Penn State's Biggest Question? Offensive Tackle, ESPN Says

The Nittany Lions sent two tackles to the NFL and quickly must develop protection for Drew Allar.

Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu gets set before a play against West Virginia at Beaver Stadium. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State is getting plenty of preseason playoff attention based on its returning talent, recharged offense under coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and veteran defense. But the Nittany Lions, following consecutive 10-win regular seasons, have some issues to address in pursuing their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Wide receiver, notably, is one. In fact, the receivers are deploying the outside doubt surrounding them as motivation this season. As Penn State receivers Marques Hagans noted, "to say we don't hear it or it doesn't matter, I'd be lying to you. So we hear it and we use it as motivation."

However, ESPN pointed in a different direction. Assessing the "biggest question marks" of the post-spring top 25 teams, ESPN cited offensive tackle as Penn State's place for improvement. ESPN, which ranks Penn State No. 12, had this to say about the position:

"The Nittany Lions have to replace their two starting offensive tackles from last season in first-round pick Olumuyiwa Fashanu and third-rounder Caedan Wallace," ESPN's Jake Trotter wrote. "Penn State will be counting on Drew Shelton, who missed the spring with an injury, and Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci, an ESPN top-40 recruit in 2021, to shore up its bookend pass protection for quarterback Drew Allar. If Shelton and Rucci step up, offensive tackle could quickly become a strength again."

Offensive tackle is a fair concern. Fashanu and Wallace represented Penn State's best tackle duo in nearly three decades. The 2024 NFL Draft marked the first in which Penn State had both starting tackles drafted since 1996. Add center Hunter Nourzad (a fifth-rounder) and the Nittany Lions had three linemen drafted for the first time since 1996 as well.

So yes, two NFL Draft picks are difficult to replace. However, Penn State has options, including one player ESPN didn't mention. Shelton has significant experience and, though he missed spring drills, is back to full strength and ready for training camp. Meanwhile, right tackle likely will be a camp duel between Rucci, as mentioned, and redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh, who played in four games last season and got 46 snaps in the Peach Bowl. Donkoh likely has the early edge for that spot.

Further, redshirt freshman Jven Williams is a tackle to watch this season. He spent last year as Fashanu's understudy, rooming with him during road games and studying his practice habits. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein specifically paired the two for that reason, and Fashanu said that Williams took advantage of the opportunity.

"I don’t want to make it sound bad, but it was basically a Q&A every road game," Fashanu said of rooming with Williams. "Just asking me questions about my process what I did to get to where i’m at right now. And he’s the type of guy who’s going to retain that information and use it to his advantage."

Penn State opens the 2024 season at West Virginia on Aug. 31. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.