OL and DL player mix

[blion72]

once we have the new arrivals in the summer for OL, we should be at 15 so numbers feel good. the mix though seem like heavy toward ILO vs OT. it is like when Bill O'Brien said everyone is a guard and no tackles. we actually feel superb on the inside, just few OTs.

on DE we look okay at run defenders but a little short on edge rusher types. Adisa Isaac is the only clear edge guy and he is hurt. Maybe on of the rFr or true Fr. so young on this group. the older guys are good for power.

DT are slanted toward 3 tech and only PJ and Brevard are true 1 tech body types. PJ coming off injury and not sure if Brevard has even played in a game going into his 3rd year, so not promising there. 3 tech we seem loaded.

overall where we are good, we seem really good, but where we have holes we are really thin and cannot afford any injuries. We saw what happened when PJ went down - DEF was completely on a different level.

 

[GregInPitt]

once we have the new arrivals in the summer for OL, we should be at 15 so numbers feel good. the mix though seem like heavy toward ILO vs OT. it is like when Bill O'Brien said everyone is a guard and no tackles. we actually feel superb on the inside, just few OTs.

on DE we look okay at run defenders but a little short on edge rusher types. Adisa Isaac is the only clear edge guy and he is hurt. Maybe on of the rFr or true Fr. so young on this group. the older guys are good for power.

DT are slanted toward 3 tech and only PJ and Brevard are true 1 tech body types. PJ coming off injury and not sure if Brevard has even played in a game going into his 3rd year, so not promising there. 3 tech we seem loaded.

overall where we are good, we seem really good, but where we have holes we are really thin and cannot afford any injuries. We saw what happened when PJ went down - DEF was completely on a different level.

I'm not quite as pessimistic as you seem to be.

I would venture that most teams have an easier time finding and developing top interior OL players compared to top OT's, as it seems there are just too few 6'-5" to 6'7" tall athletic olinemen coming out of high school. And this carries over to the NFL where top OT's are taken early in the draft and are a hot commodity in free agency, commanding top salaries.

But Fashanu looks the part and played well in the bowl game. Wallace didn't seem to play well in 2021, as most were expecting him to take a step forward from 2020, but another year with Trautwein should help him take a step forward this season. I thought Tengwall looked pretty good at OT when he played, and was expecting him to play OT. So the fact that the staff has instead chosen to play Tengwall at Guard, with so many other big guys available at Guard, tells me that the staff must have more confidence in Wallace than what some here (including me) would expect given his 2021 performance. Hopefully Christ and Traore have taken steps forward and are more ready to play OT as well. It seemed that JB Nelson was coming in as an OT, but I believe I saw him on the 2 deep inside. The 2022 incoming recruits McNeil and Shelton will be trying to compete at OT as well, and with Shelton being so highly rated maybe he will be ready to really compete for playing time in 2023.

Big, athletic 1 technique DT's are as few and highly sought after as great OT's, so it's no surprise that even teams that recruit marginal top 10 average still don't have them stacked up. Top big DT's are game changers, and if Mustipher comes back healthy he'll solidify the middle of the PSU defense. Brevard seems to be an enigma, highly rated, big body, but just not ready to contribute in 2021 for reasons unknown to us. But he is still a candidate to back up Mustipher, along with Ellies, Izzard or the progressing Mulbah. So there are some candidates that have been working on getting stronger, bigger and better, and all of those I mentioned are 300 lbs or more, with Mulbah reportedly one of the strongest players on the team.

At DE there are a good many candidates to break out than you mentioned. Tarburton is solid and very experienced, Vanover has gotten some playing time and has solid size, Vilbert after not showing much early in his PSU career had 3 sacks in the bowl game, the staff still is high on Fisher, and Townley has gotten mentioned as making strides and having great size for a DE. And lets face it, DDI is coming in to play and make an impact this coming season. The staff is also looking for a DE pass rusher in the Portal, but even without an incoming transfer (and I'm expecting the staff to bring one in) the DE cupboard is by no means bare. And the remaining talent is left after PSU putting 3 DE's into the NFL the past 2 seasons.

