In college football, it’s difficult to amass talent along the offensive line, but with the modern transfer portal enabling backups to seek starting spots on other rosters keeping offensive talent is an even bigger challenge.
College football’s spring transfer portal window has arrived and Penn State interior offensive lineman JB Nelson was one of the first to enter his name. The former junior college transfer was awarded an extra year of eligibility for the upcoming 2025 season, and after winter workouts has decided to spend it elsewhere, unexpectedly departing Happy Valley and leaving the Nittany Lions with depth concerns in the trenches. However, this story has a significant silver lining.
JB Nelson enters transfer portal ceding starting job to Cooper Cousins
James Franklin and offensive line coach Phil Trautwein only needed to replace one member of the Nittany Lion’s 2024 starting offensive line, right guard Sal Wormley who expended his final season of eligibility and is hoping for an NFL career. Left tackle Drew Shelton, left guard Vega Ioane, and right tackles Nolan Rucci and Anthony Donkoh all returned, and starting center Nick Dawkins even received an additional year of eligibility to anchor the Nittany Lions up front.
With so much stability, Wormley’s spot was the only one up for grabs and pitted Nelson and former five-star Cooper Cousins against each other in an offseason battle to start at right guard in Week 1. However, Nelson’s decision to enter the portal indicates that Franklin and his staff apparently didn’t need spring ball or training camp to make that determination. Cousins will start at right guard in his true sophomore season.
After starting at left guard in 2023, played just 228 offensive snaps last season, 200 of those at left guard. While it was a reduced role for the redshirt senior from Western Pennsylvania, he still earned 56 more snaps than Cousins, who played 100 of his 172 snaps at right guard. Cousins was recruited as a center and despite his hulking size at 6-foot-5, profiles as Dawkins’ eventual replacement in the middle, but has the flexibility to play all five positions up front.
That versatility makes Cousins a useful depth piece off the bench, but he’s most valuable as a full-time starter and now that Nelson is out of the way, it’s a near certainty that he will be. If Cousins hadn’t continued to develop after burning his redshirt last season, Franklin may have fought harder to keep Nelson on the roster. So, while it hurts to lose a useful player in the trenches, Nelson’s departure is a good sign for Penn State.