Tag: Phil Trautwein

Four-star offensive lineman puts Penn State in his top six

Penn State is in some competition for a commitment as this four-star offensive lineman trims down his options.

Penn State continues to look at offensive line options in their 2025 class as they currently have just two commitments at that position group from [autotag]Owen Aliciene[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Troutman[/autotag].

They’ve done an incredible job at recruiting and developing offensive linemen since [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] joined the program in 2020.

The Nittany Lions picked up five offensive line commits in the 2024 class and also got transfer [autotag]Nolan Rucci[/autotag], so it’s unclear how many they are targeting in this cycle.

However, one player they’re interested in is four-star [autotag]Max Buchanan[/autotag].

The 6-foot-4, 270-pounder recently cut his list to six schools and included Penn State. Others he’s still considering are Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Ole Miss, and UCF.

The Florida native is coming out of an official visit to Ole Miss this past weekend.

According to Chad Simmons of On3, those will be a major factor in his decision making.

“What is going to separate a school for me will be based on how my visits go. I want to see how honest and truthful the people are at each school. Getting along with the players and the people on campus is so important to me. I will only be around the coaches when I am at the facility or practice, so I want to see how I get along with the players. That will be very big for me,” Buchanan said.

Penn State will be the last official visit he takes as he’s scheduled to come to Happy Valley on June 21.

This has been a recruit on the radar of [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff for a while as they were the second school to offer him a scholarship and have maintained consistent contact with him throughout the process.

It may be a bit of an uphill battle, though.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine currently lists Penn State with the worst odds out of the six schools he’s considering with an 8.2% chance. Florida State are the leaders with a 22.7% chance.

Based on the amount of time that the coaching staff has put into this process, they’ll likely make a major push to land him prior to him taking his official visit in June.

Five-star 2026 offensive lineman locks in visit with Penn State

Penn State has a visit on the books for a key Class of 2026 offensive line target.

Penn State is coming off a week full of top targets in the class of 2025, but there were also many from the future recruitment cycles taking a trip to Happy Valley as well.

With the focus still firmly on the 2025 class, that isn’t stopping the Nittany Lions from building relationships with the younger recruits to put themselves in a good spot for when they become the priority.

Players in the future classes have gotten some rankings by the major services, but it’s still early and things are bound to change as they play some more high-level football

But, it’s always eye catching and newsworthy when a five-star player is taking a trip to campus and that’s what Penn State has when offensive tackle [autotag]Immanuel Iheanacho[/autotag] heads to Happy Valley.

The Baltimore native is listed as the No. 3 overall recruit in the class of 2026 by On3.

Listed at 6’7″ and 330 pounds, the Nittany Lions initially offered him a scholarship back in February, and now that he’s been give the coveted five-star rating, his recruitment has really started to pick up with top programs across the country.

Still, Penn State finds themselves in a good spot early on.

Ryan Snyder of On3 notes that he’s started to develop a relationship with offensive line coach [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] who was the one who offered him the scholarship. Iheanacho looks at the development that DMV native Olu Fashanu had while at Penn State and views that as a positive. He also will be focusing on the academics of the school he chooses, putting the Nittany Lions in a good position (subscription required).

They’ll host him for his first trip to Happy Valley this upcoming weekend as [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] and his staff look to continue building this relationship to stay at the top of his list.

Penn State leaves elite offensive lineman with strong impression after visit

Penn State pulled out all the stops to impress this coveted offensive lineman recruiting target.

Penn State continues to go after some of the top offensive lineman in the country under [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] and they’ve been able to land some of them since he joined in 2020.

Getting stronger in the trenches was something that was clearly needed during the early tenure of [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag].

Having a better group of offensive lineman will help them achieve their ultimate goal of competing for a national championship and winning the expanded Big Ten conference.

In order to do that, recruitment is key.

The Nittany Lions welcomed in one of their top targets, [autotag]Ziyare Addision[/autotag], for a visit this past weekend.

