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Senior Bowl EVP Jim Nagy focusing on the trenches during Ohio State-Penn State

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•10/17/23•

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Penn State head coach James Franklin shakes hands with Ohio State coach Ryan Day following the Buckeyes' 44-31 win last year at Beaver Stadium. (Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports)

Columbus, OH will be where the attention of the college football world lies on Saturday afternoon, with Ohio State hosting Penn State. A huge game not just in the Big Ten East race but on the national level as well. Whoever wins will be at the forefront of the conference’s chances of making the College Football Playoff.

A few players could earn some cash with a good performance. Plenty of scouts will be in attendance, getting a look at draft-eligible players from Ohio State and Penn State. Senior Bowl EVP Jim Nagy will be one of them, hoping to get a good look at both teams in the trenches.

“The offensive tackles for Penn State,” Nagy began during Tuesday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “Olu Fashanu is a great one and everyone talks about Olu but Caedan Wallace is a really good player as well. In the trenches, they’re against Ty Hamilton. But then in the second level, Steele Chambers, Tommy Eichenberg. Their two safeties that are going to be up there near the box. Josh Proctor is having a really cool, bounceback season after a little bit of a down year last year. Lathan Ransom has taken a nice step forward this year as a player.

“So, in the trench work. I think we’ll be focused on the guys inside.”

Fashanu is a name NFL scouts have been familiar with for quite some time. He could have entered the 2023 NFL Draft and likely would have been one of the first offensive tackles off the board. Instead, he decided to come back to play another season at Penn State.

In the latest mock draft from CBS Sports, Fashanu was projected to go No. 3 overall. Just an incredible talent, he will have another great test in front of him with the Ohio State defense.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, Nagy likes the front seven players Ohio State has at its disposal. Even some of the run-stopping safeties gain interest, with Penn State wanting to get the ground game going with their offensive line and fantastic running backs.

Yes, the game result will be the most important result to come out of Saturday’s game in the short term. But Nagy knows with a good performance against one another, the NFL will have a good understanding of what the Ohio State and Penn State players can bring to the table.