BWI Live: Can Penn State scheme around the loss of Olu Fashanu? | O-Line spring outlook
The Penn State offensive line is undergoing a massive change this offseason, with three starters moving on to the NFL. How will all of that shake out? With the shift to new Penn State offensive coordiantor Andy Kotelnicki, is there a way to mitigate the loss of tackles Olu Fashanu and Caedan Wallace? We’re talking about that today on the BWI Live Show. Join the show at 10 a.m. on YouTube or watch the replay embedded in this article.
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Penn State scheme could help mitigate the loss of Olu Fashanu
Earlier this week, we discussed the concept of working around the team’s new tackle situation with first-time starters Drew Shelton and Anthony Donkoh or Nolan Rucci by leaning into what Kotelnicki did best at Kansas: run the football. Successfully deploying the ground game keeps the team out of obvious passing situations, which was the strength of Fashanu.
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But what if you didn’t need those skills the same way? We’ve talked about this previously, but true passing situation opportunities can heavily influence the perception of a player’s skills. Last year, Fashanu saw 142 of PFF’s true passing situation blocks in Penn State’s run-first scheme, which equated to 57th among all Power Five tackles.
But Kansas had even fewer of those plays. Kansas left tackle Dominic Puni played in as many games as Fashanu and only had to block 86 times in obvious passing situations, which is tied for 122nd.
Check out the rest of the article here.
Running back depth could play a role in 2024
After discussing the offensive line and depth, we move on to the running back position. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are Penn State’s offensive focal points. But if the team regularly uses both of them, they will need depth assurances for injury. We look into how Quinton Martin and Cam Wallace will compete for the third and fourth running back jobs behind the starters.
Is there a path to the field for the freshman? We discuss Martin’s receiving ability and what a role for the 6-1 freshman would look like this season.
