In Traut We Trust? Penn State May Rotate O-Linemen Aplenty Early in Season

Penn State’s offensive line has seen plenty of growth under offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.

That growth has been evident on the field and in recruiting, evidenced by three Nittany Lions‘ starting offensive linemen being selected in this year’s NFL draft and the multitude of four- and five-star talent coming to Happy Valley yearly.

Penn State Football, Drew Allar — Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports)

However, after three starters left for the NFL draft, Penn State will be looking to reload along the offensive line in 2024. On Tuesday after practice, head coach James Franklin announced that Penn State may be taking an interesting approach early in the season along the offensive line to determine how best to replace all of the talent from 2023.

On Tuesday, Franklin noted that Penn State will likely start the season rotating more than in seasons past along the offensive line to start the season.

Specifically, Franklin remarked that Penn State will likely have more than two offensive tackles and more than two centers rotating at the beginning of the season.

James Franklin said they will likely have more than two offensive tackles play as things get underway and more than two centers.

Cooper Cousins is at guard and center these days pic.twitter.com/8reCsUJxwV

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) August 13, 2024

Who Will Play aRrole in Penn State’s Offensive Line Battles?

Nolan Rucci, Penn State Football — Penn State offensive lineman Nolan Rucci (72) lines up at right tackle during the Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 13, 2024, in State College. The White team defeated the Blue team, 27-0.

Penn State benefits from position flexibility at both offensive tackle and center this fall. Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci has been working at both right and left tackle this fall, with Jven Williams and Drew Shelton also working at left tackle and Anthony Donkoh also working at right tackle. JB Nelson also has the positional flexibility to play both guard and tackle for the Nittany Lions this fall, although he has played mainly at guard since transferring to Penn State from Lackawana County Community College, where he played offensive tackle.

At Center, 2023 backup center Nick Dawkins returns and is pushing for the starting position.

However, Vega Ioane and Cooper Cousins are working at both center and guard. Despite his true freshman status, Cousins may be hard to keep off the field for Penn State, and could be the reason behind at least some of this rotation. Tuesday, James Franklin noted that he doesn’t like to “talk in ways that are going to create crazy expectations, but [Franklin] could not be more impressed with [Cousins].” Franklin continued “He is as driven and as committed a young player as I’ve ever been around… He’s gonna be hard to keep off the field.”

“He is as driven and as committed a young player as I’ve ever been around… He’s gonna be hard to keep off the field.”

Cooper Cousins is on the verge of breaking through on the offensive lineman as a freshman, something you don’t see very often:https://t.co/zOisG1iiYd

— Max Ralph (@maxralph_) August 13, 2024

At least through early September, Penn State could be looking at playing more offensive linemen across the line than in years past.

How this will affect the chemistry and rhythm along the offensive line early in the season remains to be seen, but Phil Trautwein has given Nittany Lions fans no reason not to trust the new approach as the Nittany Lions offense looks to rebuild under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.