The Florida native is 6’4″, 280-pound four-star recruit in the class of 2025, listed as the No. 14 offensive tackle in the country and 132nd overall recruit.

He came into the visit already viewing Penn State favorably after his trip last month, but Tyler Calvaruso of 247Sports reports that Addison left this visit completely blown away (subscription required).

The elite recruit said the visit was “electrifying” citing the recognition and hospitality he and his family received.

Addison was also able to speak with [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag] who was at practice. The four-star said he picked the brain of the projected first round NFL draft pick, asking him about offensive line play, techniques, and what it’s like to play at Penn State.

Calvaruso also reported that Addison was impressed with how Trautwein coached his players and with Franklin overall. The importance that the program places on academics, athletics, and family values resonated with the Florida native.

He also believes that Penn State is on the verge of something special and said he thinks he could be an important piece to making sure that happens.

Addison will be back in Happy Valley for an official visit starting June 14, sandwiched in between trips to Clemson, Oregon, and Florida State.

Penn State focuses attention on elite class of 2026 offensive lineman

Penn State is already focusing on the offensive line depth in the Class of 2026.

While the majority of recruiting focus is on the current 2025 class, it’s never too early for programs around the country to start developing relationships with players in the later classes as well.

That’s what Penn State and offensive line coach [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] is doing with a specific class of 2026 offensive line prospect.

[autotag]Darius Gray[/autotag] is a 6’3″ 285-pounder from Richmond, VA.

Because it’s so early in their recruiting process, only On3 and Rivals have rankings for him at the moment, but both list him as a four-star and inside the top-100 of the class.

With the depth that the Nittany Lions have been able to accumulate in their offensive line room, they can afford the luxury of looking ahead and handpicking some of their favorite targets.

Gray has already been to campus twice before and has told Ryan Snyder of On3 that he will be back again in March. As expected, Trautwein is a big reason for his interest in the program with the prospect telling Synder that he likes the temperament of the coach, while also thinking he does a great job on the field with development (subscription required).

The Richmond native figures to be a highly-sought after recruit in his class, already racking up around 30 scholarship offers from programs around the country before his junior season of high school.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Penn State with the third-best chance of landing a commitment from Gray with a 12.3% chance. South Carolina leads the way at 32.1% and North Carolina is second with a 14.4% chance.

Again, it’s very early in the process, but the Nittany Lions are positioning themselves well to land one of the top lineman in the class of 2026.

Veteran lineman pushing for Penn State’s starting center role

Nick Dawkins could be the next big thing for the Penn State offensive line in 2024.

Entering the offseason workout programs, Penn State will be searching to find a starting center replacement for the second year in a row.

After [autotag]Juice Scruggs[/autotag] went to the NFL, [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] stepped into that role last season.

With Nourzad graduated, it seems like another veteran on the offensive line unit is looking to step up and take over the starting center job.

According to just about every teammate that talked to Tyler Donohue of 247Sports, everyone can agree that [autotag]Nick Dawkins[/autotag] is a hard worker and great leader (subscription required).

He was once being considered for a team captain role despite being a backup on the offensive line.

Now, it seems like he’s ready to finally get the starting reps throughout an entire season that’s he worked for. This will be his fifth year within the program and he’s yet to record a start.

That hasn’t stopped him from being a tireless worker and leader behind the scenes.

Offensive line coach [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] told Donohue that when Dawkins talks, everyone listens. All-American tackle, [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag], says the veteran lineman is one of the hardest-working people he knows and puts a ton of time into getting better at his craft.

Dawkins will have a chance to earn it.

He has gotten game reps at center even if it hasn’t been as a starter.

This should give him the edge over his internal candidates that are likely a much more raw product based on lack of experience at the position.

Dawkins got off to a good start during winter workouts, being recognized by Trautwein as one of their “competitors of the day.”

It will be up to the fifth-year senior to determine if he can finally take control of that position this offseason and go into 2024-25 as the firm starter.

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.

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