Ranking the best position hauls in Penn State Football’s 2023 recruiting class

1. Offensive Line

For so long, the offensive line has been the Achillies Heel of James Franklin’s teams, but not anymore.

The Nittany Lions landed one of the best offensive line hauls in the country in 2023 and this group deserves the No. 1 spot among Penn State position hauls.

The group is headlined by the No. 1 player in the state of Pennsylvania in Jven Williams. Rated as the No. 40 player in the composite, Williams is a 5-star by both 247 Sports and On3, but not Rivals. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, Williams could be a tackle or a guard for the Nittany Lions in the future.

Joining him is the leader of the 2023 class, Alex Birchmeier from Virginia. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 285 pounds, Birchmeier is the No. 52 player in the nation and the No. 2 interior lineman. He has a chance to be the first from this group to see action.

A fellow Virginian makes headlines as well as the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Anthony Donkoh also joins the Nittany Lions. The No. 412 player in the composite has the wingspan to play tackle, although he will start his career at guard.

Lastly, we have the newest member of the 2023 class in 4-star OT Chimdy Onoh. A late riser, Onoh did not receive his Penn State offer until mid-December but took an official visit to Happy Valley in January and picked the Nittany Lions on Wednesday.

After being unranked at the start of December, the 6-foot-5 Onoh ended up as the No. 257 player in the composite and the No. 20 offensive tackle.

This group has versatility and size and will be counted on early as Penn State could realistically lose four starting offensive linemen after 2023. There was no better time for Phil Trautwein to hit a home run.