Penn State searching for flexibility with OL J'ven Williams
Penn State has recruited no shortage of coveted offensive line prospects in recent years. The Nittany Lions’ most recent five-star addition, Erie, Pa., native Cooper Cousins, has earned plenty of praise from head coach James Franklin and others this fall, but Wyomissing native J’ven Williams is another player of note who should see his role increase this fall.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, Williams was the No. 1 ranked interior offensive lineman in the country for the Class of 2023, but his length was still sufficient enough for Penn State assistant coach Phil Trautwein to give him a shot at offensive tackle to begin his high school career.
Now, as Blue White Illustrated originally noted over a week ago, Williams has been working inside more to help provide cover for Vega Ioane and Saleem Wormley at guard. So far, the feedback has been positive.
“We try to create as much position flexibility with the offensive linemen as we possibly can, to be able to solve problems, but also to be able to look at guys at different spots,” Franklin said recently. “Some guys, you’re surprised. You put them at tackle, and they’re comfortable in space. [Anthony] Donkoh, in high school, never played tackle. Really, for most of his freshman year, hadn’t played tackle. We moved him there in one-on-ones one day in practice. He does a really good job at it and takes off from there.
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“J’ven, we kind of moved into guard. You’re not sure how he’s going to handle that, and sometimes, the lack of space makes them more comfortable. He’s shown signs that I think he can do both. So for us, we’re just trying to create as much position flexibility.”
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Feedback out of camp suggests that Penn State’s staff feels comfortable rotating around eight or nine of its offensive linemen this fall if needed. In addition to Ioane, Wormley, Donkoh and Drew Shelton, the staff also feels comfortable playing Nick Dawkins, Cooper Cousins, Nolan Rucci and JB Nelson. All of them should see plenty of reps this season.
“I think we have a chance to have eight guys,” Franklin said. “I think we’ll have more than two tackles play, [and] I think we’ll have at least three guards play. And I think we’ll have two centers play. How much? We’ll see. We still got a ton of work to do between now and then, but I think we probably have a little bit more depth than we’ve had in the past. That’s a good thing.”
That number could potentially grow as well. Williams is right on the bubble of being that ninth contributor, while walk-on Dominic Rulli and even true freshman Eagan Boyer have shown signs that they can handle their own if needed this fall.
“I think we have more answers right now inside,” Franklin said. “We want to make sure we have enough answers outside. So, JB [Nelson] getting some more reps at tackle, which we think he can do, has been valuable.”
