James Franklin: Nolan Rucci is 'thriving' after transfer to Penn State

As he heads into his fourth season looking for more playing time up front on the offensive line, Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci is doing all the right things at Penn State.

Coach James Franklin even intimated that Rucci could potentially lock down a starting job in fall camp.

“He’s competing for a starting job right now,” Franklin said. “He is happy and healthy. I have a very strong relationship with both his mom and dad. Both are Penn State alums. Both are former athletes at Penn State. It’s been very clear to me that Nolan is thriving right now.”

Nolan Rucci made relatively little impact at Wisconsin in his three years on campus.

He redshirted during the 2021 campaign, then appeared in just three games as a reserve in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. That’s hardly the credentials of a guy you’d consider a shoo-in to be a starter on the offensive line.

But according to Franklin, all Nolan Rucci has done since he arrived is work.

“When you talk to our strength coaches, he’s thriving,” Franklin said. “You talk to his parents, he’s thriving. And I thought he did enough this spring to give himself a ton of confidence and also give us a ton of confidence as coaching staff that he’s got a chance to play for us and play at a high level, allow us to win games in the Big Ten.”

Nolan Rucci was a former five-star prospect out of high school, rated as the No. 18 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class.

He also checked in as the No. 4 offensive tackle in his class and the top overall player from the state of Pennsylvania, hailing from Lititz (PA) Warwick.

Penn State will be looking to take the next step forward in 2024 after a couple years of winning a considerable amount of games but failing to beat the most difficult opponents on the schedule.

Up first for the Nittany Lions will be a contest against West Virginia on Aug. 31.