson up to the starting job, Penn State will be slightly more vulnerable with guard depth. [autotag]Vega Ioane[/autotag] is the top backup as a redshirt freshman, but Penn State did just add [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag] in the Class of 2023. Birchmeier was among the top offensive line recruits in the class and is expected to be a big piece of the future offensive line. Whether he is ready to be a top backup option at the start of the season remains to be seen.

Penn State also added [autotag]Anthony Donkoh[/autotag] in the Class of 2023, and he would be another backup option at guard if needed. With Tengwall retiring and Nelson likely moving into the starting job, Donkoh’s position on the depth chart may have been boosted up faster than Birchmeier as he has been working the left guard position since his arrival (Birchmeier has played on the right side).

Penn State still has what appears to be the best offensive line of Franklin’s career despite losing Tengwall. And the efforts on the recruiting trail in recent years have ensured the Nittany Lions have quality backup options in play, even if a couple are considered raw and untested to start the season.

Penn State opens the 2023 season on Saturday, Sept. 2 with a primetime matchup on NBC against West Virginia.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Penn State offensive lineman Landon Tengwall announces retirement

Just days away from the season opener, Penn State offensive lineman announces retirement

Just days before opening up a brand new college football season, Penn State fans learned the Nittany Lions will be without offensive lineman [autotag]Landon Tengwall[/autotag]. Tengwall announced his retirement from football in a social media post on Wednesday evening.

“Penn State family, it is with a heavy heart that I am announcing my retirement from football, ” Tengwall said in a statement shared on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account. “I have sustained an injury that will not allow me to safely continue to play the game I love and that has given me so much.”

The specifics of the injury have not been revealed.

Tengwall was entering his redshirt sophomore season and was expected to compete for a starting job at left guard for what is arguably the best offensive line Penn State has had under head coach James Franklin. The loss of Tengwall is a tough blow for the Nittany Lions.

Tengwall missed a good portion of the 2022 season due to injury as well after starting five games. It is unknown if the injury Tengwall mentioned is the same or related to what sidelined him last season.

 

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 58 Landon Tengwall

Penn State’s left side of the offensive line will be tough with a healthy Landon Tengwall ready to slide right back into action.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Continuing this series is a look at a key player returning from injury in 2023, offensive guard Landon Tengwall. Tengwall was just getting started in his role for the Nittany Lions before missing the second half of the season after injuring himself in warmups before the Michigan game. But he should be counted on to help out what could be the best offensive line James Franklin has had in State College since his arrival. Here is a look at Landon Tengwall entering the 2023 season.

Top 5 position battles heading into Penn State’s spring practices

These position battles will be heating up when Penn State opens spring football practices.

Penn State football is in a very good position overall with the way that James Franklin has this team constructed. Of course, there are a few positions that need to be sorted out still.

The position battles going on this spring will be what solidify the starting lineup. The team is very deep and whoever loses these battles shouldn’t be seen as someone not of the quality you expect from Penn State. Rather, it will speak volumes as to what the starters should be seen as which is top-level quality players.

Here are the top five position battles to monitor this spring.

Landon Tengwall to miss remainder of season

Penn State football loses key offensive lineman to season-ending surgery.

Penn State’s offensive line will see its depth put to the test a bit in the final three games of the season after losing one key player to season-ending surgery. [autotag]Landon Tengwall[/autotag] will miss the rest of the regular season, head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] announced on Tuesday during his press conference.

“Landon will be done for the year,” Franklin said to the media on Tuesday. Franklin does not typically go into much detail about injury updates, so the specifics of the surgery for Tengwall remain unknown.

Tengwall has been noticeably absent from practices and games the last few weeks, so the news of his season being done is hardly a stunner. Tengwall first missed action last month in a road game at Michigan as a result of an injury suffered leading up to the game.

Tengwall’s spot in the lineup has primarily been filled by [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag], who announced on Tuesday he intends to return to Penn State for his final year of eligibility in 2023.

Tengwall had been one of Penn State’s best offensive linemen this season. Last week, Penn State was also without Olu Fashanu due to an undisclosed injury. Fashanu is said to be week-to-week moving forward for the remainder of the regular season.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://nittanylionswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=25864]

[lawrence-related id=25884,25838,25845,25835]

Penn State Top 25 players for 2022: Landon Tengwall

Penn State’s offensive line should be improved this year with Landon Tengwall, one of our top 25 players to watch in 2022 in Happy Valley.

Penn State’s roster for the 2022 season has a good mix of returning veterans and experience and fresh new faces expected to jump in and contribute this fall. Nittany Lions Wire will be taking a look at 25 of the most important players on the roster for the 2022 season all throughout the month of July by profiling one player each day.

