For Phil Trautwein, Finally a Chance to Live His Penn State 'Dream'
Before his senior year at Voorhees (N.J.) High, Phil Trautwein attended a Penn State football camp with a broken foot. A doctor advised that Trautwein wear a boot for the camp, but the young offensive lineman declined. He insisted that the boot would impair his chance of earning a Penn State scholarship.
The camp went poorly, Trautwein didn’t get an offer and the next day he got the boot. Sixteen years later, Trautwein finally got that Penn State offer, to be the offensive line coach, and still marvels at the journey.
“For me, this was a dream,” Trautwein said. “I was hoping to play here, but now I have an opportunity to coach here.”
Trautwein, 34, is an intriguing coach to replace Matt Limegrover, Penn State’s offensive line coach for the past four years. As a player, he helped Florida win two national championships in 2006 and ’08, earning all-SEC honors as Tim Tebow’s left tackle.
Trautwein then played four NFL seasons before starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boston College. Having returned to the Eagles as line coach the past two seasons, Trautwein developed a group of all-conference players. All five of his 2019 starting linemen won ACC honors, and the Eagles allowed just 13 sacks last season. Penn State allowed 32.
“I think he has a story,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “I think he's got a story that is attractive to our current players and also to recruits.”
Trautwein’s story begins at Voorhees (N.J.) High, where he was a Penn State fan. As a senior, he read “Miracle in the Making: The Adam Taliaferro Story.” The book chronicles the former Penn State defensive back’s remarkable recovery from the catastrophic back injury he sustained against Ohio State in 2001.
The story resonated with Trautwein, and not merely because he and Taliaferro shared alma maters. Trautwein was enamored with not only Penn State’s history but also its historically strong offensive lines.
Though he wasn’t drafted, Trautwein forged an NFL career with the Rams, Browns, Saints and Chargers through genetics and work ethic. At his peak, Trautwein was 6-6, 306 pounds, with a tackle’s long reach. He complemented those physical traits with a burn to be technical.
Will Fries, one of Penn State’s veteran linemen, has watched Trautwein’s NFL film and marveled at the technician he was. That helped Fries buy in quickly to Trautwein’s approach.
“He has all the wisdom, all the experiences of how to get there [to the NFL] and how to guide me and [center Michal Menet] to that point,” Fries said. “Because ultimately, that’s where we want to be.”
Like Penn State’s three other new assistants, Trautwein had to become a virtual coach at first. He benefited from monitoring two months of winter workouts with the linemen, through which he imparted his philosophy for line play. During the COVID-19 shutdown, Trautwein supplemented his virtual meeting sessions with special guests.
Trautwein invited Dante Scarnecchia, the New England Patriots’ retired offensive line coach, to one call. He hosted Stefen Wisniewski, former Penn State all-American and a two-time Super Bowl champ, on another.
But Trautwein’s voice remains the primary draw and already carries significant weight in Penn State’s offensive line room.
“It was very important to establish a relationship with him,” Menet said. “I’ve been around for a little while, and if I’m not bought in, it would have been a little bit harder for him to transition into coaching. But from the first second I started talking to him, I could already tell that I was going to like him."
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