There is no question in my mind that Penn State had a very productive recruiting weekend this past Saturday [May 21]. I think very few individuals here in the Lions Den expected 4-star TE Matt Dotson [6-5, 235] from Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio to leave Penn State this past Saturday placing the Nittany Lions at the top of his list and quite possibly making another visit to Penn State in the next couple of weeks with his parents. And that was one of several pieces of positive news Coach Franklin and his staff were given from prospects from the classes of 2017 and 2018 that were on Penn State's campus this past weekend.
However, it was a comment repeated several times about the Nittany Lions' offensive line for the upcoming 2016 season by Penn State offensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead, at a presentation he made last week in Scranton to a Penn State alumni gathering, that I believe was the biggest news about Penn State's football program that became public information during the "Spring Evaluation Period" this month in May.
During his presentation Coach Moorhead said several times that Penn State's offensive line would be one of the real strengths of Penn State's offense this fall. Considering how much Penn State's offense has struggled the past two seasons due to a large extent the problems that have existed on the offensive line, I'm convinced Coach Moorhead would not have repeated those comments about his expected performance of Penn State's offensive line this fall if that wasn't his firm belief.
I agree with Coach Moorhead that there is an excellent chance for Penn State's offensive line to make dramatic improvement at the point of attack at the line of scrimmage this upcoming season. I'm not saying there will be a complete transformation by Penn State's offensive line this fall because in reality it is still a work in progress, but I firmly believe it can become as the 2016 season progresses a real strength for Penn State's offense.
There are several reasons why I believe this will be the case. Depth for the first time in the last four years should be much less of a problem for the offensive line this fall. For spring practice Coach Franklin and his offensive staff had 15 scholarship offensive linemen on its spring roster. Depth creates competition and competition makes everyone better.
In addition to the notation that there were 15 scholarship offensive linemen on Penn State's spring roster, I believe there were two very important other story lines that emerged regarding the offensive line in spring practice. The first was the move of Andrew Nelson [6-5, 305] from right tackle to left tackle at the halfway mark of spring practice and redshirt freshman Ryan Bates [6-4, 3015] winning the starting left guard position.
Nelson appears to be a natural at left tackle in Coach Moorhead's simplified zone blocking scheme coming off his first healthy spring practice session during his Penn State playing career, plus Bates now being physically mature at 6-4, 305. Bates just might be the most physically gifted Penn State offensive lineman coming out of spring practice on Penn State's roster. I firmly believe the left side of Penn State's offensive line is in great shape for the upcoming 2016 season.
I also like the move of Brian Gaia [6-3, 286] to center, the maturation of Brendan Mahon [6-4, 312] at right guard and the position battle between Paris Palmer [6-6, 305] and Noah Ben [6-6, 292] at right tackle.
But the reason why I believe Penn State's offensive line will see substantial improvement at the point of attack this fall is the simplified zone blocking scheme Coach Moorhead has introduced to Penn State's offense. I believe it fits the personality and talent available on Penn State's offensive line. Scheme really does matter. Probably Palmer said it best at the conclusion of spring practice.
"[Now] we have [blocking] rules for plays and, no matter what the defense does, we're not going to change the rules for that play," Palmer said. "Last year we had a lot of checks. If this happens, then we have to change it to this and this and that. Not it's such a fast pace that there is not really a lot of thinking that needs to be done at the line of scrimmage."
I know for sure I'll be closely watching the performance of Penn State's offensive line this fall. If it turns out to be one of the true strengths of Penn State's offense this fall like Coach Moorhead suggested during his speech to a gathering of close to 500 alumni in Scranton last week, I can't wait to see this Penn State offense perform this fall.
However, it was a comment repeated several times about the Nittany Lions' offensive line for the upcoming 2016 season by Penn State offensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead, at a presentation he made last week in Scranton to a Penn State alumni gathering, that I believe was the biggest news about Penn State's football program that became public information during the "Spring Evaluation Period" this month in May.
During his presentation Coach Moorhead said several times that Penn State's offensive line would be one of the real strengths of Penn State's offense this fall. Considering how much Penn State's offense has struggled the past two seasons due to a large extent the problems that have existed on the offensive line, I'm convinced Coach Moorhead would not have repeated those comments about his expected performance of Penn State's offensive line this fall if that wasn't his firm belief.
I agree with Coach Moorhead that there is an excellent chance for Penn State's offensive line to make dramatic improvement at the point of attack at the line of scrimmage this upcoming season. I'm not saying there will be a complete transformation by Penn State's offensive line this fall because in reality it is still a work in progress, but I firmly believe it can become as the 2016 season progresses a real strength for Penn State's offense.
There are several reasons why I believe this will be the case. Depth for the first time in the last four years should be much less of a problem for the offensive line this fall. For spring practice Coach Franklin and his offensive staff had 15 scholarship offensive linemen on its spring roster. Depth creates competition and competition makes everyone better.
In addition to the notation that there were 15 scholarship offensive linemen on Penn State's spring roster, I believe there were two very important other story lines that emerged regarding the offensive line in spring practice. The first was the move of Andrew Nelson [6-5, 305] from right tackle to left tackle at the halfway mark of spring practice and redshirt freshman Ryan Bates [6-4, 3015] winning the starting left guard position.
Nelson appears to be a natural at left tackle in Coach Moorhead's simplified zone blocking scheme coming off his first healthy spring practice session during his Penn State playing career, plus Bates now being physically mature at 6-4, 305. Bates just might be the most physically gifted Penn State offensive lineman coming out of spring practice on Penn State's roster. I firmly believe the left side of Penn State's offensive line is in great shape for the upcoming 2016 season.
I also like the move of Brian Gaia [6-3, 286] to center, the maturation of Brendan Mahon [6-4, 312] at right guard and the position battle between Paris Palmer [6-6, 305] and Noah Ben [6-6, 292] at right tackle.
But the reason why I believe Penn State's offensive line will see substantial improvement at the point of attack this fall is the simplified zone blocking scheme Coach Moorhead has introduced to Penn State's offense. I believe it fits the personality and talent available on Penn State's offensive line. Scheme really does matter. Probably Palmer said it best at the conclusion of spring practice.
"[Now] we have [blocking] rules for plays and, no matter what the defense does, we're not going to change the rules for that play," Palmer said. "Last year we had a lot of checks. If this happens, then we have to change it to this and this and that. Not it's such a fast pace that there is not really a lot of thinking that needs to be done at the line of scrimmage."
I know for sure I'll be closely watching the performance of Penn State's offensive line this fall. If it turns out to be one of the true strengths of Penn State's offense this fall like Coach Moorhead suggested during his speech to a gathering of close to 500 alumni in Scranton last week, I can't wait to see this Penn State offense perform this fall.
