The shaky start for Penn State’s offensive line last season wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Bringing in Phil Trautwein to coach the group in a transition away from Matt Limegrover, head coach James Franklin understood an adjustment period would take place in a ground-up technical rebuild.
Franklin just expected that adjustment to take place in spring practices.
Instead, derailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trautwein’s instruction had to occur virtually for nearly the entire offseason. And, even once the Nittany Lions finally reconvened last summer for a ramped-up workout schedule heading into preseason practices, the start of the schedule amounted to a crash course of previously limited live reps.
Having had the opportunity to move on from the disappointment of the 2020 season, one that started with an 0-5 record before eventually making positive strides to close out the year with four wins, Penn State’s normal winter workouts, spring practices, and summer offseason work has opened the door to new possibilities for the offensive line this season.
Will it be enough to turn around the performance that landed the Nittany Lions at No. 39 nationally on PFF’s ranking of offensive lines well into the 2020 season?
With the Big Ten’s preseason media days quickly approaching and the start of Penn State’s camp soon thereafter, we surveyed program sources and our collected interviews for a better grip on the position group this summer:
Offensive Line
The best place to start when assessing Penn State’s offensive line this summer doesn’t need to come from an insider or exclusive interview.
A subject broached by PennLive’s David Jones following the Nittany Lions’ first of two spring game approximations, James Franklin was asked about the importance of having two established, quality, bookend tackles as a jumping-off point for the line. Franklin didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the impact that the unit’s projected starters, redshirt junior Rasheed Walker and redshirt sophomore Caedan Wallace, had on the offensive line’s potential this season.
“I don't want this to come off the wrong way, but to me, if you got two tackles you have a lot of confidence in, and you have a center inside that you have a lot of confidence in from a communication standpoint, from an experience standpoint, that's where you'd like to start and build from,” Franklin said. “Not that the guards aren't important, they are critically important, but you'd love to have a center and two bookend tackles to maybe help some inexperienced guards from a communication standpoint, from a call perspective, and to help those guys kind of develop and grow.
“You want to feel really good about your two guys on the edges and protecting the quarterback's blind side or his throwing arm, and then to be able to have experience as we have with Mike Miranda at center, we feel really good there.”
Gauging the pulse of the program this offseason, that sentiment only seems to be gaining more steam. And, importantly, a big part of it seems to be stemming from the confidence Penn State has in Miranda at the center position.
A look at that Dec. 3 ranking of Penn State’s offensive line by PFF College offers a good understanding of why that’s the case:
“Center Michal Menet is one of the many disappointing performers on Penn State's offensive line this season. He made great progress throughout his first two years at the position in 2018 and 2019 with PFF grades of 73.4 and 78.2, respectively, but he has taken a step back in 2020. Menet’s PFF grade has slid over 10 grading points down to 67.7.”
Granted, Menet was able to finish the season with four of his better performances, eventually improving his overall grade to 69.4 by the year’s end. But no doubt exists now that, should Miranda perform as he’s expected this season, the Nittany Lions will see an upgrade at the position Franklin considers so important to the offense’s overall success.
Beyond Menet, Walker, and Wallace, Penn State also sees lofty potential for Juice Scruggs and Des Holmes, and maybe more important across the board, for the options behind them.
One player of note this offseason who has built on his buzz from the spring is redshirt junior Bryce Effner, who has been garnering attention thanks to his performances in the program’s spring practice session.
“Bryce Effner has really had a nice spring,” Franklin told reporters in April, unprompted. “I would describe him as the light has really come on for him. He creates position flexibility at tackle, guard, and center, probably tackle and center as much as anything.
“He’s a guy that we always felt like had the body we were looking for, and athleticism we were looking for, but just was still putting it all together. And he's in a great place right now. There's a lot of people talking about Bryce and excited about his future.”
Another possibility to keep an eye on will be Landon Tengwall, who has also generated some early attention at this early stage in his Penn State career.
Now the only Nittany Lion offensive lineman from the Class of 2021 thanks to the abrupt departure of Nate Bruce, we’re told Tengwall has demonstrated the flexibility to be an option at both tackle and guard. That versatility out of the 6-foot-6, 321-pounder could create a push in preseason camp, maybe not for a starting job, but certainly, the potential is there to advance to a place within the two-deep depending on how he performs.
Keeping all of those elements in mind, Franklin’s strong spring statement of optimism has carried through into the summer months as the start of preseason practices gets closer.
“I think they have a chance to take a step from last year and really start to develop into one of the strengths on our team,” Franklin said.
