New Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover realistic about struggles, opportunities facing unit

Matt Limegrover sat in his admitedly bare, spartan office after he got to State College and watched Penn State’s film from every football game last season, plus the TaxSlayer Bowl and adjacent practices.

He certainly saw the issues within the unit he’ll be coaching starting this spring — watched every one of the 38 sacks the offensive line gave up and the sometimes laughable push-back from opponents that became one of its claims to infamy last season.

Limegrover told media via conference call on Thursday afternoon that he has been able to recognize both the challenges that still face Penn State’s most beleagured position group, as well as the lasting impact that NCAA sanctions have had on a unit left shorthanded while skill positions were placed in focus as the recipients of limited scholarships.

“(Head coach James Franklin) and I have talked about that quite a bit with regards to where things were when he first got here, and it’s really pretty remarkable where things are at now,” he said. “To try and run a program at the highest level with just nine scholarship offensive linemen, it’s downright scary.”

Now, of course, Penn State is able to recruit with full scholarships and will continue to develop younger talent for the crucial trench positions usually reserved for the oldest and biggest guys on the team.

“We’re going to have a lot of scholarships tied up in guys that are first-, second-years in the program,” said Limegrover. “That’s both good and bad. That just means we’re going to have to lean heavier on the guys that have that experience, then really work to cultivate those young guys. Really, the sky is the limit for seven or eight of those young men.”

Because offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead is introducing a completely new system — one that’s “offensive lineman-friendly,” according to Limegrover, because of the ways it will spread the field and counter a loaded box — Limegrover thinks there will be ample chance for younger linemen to take roles usually reserved for much older counterparts players. Early enrollees Alex Gellerstedt and Connor McGovern, among a handful of redshirt freshmen and sophomores, could very well be at the top of that list.

“I think if there’s a time for some younger guys to have an opportunity to step in and contribute, I think it’s probably now,” he said. “With Coach Moorhead coming in, we are installing a different system. So other than the game experience, which I don’t ever want to discount, but from the standpoint of a system knowledge and understanding, really all these guys here in the program right now are all starting out the first day of spring practice on even footing.

“I think that’ll help some younger guys, and maybe give them an opportunity to bridge that gap more than if the same system had been in place with the same coaches.”

Limegrover has communicated that with the players themselves — he doesn’t care about the age or experience; the best front will be on the field on Saturdays.

“There aren’t going to be any free passes,” he said. “I told them I love ‘em all, but the best five are gonna play. It doesn’t matter if they are a redshirt senior, or two freshmen, or a five-star, or a zero-star. I’m going to hold them accountable every day. They need to give the program their best. ... They’ve been put on notice.”

Limegrover’s matter-of-fact style was conveyed instantly to the players he’s met with thus far, including his emphasis on both the mental and physical balance of the position.

“It is a physical battle every play, and they’ve got to have the mentality that ‘We’re going to go out there and get our job done,’ ” he said. “With all the other guys, the skill position guys, they’re the ones that bring the flair. But we’ve got to lay that foundation. We’ve got to be the ones that are rolling up our sleeves and doing the dirty work. ... Our whole goal is moving toward the end zone. ... We’re going to be downhill, we’re going to be physical, we’re going to play the game the way it should be played, we’re going to respect the game.

“At the same time, these guys here I want to cut loose a little bit and let them have fun. And the best way an offensive lineman can have fun is to be physical.”

That physicality has been a clear issue for Penn State for the past two seasons. Limegrover said a few linemen have approached him and expressed that they know exactly how they have performed, as well as conveyed a strong desire to become a unit that “people look at and say, ‘This is what we always thought of as a Penn State offensive line.’ ”

“I really believe guys want to get attached to that and associated to that,” he said. “I think over the course of the last two years there has been a disconnect.

“What I told them was, ‘Hey, I don’t have a magic wand. When Coach Franklin hired me, it wasn’t as though everything was cured. The only way I know we are going to get out of this thing is we’re going to have to do it together and we’re going to have to have that chip on our shoulder, and we’re going to have to work every single day.’ And I said, ‘Don’t B.S. me and tell me that you want this thing to change, and then not go out and work toward that change.’ ”

Notes: New defensive assistant Tim Banks also spoke to media, but will wait to fully assess the talent he has in the secondary until after spring ball … Banks will recruit in Michigan, parts of Pennsylvania, Indianapolis and Cincinnati … Banks was a member of the staff sent by then-Illinois head coach Tim Beckman to try to poach Penn State players when the sanctions hit in 2012. “That situation was regrettable for all parties involved,” he said. “I think if (we) had a chance to do it again, better decisions would have been made.” …Limegrover will recruit in eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, central New Jersey, New York and parts of both Virgina and West Virginia … Limegrover’s first football coach was Moorhead’s father. The two Penn State assistants both grew up in Pittsburgh and both attended Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 8:02 PM with the headline "New Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover realistic about struggles, opportunities facing unit."