How Penn State football has reshaped its offensive line with recruits and coaching
Penn State head coach James Franklin is excited for his offensive line recruits. The key aspect of the class is versatility.
Franklin expects that it’ll add depth and competition to an offensive line that features coaching from former NFL offensive lineman Phil Trautwein and dearth of existing talent. He saw Landon Tengwall start at left tackle in two straight games against Rutgers on Nov. 20, 2021 and at Michigan State on Nov. 27. Tengwall started five games at left guard before suffering a season-ending injury following a matchup with Northwestern on Oct. 1 this year.
Hunter Nourzad filled in at left guard in Tengwall’s absence and is expected to be the replacement at center for departing redshirt senior Juice Scruggs. Sophomore JB Nelson can play both guard and tackle, along with freshman Drew Shelton being available to play both tackle positions.
With the additions of five-star tackle J’ven Williams, four-star interior offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier and three-star offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh, Franklin expects all three to provide depth at the five positions and be prepared to play down the line.
“All three of them we think can play all five (positions),” Franklin said. “We probably are going to leave (Anthony) Donkoh at guard and let him kind of stay there. I think Birchmeier could play center, guard or tackle based on where our roster is right now. I’m going to sit down and have conversations with them to make sure they’re OK with this, but I’d love to be able to start Birchmeier and J’ven at tackle to see if they can do it. Tackles are the hardest guys to find.”
The plan is to get Williams and Birchmeier to train at the tackle positions to begin their time at Penn State as early enrollees. Birchmeier was listed at 6-4 initially by 247Sports, but is measured at 6-5.5 by Penn State. The idea is for the incoming freshman to continue learning both tackle positions to be prepared for, but expect to play guard or center in the future.
Williams, on the other hand, is expected to play tackle and they know he can play guard.
“The more guys that have position flexibility, it helps,” Franklin said. “So that’s where I’d like to start him. But we’ll see. I’m going to have to have a conversation with them first, make sure they’re comfortable with it, Coach (Phil) Trautwein.”
Offensive linemen flock to play for Trautwein
Trautwein has years of experience in football, both as a player and as a coach. He’s also well-traveled.
As a Vorhees Township, New Jersey, native, Trautwein went to Florida to play offensive line. He went undrafted in 2009, signing with the then-St. Louis Rams as an undrafted rookie and eventually playing for the Browns in the same year, before going back to the Rams from 2009-2011. He spent time on the practice squads of the New Orleans Saints (2012) and the then-San Diego Chargers (2012).
Trautwein began his coaching career at Boston College as a graduate assistant prior to joining Davidson (2016-2017) as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, before joining Boston College (2018-2019) as the offensive line coach. He’s served in the same capacity at Penn State since 2020.
He’s just 36 years old, but as a former offensive lineman in the NFL he understands where players want to go and what they’d like to accomplish. That’s also why director of player personnel Kenny Sanders believes he’s a key asset to Penn State’s recruitment of top recruits and development of the offensive line.
“The NFL experience is definitely big, but Traut has been great in the sense that he’s really able to connect,” Sanders said. “Traut is on the younger side, so he’s had the ability to meet those kids where they are also with having that experience getting where they want to go. He’s been tremendous in the last couple of classes that I’ve been in with him. When I was here the first go ‘round, he wasn’t here, but coming back here and working with him has been awesome.”
Sanders watches Trautwein analyze every aspect of his players’ technique in meetings. If they are coming too high out of their stance while run blocking, Trautwein is there to fix it. If the players are telegraphing which plays are pass sets and which ones are runs, he’s there to remedy the situation.
“He really gets those guys prepared,” Sanders said. “For a guy that’s a Jersey kid and played at a high level, the other thing that he can do is talk about being from Jersey and playing at the University of Florida. He has a lot of ways of looking at things from his perspective. “
Since Trautwein took over the position, former Penn State center Michael Menet was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 247th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and offensive tackle Rasheed Walker was picked with the 249th selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. With center Juice Scruggs heading to the East-West Shrine Game for top seniors, Fashanu looking to become a first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Tengwall providing the meaness and tenacity at the guard position for Williams, Birchmeier and Donkoh to take after, along with the depth of the rest of the unit, Penn State’s offensive line may have reached a new frontier.
