Aug 6, 2012; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions center Matt Stankiewitch (54) walks off the field following the first day of practice at the Lasch Football Building practice fields. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hardly a secret that the offensive line has been one of PSU’s achilles heels for the past….many seasons.  You could point to any number of things, whether it be poor recruiting (we are looking at you, Antonio Logan-El), coaching (seriously, who has two seaparate coaches on the offensive line?) or one of the great PSU debates, the strength and conditioning program and the HIT philosophy of John Thomas.  The simple fact of the matter is that it took a rare aligning of the planets (or just a lot of seniors) for the Lions to put together a respectable, if not dominant line they used to be known for.

With the hiring of Bill O’Brien, it’s not absurd to say that many of the biggest questions revolved around those issues, and by their very nature, the offensive line.  Thomas was sent packing, and the certifiably insane Craig Fitzgerald came in.  HIT was thrown out the door, literally, and a entirely new strength program was adopted.  BOB also brought in what might have been one of the best “under the radar” hires of the off season in former Texas (among other places) offensive line coach Mac McWhorter.  McWhorter had been retired following Texas’ 2010 season, but O’Brien was able to lure him back to the game and State College.  The success of both of these moves was evident early on, and continued through the season.

PSU’s line was noticeably quicker off the ball, and much more physical.  For much of the year, Matt McGloin had time to find the open man without fear of taking a big hit or sack.  Even as the Lions struggled to find a running back to carry the load, the line was opening holes for whoever was in the backfield.  The emergence of Zach Zwinak as a primary ball carrier and his straight ahead, downhill running, was the perfect fit for a line that was at it’s best knocking guys off the ball.  Not only was Fitz’ training program paying dividends in strength, but the endurance was noticeable as well.  The Penn State offense was at its best this year running at a high tempo, and getting as many snaps as possible.  The big guys up front never showed any signs of fatigue as the pace increased.

Sep 1, 2012; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions center Miles Dieffenbach (65), John Urschel (64), Shawney Kersey (81) and Matt Stankiewitch (54) celebrate with Matt Lehman (84) after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US Presswire

As great as the season was for the O-Line, teams like Nebraska and Ohio State did expose a weakness that could be argued played a big role in PSU’s two Big 10 defeats.  Ohio State was the most aggressive, and creative, with the blitz, and was able to get pressure on McGloin consistently, and stymie the rushing attack.  It didn’t help matters that OSU boasted All-American, and likely first round pick Jonathan Hankins at tackle, and Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year John Simon on the end.  Nebraska was similarly aggressive with the blitz, and while they surrendered points, they were also able to get to McGloin as well as anyone but the Buckeyes.

Moving into the 2013 season, PSU has to replace the likes of Matt Stankiewitch, Mike Farrell, but can call on the experience of emerging star tackle Donovan Smith, seniors-to-be Eric Shrive and John Urschel and Miles Dieffenbach, among others.  A second off season with Coach Fitz, and a full spring, summer and fall camp with Coach McWhorter should only serve to improve the play in the trenches.  And that, is good news for Penn State.

I’d love to give this unit an A, based on the rapid improvement in so many areas.  But, blitz recognition and pick up was an issue, especially against the better teams on the schedule.  Because of that, I’ll give the 2012 Nittany Lions offensive line a solid B+.

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Head coach Bill O’Brien has already collected Coach of the Year honors in the Big 10 conference, and on Monday, was announced as one of nine finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award for national coach of the year.  The other finalists are Gary Andersen (Utah State), Dave Doeren (Northern Illinois), Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Urban Meyer (Ohio State), Will Muschamp (Florida), David Shaw (Stanford), Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M).  O’Brien is likely one of hte favorites along with Urban Meyer and Brian Kelly .  The Robinson Award is voted on by the Football Writers Association of America.  O’Brien was also named a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award today, along with Kelly, Meyer, Jim Mora, Jr. (UCLA), Nick Saban (Alabama), Mark Richt (Georgia),Snyder, Charlie Strong (Louisville), Sumlin and Dabo Swinney (Clemson).  The Liberty Mutual Award is voted on by a combination of College Football Hall of Famers, national media and fan voting.  Fans can log their vote at www.coachoftheyear.com.

Aug 6, 2012; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions center Matt Stankiewitch (54) walks off the field following the first day of practice at the Lasch Football Building practice fields. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The coaching staff was not the only honoree on Monday, as center Matt Stankiewitch was named one of 5 finalists for the Rimington Award, as the nation’s top center.  Joining the senior are Mario Benavides (Louisville), Braxston Cave (Notre Dame), Dalton Freeman (Clemson), Khaled Holmes (USC) and Barrett Jones (Alabama).  Stankiewitch.  Former PSU center A.Q. Shipley was honored as the 2008 Rimington Award winner.

Earlier on Monday, Matt McGloin was named as the winner of the Burlington Award as the nation’s top former walk-on.

Congratulations to all of of PSU’s honorees!

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Centers

Miles Dieffenbach was widely regarded as one of the best prep centers in the country two years ago. However, with only one redshirted season under his belt, Penn State will have to wait for Dieffenbach to develop further before sticking him in the starting lineup. In the meantime, junior Matt Stankiewitch shifts over from guard to take over as starting center while sophomore long snapper Ty Howle backs him up.

Guards

Penn State has a bit more experience at the guard position than at center. Big ol’ Johnnie Troutman first picked up a starting job in 2009 and comes back this year as the only PSU offensive lineman with more than a year of starting experience. Troutman will likely get all-conference consideration this season at left guard while sophomore John Urschel starts at the other guard spot. Urschel only has experience starting one game in his Penn State career: versus Indiana as a redshirt freshman last season. Oh well, you know he couldn’t have been that bad as PSU put up 41 points and 496 total yards that Saturday.
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