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Penn State offensive lineman JB Nelson to return to the Nittany Lions in 2025

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•about 8 hours•

GregPickel

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Offensive lineman JB Nelson (Credit: Steve Manuel | Blue White Illustrated)

Penn State is getting a second offensive lineman back who had a stay-or-go decision to make in 2025. Swing guard/tackle JB Nelson is returning for a final season, he announced on Wednesday. The 6-foot-5, 326-pound blocker has one season remaining. He joins center Nick Dawkins in coming back to school for position coach Phil Trautwein.

A Pittsburgh, Pa., native, Nelson dealt with some injuries in 2024, resulting in playing just 228 snaps compared to the 417 he took a year ago. Teammates around him staying healthy also contributed to the drop in snaps. But, he’s a key cog in the rotational and also receives plenty of work on special teams.

The Nittany Lions have received plenty of good news on the return to school front this week. Besides Nelson and Dawkins, defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton, Zane Durant, and Smith Vilbert are coming back, as are quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and safety Zakee Wheatley.

There are more announcements still to come for Penn State

With Dawkins and Nelson back, Penn State fans will now wait to see if tackles Drew Shelton and Nolan Rucci plus guard Vega Ioane return before the program can fully set its very early offensive line depth chart for the 2025 season.

In terms of other positions, it is also still waiting to see if receiver Liam Clifford is coming back. The same goes for defensive tackle Alonzo Ford and defensive end Zuriah Fisher, who are also among the players with decisions to make, too. You can see the full list of those as of 4:18 p.m. ET on Jan. 15 below:

C Nick Dawkins: Returning for the 2025 season
S Zakee Wheatley: Returning for the 2025 season.
DL Smith Vilbert: Returning for the 2025 season.
OL JB Nelson: Returning for the 2025 season.
QB Drew Allar: Returning for the 2025 season.
RB Nicholas Singleton: Returning for the 2025 season.
RB Kaytron Allen: Returning for the 2025 season.
DE Dani Dennis-Sutton: Returning for the 2025 season.
DT Zane Durant: Returning for the 2025 season.
LB Dom DeLuca: Returning for the 2025 season.
P Riley Thompson: Returning for the 2025 season.
LS Tyler Duzansky: Returning for the 2025 season.
K/P Gabe Nwosu: Returning for the 2025 season.

Leaving for the NFL Draft:

CB Jalen Kimber: Declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.
S KJ Winston: Declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.
DE Abdul Carter: Declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.
LB Kobe King: Declared for 2025 NFL Draft.

No announcement yet about their future:

C/G Vega Ioane: No announcement yet.
OT Drew Shelton: No announcement yet.
DE Zuriah Fisher: No announcement yet.
DT Alonzo Ford: No announcement yet.
K Sander Sahaydak: No announcement yet.
TE Khalil Dinkins: No announcement yet.
WR Trey Wallace: Entering the NCAA transfer portal.
WR Liam Clifford: No announcement yet.
OT Nolan Rucci: No announcement yet.

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