Olu Fashanu named first-team Walter Camp All-American
Penn State football has its latest first-team All-American. Announced Friday evening, left tackle Olu Fashanu has been named to the 2023 Walter Camp All-America first-team offense. The effort follows up Fashanu’s second-team recognition from the 2022 season.
The distinction is just the latest for Fashanu, who has racked up loft praise for his performance this season.
Immediately following the Nittany Lions’ regular season, he was named the Big Ten’s Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year. He was also a unanimous all-conference selection by both the coaches and media.
The culmination of his fourth year in the program, returning for the 2023 season despite draft projections for the first round of last year’s NFL Draft. Determined to make improvements on that performance, Fashanu has accomplished as much.
“He’s playing at a high level, [and] he’s working on the things he needs to work on: His punch, anchor, footwork, and pad level,” said Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. “He’s playing really consistently and has continued to get better and better. That’s his mindset, to show everyone he can do that week after week.”
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A sentiment that carried through from last offseason until now, it has served Fashanu well.
“I don’t really pay attention to the media stuff. I just know for myself that, if I spend too much time concerning myself with the opinions of people outside of Lasch, it could potentially be something to distract me,” Fashanu said last summer. “So, I think a huge part of that is just not paying attention to anything like that. Being present minded and just being focused on the matchup ahead. I think that definitely helped during the season. With us having a game every week, it gave me another reason to not pay attention to what anyone says on Twitter or Instagram, but for me to just focus on my opponent. I think that definitely helped a lot.”
Fashanu lands at No. 7 on Mel Kiper’s Big Board
From the latest look at the top prospects ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft:
“Fashanu, widely considered the top tackle in the class after passing up the draft a year ago, remains just that: The top tackle in his class. Kiper sees no reason not to spend a high draft pick on the massive, athletic Fashanu.
“Kiper wrote how highly he thinks of Fashanu: “In any other class — a class without Williams and Harrison — he’d be the easy pick as the No. 1 overall prospect. That’s what kind of talent he has. Fashanu has the size, footwork and physical traits teams wanted in a high-end left tackle. He moves effortlessly and with urgency, getting his hands on second-level defenders with ease. The exciting part? Fashanu is still developing. He has started just 20 games, including eight last season, and doesn’t turn 21 years old until December.”
