Reading a lot of good thoughts and comments on the prospects for this o-line. I think we should have high expectations for this o-line and here is the justification for why. This is a veteran and presumably talented group, especially in the interior. Mangiro will be a 5th year senior; a returning starter; he played a fair amount going back to his redshirt FR year in 2012. Coming out of high school he was offered by Florida, South Carolina, Southern Cal and Ohio State. Gaia started last year, is a 4th year kid, coming out of HS was offered by BC, Iowa, UVA, WVA, UMD and others. Mahon is a third year guy who started most of the season. Was the number 3 rated guard in the country coming out of HS and was offered by Michigan, Florida, South Carolina, Miami, UCLA and others. Behind this group is Dowrey, another 4th year guy who played extensively last year and Rheiner, a 5th year kid who just spent four years in arguably the best system in the country for developing o-linemen. Assume we get nothing at all from Laurent of the freshmen/RS FR. We still have 5 veteran and experienced interior lineman. Not one of these kids is here because of sanctions. Every one had committed to PSU before the scandal hit (except for Rheiner, obviously).
Shifting to tackle. Nelson started every game last year. A kid who the O'Brien/McWhorter staff felt very highly about. For all the talk about Palmer's weight, at 6-8, 290 he will be bigger, by far, than every DE who lines up opposite him. Granted, the OT depth will be young so we need to keep the starters healthy. I also agree with another poster who noted that Mangiro started a few games last year at T and it would not shock me if he ends up at RT if the staff feels that position is a problem. Also, if we have trouble with a particular matchup at RT, here is a not so novel idea - line a TE up next to Palmer (or even a second OT) and attack that matchup that way.
To those who expect little improvement and who mention the losses of Smith and Diffenbach, Miles really did not play so his "loss" was felt last year, not in 2015. I think it is a reasonable expectation for Penn State football players to improve from year to year, especially after they have gained experience and have gotten stronger in the weight room. I think it is reasonable to hold the players and coaches accountable for that improvement. This is a line that showed improvement against MSU last year and was quite solid against BC. So that improvement should be expected to continue. If this line is only marginally better then either they are not nearly as good as advertised or we are not developing them.
Finally, getting back to the LT situation, realistically we need to have a solid LT in place by week 7 in Columbus against OSU. If we lose to Tem, Buff, Rutg, SD St, Army or Indy it certainly will not be the result of poor LT play.
One more thing - why can't a guy like Jenkins, Bates, Gonzales, Sorrell, Wright play a key role and play well? IIRC Oregon had a true FR start last year and a two years ago I believe Auburn played for a MNC with a true FR and a redshirt FR starting on the o-line.
Shifting to tackle. Nelson started every game last year. A kid who the O'Brien/McWhorter staff felt very highly about. For all the talk about Palmer's weight, at 6-8, 290 he will be bigger, by far, than every DE who lines up opposite him. Granted, the OT depth will be young so we need to keep the starters healthy. I also agree with another poster who noted that Mangiro started a few games last year at T and it would not shock me if he ends up at RT if the staff feels that position is a problem. Also, if we have trouble with a particular matchup at RT, here is a not so novel idea - line a TE up next to Palmer (or even a second OT) and attack that matchup that way.
To those who expect little improvement and who mention the losses of Smith and Diffenbach, Miles really did not play so his "loss" was felt last year, not in 2015. I think it is a reasonable expectation for Penn State football players to improve from year to year, especially after they have gained experience and have gotten stronger in the weight room. I think it is reasonable to hold the players and coaches accountable for that improvement. This is a line that showed improvement against MSU last year and was quite solid against BC. So that improvement should be expected to continue. If this line is only marginally better then either they are not nearly as good as advertised or we are not developing them.
Finally, getting back to the LT situation, realistically we need to have a solid LT in place by week 7 in Columbus against OSU. If we lose to Tem, Buff, Rutg, SD St, Army or Indy it certainly will not be the result of poor LT play.
One more thing - why can't a guy like Jenkins, Bates, Gonzales, Sorrell, Wright play a key role and play well? IIRC Oregon had a true FR start last year and a two years ago I believe Auburn played for a MNC with a true FR and a redshirt FR starting on the o-line.