Bringing in Phil Trautwein to coach the group in a transition away from Matt Limegrover, head coach James Franklin understood an adjustment period would take place in a ground-up technical rebuild.
Franklin just expected that adjustment to take place in spring practices.
Instead, derailed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trautwein’s instruction had to occur virtually for nearly the entire offseason. And, even once the Nittany Lions finally reconvened last summer for a ramped-up workout schedule heading into preseason practices, the start of the schedule amounted to a crash course of previously limited live reps.
Having had the opportunity to move on from the disappointment of the 2020 season, one that started with an 0-5 record before eventually making positive strides to close out the year with four wins, Penn State’s normal winter workouts, spring practices, and summer offseason work has opened the door to new possibilities for the offensive line this season.
Will it be enough to turn around the performance that landed the Nittany Lions at No. 39 nationally on PFF’s ranking of offensive lines well into the 2020 season?
With the Big Ten’s preseason media days quickly approaching and the start of Penn State’s camp soon thereafter, we surveyed program sources and our collected interviews for a better grip on the position group this summer:
Offensive Line
The best place to start when assessing Penn State’s offensive line this summer doesn’t need to come from an insider or exclusive interview.
A subject broached by PennLive’s David Jones following the Nittany Lions’ first of two spring game approximations, James Franklin was asked about the importance of having two established, quality, bookend tackles as a jumping-off point for the line. Franklin didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the impact that the unit’s projected starters, redshirt junior Rasheed Walker and redshirt sophomore Caedan Wallace, had on the offensive line’s potential this season.
“I don't want this to come off the wrong way, but to me, if you got two tackles you have a lot of confidence in, and you have a center inside that you have a lot of confidence in from a communication standpoint, from an experience standpoint, that's where you'd like to start and build from,” Franklin said. “Not that the guards aren't important, they are critically important, but you'd love to have a center and two bookend tackles to maybe help some inexperienced guards from a communication standpoint, from a call perspective, and to help those guys kind of develop and grow.
“You want to feel really good about your two guys on the edges and protecting the quarterback's blind side or his throwing arm, and then to be able to have experience as we have with Mike Miranda at center, we feel really good there.”
Gauging the pulse of the program this offseason, that sentiment only seems to be gaining more steam. And, importantly, a big part of it seems to be stemming from the confidence Penn State has in Miranda at the center position.
A look at that Dec. 3 ranking of Penn State’s offensive line by PFF College offers a good understanding of why that’s the case:
“Center Michal Menet is one of the many disappointing performers on Penn State's offensive line this season. He made great progress throughout his first two years at the position in 2018 and 2019 with PFF grades of 73.4 and 78.2, respectively, but he has taken a step back in 2020. Menet’s PFF grade has slid over 10 grading points down to 67.7.”
Granted, Menet was able to finish the season with four of his better performances, eventually improving his overall grade to 69.4 by the year’s end. But no doubt exists now that, should Miranda perform as he’s expected this season, the Nittany Lions will see an upgrade at the position Franklin considers so important to the offense’s overall success.
Beyond Menet, Walker, and Wallace, Penn State also sees lofty potential for Juice Scruggs and Des Holmes, and maybe more important across the board, for the options behind them.
One player of note this offseason who has built on his buzz from the spring is redshirt junior Bryce Effner, who has been garnering attention thanks to his performances in the program’s spring practice session.
“Bryce Effner has really had a nice spring,” Franklin told reporters in April, unprompted. “I would describe him as the light has really come on for him. He creates position flexibility at tackle, guard, and center, probably tackle and center as much as anything.
“He’s a guy that we always felt like had the body we were looking for, and athleticism we were looking for, but just was still putting it all together. And he's in a great place right now. There's a lot of people talking about Bryce and excited about his future.”
Another possibility to keep an eye on will be Landon Tengwall, who has also generated some early attention at this early stage in his Penn State career.
Now the only Nittany Lion offensive lineman from the Class of 2021 thanks to the abrupt departure of Nate Bruce, we’re told Tengwall has demonstrated the flexibility to be an option at both tackle and guard. That versatility out of the 6-foot-6, 321-pounder could create a push in preseason camp, maybe not for a starting job, but certainly, the potential is there to advance to a place within the two-deep depending on how he performs.
Keeping all of those elements in mind, Franklin’s strong spring statement of optimism has carried through into the summer months as the start of preseason practices gets closer.
“I think they have a chance to take a step from last year and really start to develop into one of the strengths on our team,” Franklin said.
