Questions for Penn State coaches ahead of spring practice: How will Phil Trautwein replace lost starters?
Penn State will enter spring practice next week with some position battles it can start to decide and others that will take beyond these upcoming 15 practices.
The offensive line has a mixture of both.
Head coach James Franklin’s team enters yet another set of drills with question marks along its offensive line. Three starters from last fall’s regular season are gone. At least one transfer is coming in. And, two full-time starters are back while one bowl game first-teamer returns, as well.
In the days before drills begin, Blue-White Illustrated is looking at the biggest question facing each member of Franklin’s staff. Phil Trautwein is in the spotlight today.
The Trautwein file
This is Trautwein’s third season at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions hired the two-time All-SEC pick as a player at Florida away from Boston College in 2018. The Voorhees, N.J., native started his coaching career with the Eagles as a graduate assistant. He then went to Davidson for his first full-time job as the program’s tight ends coach in 2016. He added the role of special teams coordinator in 2017 before returning to BC in 2018.
Trautwein is hoping to see a couple more of his pupils land in the pros during this year’s NFL Draft. Three of his Boston College players made it there. Michael Menet and Will Fries, then, were picked in 2021. This year, Rasheed Walker and Eric Wilson could hear their names called, among potential others.
What is the biggest question facing Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein this spring?
The biggest question facing Trautwein is how can he begin to retool things, and what does not having a transfer in town mean for spring practice?
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Olu Fashanu is penciled in at left tackle after he started the Outback Bowl loss to Arkansas. The third-year offensive lineman from Waldorf, Md., had the highest-graded pass blocking for Penn State, per Pro Football Focus, in the postseason. He also had the third-highest run grade.
Caedan Wallace is also back for another season and is expected to stay at right tackle. The Robbinsville, N.J., native is thought of as a better guard than tackle by some fans, but there is no expectation that he will move inside for his fourth season in blue and white.
Things are not as clear inside, to some extent. Landon Tengwall played guard and tackle in 2021 but is expected to be a guard this year. Juice Scruggs, then, should slide into center to replace Mike Miranda after playing guard last season. Most assume Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad will start at the other guard spot after arriving later this summer. But, Sal Wormley was thought to be a starter last year until he was hurt. So, he’ll try to take a spot if healthy enough to participate in spring practice. Bryce Effner is a multi-year member of the roster who could finally round into form to take a starting role, as well.
Lackawanna College transfer JB Nelson will be interesting to watch, too.
Another spring is here in the Franklin era, and there is again a strong likelihood that how the program exits the spring in the trenches could change by the time kickoff rolls around. Trautwein and the rest of the offense must do what they can, though, to answer this big question over the next month.
More spring practice questions
Penn State spring questions for coaches: What will Manny Diaz bring to the Nittany Lions?
Big questions facing Penn State’s coaching staff: Can Mike Yurcich right the ship in year two?
Picking the biggest question facing James Franklin entering Penn State spring practice
