James Frankln has plenty of faith in Nolan Rucci, his redshirt junior offensive tackle transfer from Wisconsin who was the former No. 1 overall player in Pennsylvania. That’s why, even with a bevy of talent in the trenches, Franklin added Rucci to his roster this Summer, and now that faith is going to be tested.
Despite that belief, Rucci, who was a career backup in Madison, lost the starting right tackle job to redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh. Rucci has still gotten plenty of work, rotating in and even starting against Ohio State after Donkoh went down with an injury the week prior. Then, in Penn State’s 26-25 win over Minnesota in Week 13, Donkoh went down again, and this time it’s a long-term injury, so Rucci’s workload will increase as the presumptive starter on Drew Allar’s right side.
“Anthony is a long-term injury,” Franklin said of Donkoh in his Monday media availability, “and we felt like Rucci played well,” he continued.
It was Rucci’s highest snap count of the season, playing 59 snaps in relief on Saturday, and both times he’s replaced Donkoh for an injury, he’s struggled. Against Wisconsin in 49 snaps, Rucci allowed three quarterback pressures, and he did the same against Minnesota, also giving up a sack. For the season, Rucci has allowed 10 pressures, the third most on the team, in just 135 pass-blocking snaps. That’s the same number of pressures as left tackle Drew Shelton has allowed in more than twice reps.
Penn State O-line | Pass-block snaps | Pressures | Pressure % |
|---|---|---|---|
LT: Drew Shelton | 322 | 10 | 3.1% |
LG: Vega Ioane | 325 | 11 | 3.4% |
C: Nick Dawkins | 331 | 18 | 5.4% |
RG: Sal Wormley | 256 | 7 | 2.7% |
RT: Anthony Donkoh | 230 | 8 | 3.5% |
RT: Nolan Rucci | 135 | 10 | 7.4% |
Even with a small sample size, it’s relatively clear that Rucci will immediately become the shakiest part of Penn State’s pass protection. But there is good news. First, Drew Allar has played well when he has faced pressure in 2024.
The former five-star QB intentionally trimmed down this offseason to become more mobile and that’s reflected in his 22 rushing first downs and his increased time to throw when under pressure. Allar can, and is willing, to buy more time inside and outside of the pocket, which has helped him improve his yards per attempt under pressure from 5.6 last year to 7.8 this season. His pressure-to-sack rate has grown from 10% to 13%, but that’s largely inconsequential when juxtaposed with his increased aggressiveness downfield and effectiveness as a scrambler.
Allar would inevitably face an uptick in pressure once Penn State gets to the 12-team CFP, and he looks more ready than ever to accommodate more company in the backfield. Donkoh’s injury will just test that theory even further.
The other positive is that with Rucci starting, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will have time to develop a plan to help his new right tackle with double teams and chips on the edge against Maryland in Week 14 and likely into the College Football Playoff. It’s possible to cover up for one weak link up front, but gets much tougher if the line springs another leak.
However, even helping Rucci presents its own set of issues. Penn State’s primary, and frankly only threatening weapon, is tight end Tyler Warren who leads the team with 75 catches for 910 yards and five touchdowns. Protecting a shaky offensive tackle often means keeping a tight end in-line to chip an edge rusher before getting into his route.
Only 34% of Warren’s snaps come as an in-line tight end. Just over 13% of Warren’s offensive snaps come split out wide and nearly half come from the slot. Those numbers are a bit skewed by the fact that Warren will lineup in the backfield and has even snapped the ball as a center this year, but the fact remains that Warren spends more of his time split out and that could have to change.
Kotelnicki certainly isn’t afraid of two-tight end sets and Penn State has thrived with a combination of Warren and Khalil Dinkins or Luke Reynolds on the field. That use of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) could increase with Rucci starting at right tackle, and so could running backs Nicholas Singelton and Kaytron Allen’s pass-blocking reps. Dinkins and Reynolds are solid players and Singelton and Allen are both capable pass-protectors, but if that’s the case, it could further exasperate this offense’s biggest problem.
Penn State simply doesn’t have enough talent at wide receiver. Harrison Wallace III has 35 grabs for 579 yards and is 19th in the Big Ten in yards per route run at 2.22 (Warren is 2nd at 3.12), but the Nittany Lions don’t have another receiver with even 20 catches or over 2.0 yards per route run. Omari Evans, who caught a 45-yard pass touchdown from Allar on Saturday, is a fairly dynamic field stretcher, Liam Clifford has had a few solid games out of the slot, and Julian Fleming is an experienced veteran, though the Ohio State transfer has proved to be anything but reliable.
Singleton is third on the team in catches with 30, as many as Evans and Clifford combined, for 275 yards and four touchdowns, and Allen has one fewer grab than Fleming. When they’re kept in the backfield to protect Allar, the junior quarterback has fewer reliable options in the passing game and the need for one of Evans, Clifford, or Fleming to truly emerge as WR2 becomes even greater.
If Penn State opts to trust Rucci, and he continues to give up pressure at a higher rate than Donkoh, while also being a downgrade in the run game, it will force Allar to get the ball out of his hands faster. That means receivers have to win quickly. They couldn’t against Ohio State, in Rucci’s only start of the year, and Allar was sacked three times.
The college football season is longer than ever with the introduction of the 12-team College Football Playoff. That means winning the national title has become a war of attrition. Franklin prepared for that with a deep offensive line, but this contingency plan is only as good as Rucci plays, and so far this season, he hasn’t played well.
Orchestrating an offense that lacks talent at wide receiver is a delicate balance in 2024 and Donkoh’s injury could knock Allar and Kotelnicki off-kilter, or it could be the perfect time for Allar to prove he’s a future NFL quarterback and Kotelnicki a future head coach.