Each player should play some kind of role in the success of the Nittany Lions this season as James Franklin looks to lead Penn State back to winning enough games to be considered for a lucrative bowl game at the end of the season.

The offensive line is arguably the unit that needs the most improvement in 2022, and [autotag]Landon Tengwall[/autotag] may be a part of the solution. Tengwall lacks experience but provides plenty of size to help beef up the offensive line’s effort this season as the entire line looks to redeem itself this fall.

5 spring football questions for the Penn State offense

Will Sean Clifford really be challenged this spring? Can a freshman become the main running back? That and more pressing questions for Penn State’s offense this spring.

[mm-video type=video id=01fsdjmvkbqtq16mf3bv playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fsdjmvkbqtq16mf3bv/01fsdjmvkbqtq16mf3bv-5a1f8cf3679d7ec39d53a0890364af04.jpg]

The beginning of March can only mean one thing in Happy Valley. Because it looks like this will be another year without a spot in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the focus can easily shift to the start of spring football practices. And once again we enter spring practices with Penn State likely feeling they need to prove something to their critics in 2022. If last year’s spring was about proving to the doubters that 2020 was a mere fluke, then this spring has to find a new way to deliver the message and set the tone after seeing a once-promising 2021 season unravel in the way it did.

Fortunately for Penn State, the program has some good pieces in place to begin setting the tone for some redemption in the upcoming season, but this is not a spring without a handful of big questions that must be addressed beginning this spring.

Penn State is set to open spring football practices on March 21, with the annual Blue-White Game currently scheduled for Saturday, April 23.

Here are five questions I have for Penn State’s offense that may be addressed this spring (we will address the defense next week).

Penn State jersey numbers for new football players

Penn State has updated the jersey numbers for freshmen football players and some new transfer players

While some programs may play some offseason gimmicks of forcing players to earn their jersey number or a helmet decal, Penn State doesn’t mess around with such uniform motivations. And on Friday, Penn State confirmed the jersey numbers to be worn by every incoming freshman or transfer player being added to the roster this fall.

Penn State has already given some new players an official jersey number, including those who enrolled early and participated in spring football. But a couple of new additions to the program this summer now have their official jersey numbers as well.

Here’s a look at the official jersey numbers for a number of the newest Nittany Lions;

  • No. 4 – CB Kalen King
  • No. 6 – CB Zakee Wheatley
  • No. 7 – S Jaylen Reed
  • No. 9 – QB  Christian Veilleux
  • No. 14 – CB A.J. Lytton
  • No. 17 – TE Khalil Dinkins
  • No. 18 – DE Davon Townley Jr.
  • No. 24 – CB Jeffrey Davis Jr.
  • No. 28 – LB Dominic Deluca
  • No. 41 – LB Kobe King
  • No. 42 – LB Jamari Buddin
  • No. 52 – DT Jordan Van Den Berg
  • No. 58 – OL Landon Tengwall
  • No. 68 – OL Eric Wilson
  • No. 82 – WR Liam Clifford
  • No. 85 – WR Harrison Wallace III
  • No. 90 – DE Rodney McGraw
  • No. 94 – K Sander Sahaydak

Penn State will begin preseason camp on August 6. Penn State’s season opener will be played on September 4 at Wisconsin. The game will be FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.

Helmet sticker to Lions 247.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

[vertical-gallery id=2146]

[listicle id=4471]

[lawrence-related id=4892,4872,4870,4816,4807,4804,4795]

Class of ’21 OT Tengwall Spurns Notre Dame, Selects Penn State

The recruiting back luck for Notre Dame continues as elite OT Tengwall decides to go in another direction.

This one seemed to be trending in the wrong direction for some time and today Maryland offensive tackle Landon Tengwall made his college choice to head to Happy Valley and play for James Franklin’s Penn State squad.

Tengwall is viewed as one of the best in the nation, so this is clearly a loss for Notre Dame. There are no wins in recruiting coming in second place, so now Brian Kelly and his staff will focus their efforts in a different direction.

In-state tackle Blake Fisher, a projected tackle, is currently the only committed offensive lineman for the 2021 Irish recruiting class, so the base is solid on that front. Tengwall would have been a very welcome addition, after the Irish have lost multiple commits, WR Deion Colzie and OG Greg Crippen (who yesterday committed to Michigan), in the last few weeks.

Now look for the staff to up the recruiting with Michigan tackles Garrett Dellinger and Rocco Spindler. They will surely look at some other new names as well, but not having spring visits along with the high school camp circuit not happening is slowing down prospect evaluation big time. The Irish staff will work hard at adding more talent on the offensive line, and hopefully soon the bad luck on the recruiting trail will come to an end soon.