Penn State Football: Do the Nittany Lions Have a Top 10 Offensive Line Unit?

Sometimes it feels like the offensive line for the Penn State football team does not get enough credit. When you think about the success of a team you consider the skill positions but the offensive line often gets left out of the equation. In recent weeks, it feels as if the Nittany Lion offensive line is not getting the respect they deserve from the national media.

During the 2022 season, the Penn State football offensive line helped produce 2354 rushing yards while allowing 21 sacks which was tied for 40th in the country. During the 2023 NFL draft, there was some controversy as when referring to Penn State’s offensive line ESPN’s David Pollack said “They still stunk last year.”

Pollack was not watching the same offensive line that we were watching last season. The turnaround that took place between the 2021 and 2022 seasons was a night-and-day transformation. In 2021, the Nittany Lion running backs averaged 3.2 yards per carry and 107.8 yards per game.  Fast forward to 2022, when the Penn State football team averaged 4.8 yards per carry and 181 rushing yards per game.

Then, when you look at the sacks allowed. In 2021 the Nittany Lions allowed 34 sacks on the season, compared to 2022 where they allowed 21.

To say that the offensive line stunk or that it was a weakness at all is more of an indication that Pollack did not watch many or any Penn State football games last season. As we know in the Penn State community this is a massive strength of this team for the 2023 season.

The below ranking was released on Friday from On3. The Penn State offensive line was not included in the Top 10 OL Unit Rankings and I completely disagree. Now, the unit still needs to prove it on the field for the 2023 season; however, I would argue the Penn State unit is on the same level as Texas and Notre Dame’s offensive line in terms of across-the-board talent.

https://twitter.com/On3sports/status/1654523351258234892?s=20

At the end of the day, this until will be led by Olu Fashanu at left tackle. Landon Tengwall will start at left guard, Hunter Nouzad will play center, Sal Wormley at the right guard position, and either Caedan Wallace or Drew Shelton at right tackle. All of these players are returning starters on the same offensive line that helped produce massive numbers last fall.

I’m glad that the Nittany Lions aren’t getting the hype they deserve because this will fuel the team and the offensive line to try to prove an even bigger point this fall.