Penn State is set for a fascinating position battle at tackle, and the Lions hope to learn lots about it this spring
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is set to have many fascinating position battles this spring once practices begin Tuesday afternoon. The 14 that follow the first one will help set a baseline for players across the roster. It will also aid the coaching staff in setting the depth chart ahead of the 2023 season.
One of the more interesting fights for a first-team spot comes at right tackle. Veteran Caedan Wallace, who missed time down the stretch last year but did return for the Rose Bowl, wants to retake his starting spot. Second-year Nittany Lion Drew Shelton wants it, too, however. He’ll move over to that side of the line after starting numerous games at left tackle in the final month of the regular season and in the postseason.
Penn State will be seeking to figure out the order behind them, as well. The question is a simple one: Do the Lions have enough game-ready tackles on the roster? Or, can the program find a fourth player it feels good enough about to play behind those two and Olu Fashanu, who will start on the left side?
“This spring and summer camp, Drew will be competing for a starting job, and that’s what we have to figure out: Is there a fourth tackle on the roster?” head coach James Franklin said Tuesday. “What I hope is that there is five. You’d like to have a 2.5-deep at every position.
“But, if there’s not, there needs to be at least a third guy that we think we can win with, with a fourth guy who’s developing, if that makes sense. So right now, Drew will be at right tackle competing.”
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Penn State has options as practices begin
Penn State has plenty of bodies who will battle to be the fourth or fifth tackle. Whether or not any of them will be ready for game action by the end of the spring, however, is unclear.
Veteran Jimmy Christ, January enrollee Jven Williams, and walk-on second-year Lion Jim Fitzgerald figure to be the main competitors for the second-string left tackle job. On the right side, January enrollee Alex Birchmeier and fourth-year Lion Ibrahim Traore will likely work behind the Wallace/Shelton tandem. Whether they will become the fourth and fifth tackle is unknown. But, how things play out on the left and right sides between now and the middle of April will be worth tracking closely.
“We’re going to try to figure out if we can create a competition to figure out who is that fourth tackle?” Franklin said. “Or, second left tackle, however you want to look at it?
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Obviously, you’d love to be in a situation and feel like you got four tackles you can play with at this level.”
