Penn State's Offensive Line Is Playing With a 'Nastiness' This Postseason

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki says the Nittany Lions' offensive line has been consistent and nasty lately.

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) hands off to running back Kaytron Allen (13) during the first half against the SMU Mustangs at Beaver Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Penn State's Vega Ioane made certain everyone knew who Pro Football Focus' highest-graded lineman was of the College Football Playoff's first round.

"Nolan Rucci is a baller, man," Ioane said this week. "I'm pretty sure most of y'all have seen it: highest-rated O-lineman in the first round. That's impressive."

Penn State's offensive line, which broke in three new starters and lost its starting right tackle this season, appears to be ready for the moment. The Nittany Lions have rushed for 481 yards in two postseason games against run defenses ranked top-25 nationally at the time. Penn State ran for a Big Ten-best 292 yards against Oregon in the Big Ten title game and followed that with a 189-yard performance vs. SMU, ranked fourth nationally in run defense at the time, in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is famous for his unconventional play-calling but still prefers a game decided by the line. He's been getting those kinds of performances lately from an offensive line that's playing its best entering a Fiesta Bowl date with Boise State on New Year's Eve.

"I would say some consistency; that's the first word that comes to mind," Kotelnicki said when asked to describe the line's postseason run. "Then also some physicality. When you watch our last game, we played a really physical brand of football, which I love. That's who we want to be. We want to be a tough group up front. As a whole offense, we want that, but our offensive line definitely embodies that."

The "nastiness and the physicalness" with which Penn State's line is playing, Kotelnicki said, has been the offense's centerpiece. And right tackle Rucci is new to that starting group, having replaced injured starter Anthony Donkoh vs. Maryland. In his fourth start of the season, Rucci was the highest-graded offensive line of the playoff's first round, according to PFF. That's a boost for a line that largely has been healthy this season.

Highest Graded OL from CFP First Round:

🐾 Nolan Rucci, Penn State: 76.6@PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/zQP0TYrqeG

— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 23, 2024

Four Penn State linemen (left tackle Drew Shelton, left guard Ioane, center Nick Dawkins and right guard Sal Wormley) have started all 14 games. They also have handled the majority of the workload. Rucci and swing lineman JB Nelson are the only Nittany Lions to play more than 30 snaps up front during the Big Ten season.

The limited rotations mean continuity, which reduces errors and increases the line's ability to be mean.

"The nastiness and the physicalness which they're playing with, and their understanding of what we're trying to do, both in the running and pass game, specifically for that protection, there's just not a lot of mental errors," Kotelnicki said. "There's not a lot of busts."

Quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nicholas Singleton similarly termed the line as nasty and physical. But Allar also framed its play with a term usually reserved for skill-position players.

"I think they are just playing super fast," Allar said. "We always talk about winning with speed on the perimeter, but I think the offensive line has really taken that into their own game, winning with speed up front and being physical and doing whatever they can to get the job done at the end of the day.
That's a group that takes a tremendous amount of pride in their process throughout the week and the way they prepare. Then it shows on Saturday with the way they play. There's nobody else I would rather have up in front of me, blocking for me, protecting for me, than those guys."

Ioane, Penn State's only lineman named to the All-Big Ten second team, also runs the team's most famous play. Ioane (6-4, 348 pounds) became a national sensation this season with his pancake blocks while going in motion. Kotelnicki introduced the formation during spring drills. Ioane loves it.

"Every time they call the play, I just tell them I'm ready to do it, line up outside, motion in and try to kill somebody every play," Ioane said. "It's pretty fun."

Ioane has embraced that play just as Penn State's offensive line has owned its mission. Kotelnicki said he long has challenged offensive lines to take control of a team's success. This one has.

"For them to embrace that and love having that impact on an offense, on a football team, they've truly, truly embraced that," Kotelnicki said.

Penn State meets Boise State on New Year's Eve in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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