Penn State football winter workouts: Olu Fashanu takes plaudits

Penn State football’s fourth on-field winter workout offered outsiders some more insight into which players are standing out so far this offseason.

Nittany Lion assistant coaches logged onto Twitter Thursday to congratulate the premier performers at each position group from Thursday’s session.

Notably, redshirt sophomore Olu Fashanu earned top honors from offensive line coach Phil Trautwein.

Fashanu started at left tackle for Penn State in its Outback Bowl defeat to Arkansas in Rasheed Walker’s absence, and he acquitted himself well. He finished that game with a 71.6 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, and an 87.5 pass-block grade.

In total, Fashanu played 85 snaps on offense for the Nittany Lions this season — all of which came at left tackle.

With Walker moving onto the NFL, Fashanu is a player Penn State needs to see growth from. So, while reading too much into Tweets from assistant coaches seems somewhat silly, this is nevertheless an encouraging sign.

“Olu was going to start during the year. Now we’re in a position obviously that he’s going to do it on Saturday,” James Franklin said before the Outback Bowl. “We have a lot of faith and confidence in him. It’s going to be exciting to watch him go out and play. He’s had a really good week of practice.”

Similarly, fans can take some encouragement from Landon Tengwall’s winter performance, after he was recognized by Trautwein following Tuesday’s workout.

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A true freshman last season, Tengwall was a four-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus and the No. 72 overall recruit in the 2021 cycle.

Tengwall played 117 snaps on offense spread out over three games to retain his redshirt. He played at left tackle for the Nittany Lions in Week 12, when neither Walker nor Fashanu was available.

In the bowl game, he played 16 snaps at left guard and 20 snaps at right guard.

“I thought Landon came in as a freshman and played really well,” Franklin said. “We were very, very pleased and very impressed with him. There were a lot of moving parts that magnified it against a team that I think plays good defense and is physical and tough. We were very pleased with Landon.”

If Penn State’s offensive line is to improve, these two will likely have something to do with it.

Other workout warriors

Redshirt freshman quarterback Christian Veilleux claimed the honors for Thursday’s workout.

At running back, redshirt sophomore Caziah Holmes unseated Keyvone Lee for the first time.

Malick Meiga became the fourth different wideout to win the day, and Theo Johnson was recognized at tight end by Ty Howle for the third time already in four workouts.

Exciting defensive end Zuriah Fisher claimed plaudits from John Scott Jr. for the second time. Curtis Jacobs did the same at linebacker.

Walk-on Sebastian Constantini impressed Anthony Poindexter on Thursday, while sophomore kicker Sander Sahaydak was recognized by new ST coordinator Stacy Collins.

Penn State winter workout standout selections

Quarterback: Sean Clifford (2/8) (2/15), Christian Veilleux (2/10) (2/17),

Running back: Keyvone Lee (2/8) (2/10) (2/15), Caziah Holmes (2/17)

Receiver: Jaden Dottin (2/8), Harrison Wallace (2/10), KeAndre Lambert-Smith (2/15), Malick Meiga (2/17)

Tight end: Tyler Warren (2/8), Theo Johnson (2/10) (2/15) (2/17)

Offensive line: Juice Scruggs (2/8), Caedan Wallace (2/10), Landon Tengwall (2/15), Olu Fashanu (2/17)

Defensive line: Nick Tarburton (2/8), Zuriah Fisher (2/10) (2/17), Zane Durant (2/15)

Linebacker: Jonathan Sutherland (2/8), Tyler Elsdon (2/10), Curtis Jacobs (2/15)(2/17)

Corner: Kalen King (2/8), Johnny Dixon (2/10)

Safety: Ji’Ayir Brown (2/8), Jaylen Reed (2/10), Ji’Ayir Brown (2/15), Sebastian Constantini (2/17).

Special teams: Punter Barney Amor (2/8), Kicker Jake Pinegar (2/10), Snapper Chris Stoll (2/15), Kicker Sander Sahaydak (2/17)