Here’s what Penn State OL coach Matt Limegrover said about each of his starters

Penn State’s offensive line has come a long way since coach James Franklin first arrived in 2014 — when he didn’t have enough linemen to field two OL units in the spring game — but the 2019 campaign isn’t going to be an easy one.

Gone are longtime starters Connor McGovern and Ryan Bates, who both declared early for the NFL draft. And in their place are redshirt freshman Rasheed Walker and the combination of CJ Thorpe and Mike Miranda.

What should fans expect? And how will the offensive line fare this season? Offensive line coach Matt Limegrover joined reporters Thursday morning to discuss his position group and its strengths.

Here’s what he said about each of his starters, in the order he talked about them, along with an overview on some select backups:

LT Rasheed Walker, redshirt freshman

(On the strides Walker made during camp and why he’s a starter)

“One of the things is it wasn’t just in regards to camp but really over the course of the last calendar year and even a bit longer. Rasheed was a guy we knew right away when he came in — even coming out of high school — he was pretty close to having the physical attributes that you really liked. ... We do a lot of things with our 2’s, our second group, so last year even though we were doing everything we could to redshirt him, he was getting a ton of reps with the ‘varsity’ so to speak. He was with us, he was learning our plays, and he was preparing for each opponent as a ‘2’ even though the plan wasn’t to play him.

“And, also, we were able to maximize the redshirt rule last year playing in four games. He played early against Kent State, and we were able to get him in late last year. We were able to get him some offensive snaps against Maryland. He was also on the PAT field-goal team for Rutgers and then also in the bowl game. So he’s new. Obviously, there’s going to be a learning curve for him because he hasn’t had the banked reps that maybe a guy like Will Fries has had. But it’s also not a completely brand new experience for him either.

“So I’m really pleased. One of the many things I think Coach Franklin does a fantastic job of is looking at the bigger picture of development and doing as much as you can with these guys, within the constraints of what you have in regards to redshirts and what have you. And I think (Walker) has benefited from that.”

(On when he first thought Walker could be starting this early)

“I got to think back to the first time I saw him in person as a junior in high school. (Laughs) No, I joke. A guy like Rasheed, there’s a number of young men out there who would fit the same physical dimensions that Rasheed has. And I think the biggest difference is that athletic ability and the things even as a high school player he did so naturally.

“People often ask me, ‘Hey, why didn’t you recruit this guy? He’s 6-7, 290.’ Well, he can’t put himself into positions he needs, to be successful going against the best players in the country at defensive end. And I think that’s one of the most important things — that Rasheed is very unique in the way he can bend and generate movement and power in football positions with knees bent and the ankles flexed and the hips down. For a guy his size, you don’t see that very often — and the change of direction — and it was pretty apparent when he got here last fall.”

RG CJ Thorpe, redshirt sophomore, and Mike Miranda, redshirt sophomore

(On how the two are similar and different)

“I think you look at those two, and they kind of come to the same point like on different paths, from the standpoint of CJ’s a guy that he’s a tremendous athlete for his size. He’s a really physical kid; he’s a bigger, thicker kid. A little more prototype; what you would think of as an SEC guard, a big road-grader type. And then Mike’s not as big, but he’s a really powerful kid and has done a good job putting weight on and is more of the technician, I think — where you kind of have the brute force on one side and the technician on the other.

“But one of the things I’ve been most pleased with over the course of the spring and now in fall camp is how those guys have progressed. They both look like completely different players than they were at this time last year. And it’s just the maturity and the development, and it’s been great getting CJ back full time on the offensive line and you can see Mike’s confidence grow. He started for us last year in the Maryland game, and he was a guy who started to work into playing reps for us, if not as a starter he started to get his feet wet there.

“And they were both key contributors to us, special teams-wise, on our punt team. So I just think it’s a great example of even though they’re different from the physical part of it, they got to the same point and they’re guys I know we can win football games with at guard — for a little bit of different reasons, but you like having both in your rotation.”

