Penn State teammates praise offensive line, predict a strong group in 2024

The Penn State offensive line is possibly one of the biggest wildcards on the team roster for the 2024 season. The group has impressive talent, with several positions stocked with four- and five-star talent. But that talent is still somewhat young and unproven. But don’t worry—that group will be ready, according to a defensive lineman who sees them daily in practice. 

“If you’re talking about drop off, there’s not much of a dropoff, you know. Coach [Phil] Trautwein and the offense is doing a very good job of replacing players and putting them in positions to succeed,” defensive tackle Dvon Ellies said. 

While it’s very optimistic to think that the team won’t suffer any dropoff from losing All-American Olu Fashanu and veteran Caedan Wallace, it’s worth discussing the optimism surrounding the Penn State offensive line this spring. 

Sal Wormely wants to take his game to a new level

We’ll start with veteran right guard Sal Wormley, who is back for a sixth season at Penn State. He has a mission and a plan for how to improve. 

“Just being more physical in all aspects. I really just want to put that on tape showing me fishing guys driving guys out the way out the hole. Just being more physical as a whole,” Wormley said. “I think got another level that I can get to.”

There aren’t any easy metrics to gauge physicality or run-blocking dominance for offensive linemen. So, it’s hard to set a baseline for Wormley’s aims at improving. PFF’s run-blocking grades are a rough approximation of overall effectiveness, even if they lack usage context. 

For the past two seasons, Wormley has earned a 62.5 and a 60.3 overall run blocking grade in 2022 and 2023. For those unaware, 60 is the median for grades, meaning anything below that is considered a “negative grade.”” So, Wormley has essentially been a functional run blocker for Penn State who has yet to contribute meaningful, game-changing run blocks. 

However, he ended 2023 with a standout performance against Ole Miss: an 85.1 grade. He says Trautwein is pushing him to get more games like that. 

“He harps on it every day. I can have a good rep- [he says] ‘Drive him farther, you can drive him farther, I know you can.’ So he harps on it every day, and I’m taking his coaching.”

Anthony Donkoh gets stamp of approval from Caedan Wallace 

Speaking of the bowl game, Wallace gave his impression of Penn State redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh’s performance during his post-Pro Day interview. 

“I think he did amazing. It’s not easy to start at tackle in the Big Ten or really anywhere. But starting in the Big Ten in the bowl game, playing an SEC opponent, The lights were on, and Donkoh shined, Wallace said. “And I think that’s just a stepping stone and what he’s going to do this spring.”

Speaking of tackles, Wallace also has confidence in swing-linemen JB Nelson. Wallace thinks Nelson can fill in for injured left tackle Drew Shelton this spring. 

“I would say JB is another guy who’s really versatile, really dynamic. So he’s able to jump around and do just about everything. I haven’t seen him snap but I’ve seen him do pretty much everything on the field other than, like, snap.” 

Cooper Cousins hype train continues

For a complete look at Cooper Cousins’ impact on Penn State football this spring, check out Nate Bauer’s piece on him. Yet, to leave him out of this roundup would be to leave it incomplete. Here’s what Ellies said about Cousins after the second open practice of spring football. 

“I’m really impressed with Cooper Cousins. That’s gonna be a guy right there. You guys should lock in on him. Cooper Cousins. He’s gonna work really hard. He’s in there every day. He might even be in there longer than me. I’m not even sure. But he’s definitely putting in the work. A lot of work that most freshmen wouldn’t really put in when they first get here. So I’m really excited about Cooper Cousins.”

Will all of these players take the proverbial next step this year? It’s hard to tell, but odds are, not every player will have a breakout 2024 season. However, according to their current and former Penn State teammates, Trautwein has great options to work with this year.