Olu Fashanu shined in Outback Bowl – does he have a starting role next season?
Penn State Football’s offensive line has been a question mark throughout James Franklin’s tenure and 2021 was no different, but they are going to need to make it a strength if they want to compete in 2022
Penn State Football was down a lot of starters and key players in the Outback Bowl due in large part to opt-outs for the guys who are headed to the NFL draft.
However one guy who’s absence was a but overlooked was left tackle Rasheed Walker, who traveled with the team to Tampa but showed up on crutches which explained his absence in the Rutgers and Michigan State games to finish out the regular season.
Walker was a former four-star recruit who maybe never quite lived up to the hype and expectation, but was a very solid three year starter for the Nittany Lions protecting Sean Clifford‘s blindside. A few days after the Outback Bowl, Walker declared for the draft in April, leaving the Nittany Lions with a hole at left tackle next season.
One of the lone bright spots for Penn State Football in the 24-10 loss to Arkansas was Walker’s replacement, Olu Fashanu.
Fashanu stepped in and allowed zero pressures, zero sacks and did not commit a single penalty in the game going up against a very good Arkansas defensive front.
With Fashanu stepping and in starring in his role last week, it got us thinking about what Penn State Football’s offensive line might look like when they travel to Purdue in week one next season.
Below we breakdown each position on the Penn State Football offensive line, and make a prediction for a week one starter:
Left Tackle
Olu Fashanu – Rs. Freshman
At six-foot-six and 313 pounds Fashanu is arguably Penn State Football’s most physically imposing linemen and looks the part of a starting left tackle in the Big Ten.
As we mentioned above, he was fantastic in his first starting appearance in the Outback Bowl not allowing a single pressure or sack in 43 pass-blocking snaps, while also not committing any penalties.
James Franklin said in the press conference leading up to the game that Fashanu was in line to start the game against Rutgers earlier in the year when Walker was out, but an injury led to more playing time for Bryce Effner and Landon Tengwall.
An offseason of refining his skillset under offensive line coach Phil Trautwein as well as an offseason to pack on more size should do the redshirt freshman wonders.
If Fashanu can step into the role of left tackle and play as well as Walker did or even be an incremental improvement over him, it could go a long way in the offensive line finally taking the step forward Penn State Football fans have been waiting for his shot.