Penn State's Offensive Line Confronts Late-Season Injuries
Penn State will finish the season with a jumbled offensive line, one that has lost at least one starter for the remainder of the season. But the disruption hasn't diminished coach James Franklin's desire to redshirt his young talent for the future.
Franklin announced Tuesday that Landon Tengwall, who started the first five games at left guard, will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed injury. Tengwall sustained the injury during pregame warmups at Michigan, a unique circumstance that began the line's string of injury issues.
Before the Michigan game, Penn State started the same line for five consecutive games. Since then, the Lions have used three different starting lineups in four games and could showcase another Saturday against Maryland.
Franklin said that left tackle Olu Fashanu is "week to week" after missing the Indiana game with an injury. If he's out, true freshman Drew Shelton would make his second start. Meanwhile, Franklin hinted a good news with right tackle Caedan Wallace's possible return after missing the past two games.
Further, Penn State has played without several injured reserve linemen, including guard/center Nick Dawkins, while others (notably guards Hunter Nourzad and Sal Wormley) have played through injuries. As a result, Franklin said that the line's resiliency, and its handling by line coach Phil Trautwein, "have been probably understated by me."
"We've done a nice job under really challenging circumstances," Franklin said. "Starting a true freshman in the Big Ten at left tackle, I think that's a lot of credit to the staff and a lot of credit to the players."
Penn State's offensive line played a resilient game full of "sacrifices" at Indiana last week, Franklin said. Despite missing three starters, the Lions rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns and allowed just one sack. That lineup included the first career start for Shelton, a true freshman whom Franklin had intended to redshirt this season.
Shelton, who has played in three games, could play one more and retain his redshirt season. However, Fashanu's potential longer-term absence likely will alter that plan.
In addition, Franklin still hopes to hold out redshirt seasons for JB Nelson and Vega Ioane, who are first-year linemen in the program.
Franklin said that Ioane, a true freshman from Washington state who has played in one game, is practicing as if he will play. So is Nelson, a junior-college transfer who is practicing at left guard and left tackle. Nelson has played in three games, so it's possible they could rotate games to preserve those redshirts.
"At the end of the day, there's still the possibility of redshirting if we can," Franklin said, "but it won't trump what we have to do this year and this season to be successful."
The line situation thrust Shelton into playing sooner than Penn State had hoped, but Franklin said the freshman arrived ready. He was an all-state player at Downingtown West High and spent about five months training at IMG Academy before returning to Downingtown for his senior season.
Franklin said that Shelton "checks a lot of boxes" in terms of intelligence, maturity, athleticism and body type which, at 6-5, 296 pounds, has room to grow.
"Our strength coaches very early on had identified him as a guy they were very excited about in terms of his work ethic, demeanor and approach," Franklin said. "The veteran players were kind of talking about him. ... He’s been preparing all season for his opportunity."
Hunter Nourzad Returning in 2023
The Lions received good news for the future Tuesday, when guard Hunter Nourzad announced that he will return for his bonus season of eligibility. Nourzad has started the past four games at left guard since Tengwall was injured but played in a rotation prior to that.
Nourzad too has been injured, having missed two games during the season. He found out late at Michigan that he would be making his first start. Last week, Franklin praised Nourzad for playing "banged up and bruised."
Nourzad, who will be a sixth-year senior, told Franklin on Sunday that he planned to return. The two agreed that announcing would benefit Nourzad and the team.
"Penn State is one of the best places to play for," Nourzad said on a conference call. "We have the best fan base, our coaches are great, everybody's great, so it was kind of easy, to be honest with you. ... I just feel like I still have some growth and opportunity here to take advantage of before doing whatever's next. But I figured that staying here would be best for me."
Nourzad transferred to Penn State from Cornell, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He is working on an MBA at Penn State.
The Lions host Maryland at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX.
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