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Landon Tengwall, encouraged by first-year development, eager for round two

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•07/05/22•

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Landon Tengwall watches teammates ahead of last week's Lift for Life on Penn State's campus. (T. Frank Carr/BWI)

The question warranted Landon Tengwall’s quick response. Weeks ahead of the beginning of his second season at Penn State, one in which he’s expected to earn a starting job on the offensive line, his enthusiasm for the upcoming opportunity is palpable.

But, would he have preferred to play last season?

“Of course, you always want to play,” Tengwall said. “But I was playing my role. I just wanted to do whatever Coach Franklin, Coach Traut, Coach Yurcich, whatever they wanted me to do. I was going to do it to the best of my ability.”

Landon Tengwall’s first season

Earlier this summer, offensive line coach Phil Trautwein acknowledged that, in many ways, Penn State’s coaching staff wanted the same last season.

Crediting the versatile guard’s early enrollment for development that positioned Tengwall to potentially contribute in his first year, the cost outweighed the benefit of preserving the redshirt season.

“We thought about it,” Trautwein said. “I think we were thinking about it, but I think we also knew that it would be the best thing for him to get him in games and try to keep that redshirt if we can. 

“Him coming early helped a lot. He got a lot of playing time in that spring, he got a lot of reps. And then coming into the season, he was pretty far ahead of a lot of freshmen. So being able to play him in three, four games, and being able to play him for 100-some snaps, I think, is huge for him.”

Tengwall saw action in three games to close out the season. 

Beginning with Penn State’s 28-0 win over Rutgers, he saw 63 snaps, then followed it with split reps at left tackle. Eventually working bowl practices at left and right guard, and backup left and right tackle, Tengwall has repped nearly everywhere on the line. 

Next steps

He’ll bring that versatility and mental recognition to the table as he prepares for preseason camp next month. But in making improvements throughout the experience, Tengwall now can see his year on the sidelines as a benefit to his career. 

“I was able to travel all the away games. And, towards the end, I got to play,” he said. “It was a great experience coming into this year and I think it’s gonna help me feel a lot more comfortable coming into this year.”

Motivated to deliver those improvements from last season into on-field results, Tengwall added that his teammates are in the same boat.

Determined to create better outcomes than those that defined the 2021 season up front, it’s a day-by-day mindset, he said, that has guided the group through its summer workouts. And maybe, more importantly, those summer workouts have already produced dividends.

“I think we’re definitely very focused,” he said. “I think we know what needs to be done this season. We have the ability to do it. We know we have the ability to do it. So I think we’re always just excited. 

“We were just talking about that. We’re all itching to get to camp. We’re excited. We know what we need to do, we just want to showcase it.”

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