Who is Penn State’s best offensive lineman since 2000? Our panel voted
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Penn State football: The best players since 2000
For summer 2025, we’re looking back on the past quarter century of Penn State football and Nittany Lions. We formed a panel of voters to determine the best players at each position since the 2000 season, along with the top 10 offensive and defensive players overall.
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Our summer series ranking the best players of the last quarter century rolls on with our next top 10 — the offensive line.
As a reminder, we reached out to eight Penn State beat writers to form a panel of voters who have determined the best Nittany Lions at each position since the 2000 season, along with the top 10 offensive and defensive players overall, based on their stats, accomplishments and the eye test.
That panel is made up of: Neil Rudel (Altoona Mirror), Rich Scarcella (Reading Eagle), Audrey Snyder (The Nittany Dispatch), Mark Brennan (Lions247), Mark Wogenrich (Penn State on SI), Frank Bodani (York Daily Record), Daniel Gallen (Lions247), Johnny McGonigal (PennLive), Josh Moyer (Centre Daily Times) and Jon Sauber (Centre Daily Times).
And at the end of each week, you’ll have a chance to vote on each position in a poll at the bottom of the story and have your say in who are the best Nittany Lions since 2000. Results will be shared at the end of the series later this summer.
Let’s get to the 10 best PSU O-linemen of the last 25 years.
Note: All stats and years played are from 2000 and beyond unless otherwise noted. First-place votes are in parentheses for players with a high rank of one.
10. Kareem McKenzie
High rank: 5 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 9.5
Years played: 2000
Our list begins with a player who only saw the field for one season during that time period, but it was a good one. McKenzie was a quality tackle for the Nittany Lions in his career, making All-Big Ten second team in 2000. He was not part of a dominant offense that season, but he was far from the problem, with his play getting him picked in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft.
T-8. Gerald Cadogan
High rank: 5 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 9.4
Years played: 2004-2008
Cadogan finished in a tie for eighth thanks to a successful career that showed some versatility on his end. He began his career at tackle, with a brief pit stop at guard in 2006 before returning to the outside in 2007 for his last two seasons. His switch back helped him make All-Big Ten in both of those years — in 2007 as an honorable mention and in 2008 as a first teamer.
T-8. Connor McGovern
High rank: 6 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 9.4
Years played: 2016-2018
McGovern made an early impact when he got to Penn State, helping himself become a consistent piece of the Nittany Lions’ offensive front for three seasons. He started most of the team’s games in his freshman season in 2016, before starting all of them in 2017 and 2018. He played both guard and center for extended stretches in his career and was named All-Big Ten third team in his final season when he played primarily at right guard. McGovern left after those three years and heard his name called in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
7. Dennis Landolt
High rank: 6 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 8.8
Years played: 2005-2009
Landolt was a strong piece of multiple quality offensive lines, earning him the seventh spot on this list. He started at offensive tackle for three seasons — 2007 and 2008 at right tackle and 2009 at left tackle — with his best coming in 2009 when he helped the Nittany Lions win 11 games (as he also did in 2008). That final season earned him All-Big Ten first team honors and a spot as a third team All-American.
6. Rich Ohrnberger
High rank: 5 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 6.8
Years played: 2004-2008
The Nittany Lion offensive line was a major part of the program’s success in 2008 when it made the Rose Bowl after being co-conference champions — and Ohrnberger was a key part of that. His play on the interior of the offensive line helped pave the way for a very successful offense in his time as a starter. He earned plenty of recognition following that 2008 season, with a first team All-Big Ten selection and a third team All-American spot before going in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
5. John Urschel
High rank: 4 | Low rank: 9 | Average rank: 5.6
Years played: 2009-2013
Urschel was very good as an offensive lineman but that’s still not what he’s most known for — that would be his intellect, which has helped him earn a Ph.D. in mathematics from MIT since his Penn State career ended. On the field he had plenty of success, too. He was an All-Big Ten first team selection in 2012 and 2013 and also earned a third team All-American selection in 2013 before going on to become a 2014 fifth round pick in the NFL draft.
4. Stefen Wisniewski
High rank: 1 (2) | Low rank: 5 | Average rank: 3.2
Years played: 2007-2010
Wisniewski represents the beginning of a clear top four based on the voting. The interior lineman was versatile as a Nittany Lion and managed to see the field very early, especially for an offensive lineman.
“Wiz emerged as a key member of the offensive line rotation, and even earned a start at guard as a true freshman in 2007,” Mark Brennan noted.
That early play helped him adjust early and go on to make first team All-Big Ten in 2009 and 2010, and become a first team All-American in 2010. His two first-place votes were third-most on the offensive line in these rankings.
3. A.Q. Shipley
High rank: 1 (1) | Low rank: 4 | Average rank: 2.8
Years played: 2004-2008
Shipley might not have finished first in the poll (although he did get a first-place vote) but he might be the most decorated player on this list. The former PSU center was a two-time All-Big Ten first team member (2007 and 2008), the 2008 Rimington-Pace Big Ten offensive lineman of the year, a 2008 first team All-American and the 2008 Rimington Trophy winner — which goes to the best center in college football. He was one of the best players on those successful 2008 teams and helped anchor a high-level offensive line.
2. Levi Brown
High rank: 1 (4) | Low rank: 5 | Average rank: 2.2
Years played: 2002-2006
Despite getting the most first–place votes (four) Brown finished second in one of the closest finishes in any of these rankings. He finished two voting points short of the first-place finisher, but would be worthy of either spot. Brown was a two-time second team All-American (2005 and 2006) and a two-time All-Big Ten selection, with a first team spot in 2005 and a second team one in 2006. As Neil Rudel noted, his career started at defensive tackle, but the switch to offense proved beneficial for the Nittany Lions and Brown — who went on to be selected fifth overall in the 2007 NFL Draft.
1. Olu Fashanu
High rank: 1 (3) | Low rank: 4 | Average rank: 2
Years played: 2020-2023
Fashanu is the most recent Penn State offensive lineman to go in the first round and is the top player on this list. He decided to return for 2023 despite getting first round buzz after his 2022 season and made the most of it. Fashanu made second team All-American in 2022 and improved that to first team the following year, and did the same with All-Big Ten, going from second to first team. He added the 2023 Rimington-Pace Big Ten offensive lineman of the year award to go with it before going 11th in the 2024 NFL Draft. I think there are arguments to be made for all of the top four, but Fashanu was first on my ballot as the best pass protector the program has had in the last 25 seasons.