It's just the nature of college football that there is significant turnover due to graduation and then players having to step up and into significant playing time, and the additional transfer losses due to the transfer portal has made it even more prevalent for many teams.

I'm actually more concerned about the numbers, talent, and experience at LB........... Where have all the PSU 100+ tackles/year LB's gone????

 

[blion72]

I'm not quite as pessimistic as you seem to be.

I would venture that most teams have an easier time finding and developing top interior OL players compared to top OT's, as it seems there are just too few 6'-5" to 6'7" tall athletic olinemen coming out of high school. And this carries over to the NFL where top OT's are taken early in the draft and are a hot commodity in free agency, commanding top salaries.

But Fashanu looks the part and played well in the bowl game. Wallace didn't seem to play well in 2021 as most were expecting him to take a step forward from 2020, but another year with Trautwein should help him take a step forward this season. I thought Tengwall looked pretty good at OT when he played, and was expecting him to play OT. So the fact that the staff has instead chosen to play Tengwall at Guard, with so many other big guys available at Guard, tells me that the staff must have more confidence in Wallace that what some here (including me) would expect. Hopefully Christ and Traore have taken steps forward and are ready to play OT as well. It seemed that JB Nelson was coming in as an OT, but I believe I saw him on the 2 deep inside. McNeil and Shelton will be trying to compete at OT as well, and with Shelton being so highly rated maybe he is ready to really compete in 2023.

Big, athletic 1 technique DT's are as few and highly sought after as great OT's, so it's no surprise that even teams that recruit marginal top 10 average still don't have them stacked up. Top big DT's are game changers, and if Mustipher comes back healthy he'll solidify the middle of the PSU defense. Brevard seems to be an enigma, highly rated, big body, but just not ready to contribute in 2021 for reasons unknown to us. But he is still a candidate to back up Mustipher, along with Ellies, Izzard or the progressing Mulbah. So there are some candidates that have been working on getting stronger, bigger and better.

At DE there are a good many candidates to break out than you mentioned. Tarburton is solid and very experienced, Vanover has gotten some playing time and has solid size, Vilbert after not showing much early in his PSU career had 3 sacks in the bowl game, the staff still is high on Fisher, and Townley has gotten mentioned as making strides and having great size for a DE. And lets face it, DDI is coming in to play and make an impact this coming season. The staff is also looking for a DE pass rusher in the Portal, but even without an incoming transfer (and I'm expecting the staff to bring one in) the DE cupboard is by no means bare. And the remaining talent is left after PSU putting 3 DE's into the NFL the past 2 seasons.

It's just the nature of college football that there is significant turnover due to graduation and then players having to step up and into significant playing time, and the additional transfer losses due to the transfer portal has made it even more prevalent for many teams.

I'm actually more concerned about the numbers, talent, and experience at LB........... Where have all the PSU 100+ tackles/year LB's gone????

I agree with your re Tengwall, as i thought he would move to RT, and Wallace would move to guard. We will see. I am very optimistic re the guards.

re the DL - I think if PJ and Isaac were not coming off injuries, it would be more settled. We are not seeing PJ practicing, but more critical is he in the weight room at full tilt. In the weight training sessions on video, we did not see him lifting actual weight like so many other players. To some degree is was like he was off camera. Not even seeing anything from anther player putting up a twitter video of PJ lifting. the other guys you mention for the 1 tech are 3 tech body types.

 

[GregInPitt]

With TJ coming off an injury there is no reason for the staff to advertise his rehab, or what lifting he can and is doing. I fully expect him to be ready to go for the Fall. And with the numbers of experienced players at DT there is no reason to rush him back and over play him in the first game. Brevard is a big guy, and Mulbah is reportedly one of or possibly the strongest player on the team. Ellis and Izzard got a ton of experience last season after PJ got hurt and should be much better this season due to their experience and another off season in the S&C program.

Another blurb about the OL

Penn State spring practice progress report: What's up with the offensive line?

Penn State continues to cruise through spring practice on the way to the Blue-White game. Today, we look at the offensive line's progress.

www.on3.com