LG Steven Gonzalez, redshirt senior

(On Gonzalez’s “OR” designation on the depth chart and whether he’ll see fewer snaps compared to last year)

“Well, that remains to be seen. That’s something that internally we’ve had some discussions about. But the one thing that I brought up and Coach (Franklin) and I — and Ricky, Coach Rahne — when you go through these things and you’re starting to look at it, every single position, there’s not as many no-brainers as you think there are as far as, ‘Hey this guy’s going to play,’ at all positions on both sides of the ball. And you want to make sure you’re fair with it.

“And the biggest thing was it’s really not a knock on Steve as much as it was — it’s a tip of the cap and compliment to both CJ (Thorpe) and Mike Miranda. And we all agreed we have three guards that we can go win a lot of football games with, so that was hard. As much as you like the idea of, ‘Here are my five guards. We’re not going to change out; we’re going to keep those five,’ people talk about continuity and what have you, which is obviously important, but at the same time the biggest challenge is that we have three guys who all deserve to play and they’re all done a really nice job. And you can’t really look at it and say, ‘You two can play and you’re going to stand beside me all game’ because they all have done well enough that they all deserve to be out there.

“I spoke with them about it, and I spoke with Steve about it. And he gets it. He’s in there watching every day when we’re going through practice and evaluating and talking, and he knows as much as anybody those guys have really done a nice job. So I think the big key is communicating and talking, and I think it’ll help Steve a little bit to catch a break every once in a while and kind of get his head right and get back in there. That, in the long term, is going to help him. And I really feel like we’ll be able to maximize what we get out of both the left guard and the right guard position.”

C Michal Menet, redshirt junior

(On the biggest stride he’s made since last season)

“I would say probably the leadership part of it. As a coach, I’ve always had a great deal of pride when one of the offensive linemen is elected a captain — and big tip of the cap to Michal Menet in regards to that because he’s a guy that that honor was bestowed upon him by his teammates because they see he’s a guy that literally comes to work every day and keeps his mouth shut and does what he’s supposed to and has a good sense of the good and bad, and right and wrong, and the good way of doing things and the right way of doing things.

“And I appreciate that from him because I know for the last year, he’s rounded into really becoming a leader of that offensive line. It happened a lot by default at center, but he’s really taken a hold of that and I think a big part of that is when Connor McGovern and Ryan Bates moved on, I think he felt like, ‘OK, this is my time now.’ And we see that happen all the time at all positions in college, but I can really see that when you see Michael going, ‘OK, this is kind of my group now.’ And the center is the mouthpiece to begin with; I think he really started feeling comfortable with that.”

RT Will Fries, redshirt junior

(On the biggest stride he’s made since last season)

“I think the same thing (with Menet) fits with Will. Will and Michal are great friends, and they share a lot of the same values — the work ethic, the willing to do extra and the team-first mentality. And I think Will is right there with Michal as far as that goes. And you look at Will now, and he’s a veteran. He’s finally to the point where he knows to speak up and set the young guys straight as far as, This is how we do things, this is our standard, this is who we are.’

“So I think the biggest thing from the end of last season is that those two guys have really become the leaders of our group.”

The backups

• On Des Holmes, a backup OT: “Des is a tremendous athlete. He’s a unique kid. He’s not your traditional kind of offensive lineman as far as physical abilities go, but he is unique in a good way. He can get himself — sometimes I’m at a loss for words how he does it — he gets himself to where he needs to be and gets the job done.”
  
  
• On Caedan Wallace, a true freshman OT who’s expected not to redshirt: “He came into the summer program in phenomenal shape; he’s a guy that’s had great focus on what he wants to do and who he wants to be for a number of years now. He was a kid who had all the things that you wanted in a young man coming out of high school, and I think the biggest thing was the maturity of Caedan, and you can literally see it every day. He’s learning every day and improving every day. And, ultimately, I’d like to have him on the same kind of track that we did with Rasheed.”
• On Juice Scruggs, OG who missed the spring after being in a car crash but could still play later this season: “Well, I’ll tell you one thing: I’ve been very lucky. I don’t have to do a lot with Juice, and I mean that as a huge compliment to that young man. He’s the most even-keeled, focused on the job at hand, don’t get too high, don’t get too low (lineman). ... Our training staff just raves about his work ethic and what he brings every day and his attitude, so that one’s been pretty easy for me as a coach.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 2:49 PM.