Penn State adds more talent up front with four-star offensive lineman

In Penn State’s Week 1 win over West Virginia, 11 different offensive linemen took a snap. The Nittany Lions could have one of the deepest offensive lines in the entire country and on Saturday, the starting group of Drew Shelton, Vega Ioane, Nick Dawkins, Sal Wormley, and Anthony Donkoh allowed just three pressures on Drew Allar. 

Despite the massive crowd, especially of underclassmen, the Nittany Lions continue to add more beef up front on the recruiting trail. On Tuesday, four-star offensive lineman Malachi Goodman chose Penn State over USC and Auburn. Goodman is the 25th member of Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class and the 6-foot-5 315-pound New Jersey product is the 125th-ranked player in the country according to 247Sports. 

Penn State's 2025 class is ranked No. 14 in the country but could see a boost with the addition of Goodman coming one day after the Nittany Lions flipped four-star wide receiver Matthew Outten from his Virginia Tech commitment.

The offensive line has been a huge priority for James Franklin and his staff in previous recruiting classes, but so far in the 2025 class, Goodman is just the third addition along the O-line joining three-stars Michael Troutman and Owen Aliciene. 

With his FBS-ready size, Goodman could have a short path to the field in plenty of programs but not in Happy Valley. Penn State’s most notable addition along the front in the 2024 class, five-star Cooper Cousins did see his way to the field against WVU, but played just 13 snaps at guard, relieving Ioane and Wormley once the game was decided. 

In the 2023 class, Penn State added two five-star tackles, Alex Birchmeier, and J’Ven Williams. Yet, Anthony Donkoh is the only current starter from that class while Williams took just 10 snaps at left tackle on Saturday and Birchmeier played just one snap as a sixth offensive lineman for a heavy formation. 

While Goodman isn’t guaranteed playing time early in his career at Penn State, offensive line coach Phil Trautwein has developed quite a reputation as an elite developer of talent, so once Goodman does eventually see the field, he will be set up to flourish.