Penn State football coach James Franklin heaped praise on the offensive line Monday, saying it could turn out to be one of the better groups in school history.
Five players who made at least six starts last season return for the second-ranked Nittany Lions, who will open their season as 44-point favorites against Nevada Saturday at 3:30 (TV-CBS) at Beaver Stadium.
“This group has a chance to be one of the better groups in the country,” Franklin said, “and one of the better groups that Penn State has ever had.
“It’s a group we take a lot of pride in. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point. We expect them to play at a really high level.”
Left tackle Drew Shelton, left guard Vega Ioane, center Nick Dawkins and right tackle Anthony Donkoh are considered the returning starters. Nolan Rucci started six games last season in place of Donkoh, who sustained an upper-body injury.
Donkoh might slide over to right guard, where Sal Wormley started every game before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent. In that case, Rucci would be the starter at right tackle.
But highly regarded sophomore Cooper Cousins and Texas A&M transfer T.J. Shanahan Jr. also are trying to start at right guard and will play a lot.
Former Parkland standout Nick Dawkins is back for his second season as Penn State’s starting center. (Barry Reeger – The Associated Press)
“We have a number of guys who we’re expecting big things from when you’re talking about Shelton, Vega, Dawkins, Donkoh, Rucci, Cousins and Shanahan,” Franklin said. “I would say they’re the seven guys we view as starters.
“There’s another group of guys who I think we can win games with in the Big Ten.”
That group includes former Wyomissing star J’ven WIlliams, who was a five-star prospect in the Class of 2023. Williams played in every game last season as a reserve and has received work at tackle and guard.
Shelton (Downingtown West), Dawkins (Parkland), Rucci (Warwick) and Cousins (Erie McDowell) also are Pennsylvania high school products.
“We’ll probably use different packages to get those (seven) guys on the field,” Franklin said. “We’ll rotate them as much as we can to keep them fresh and healthy, but not too much that it impacts the chemistry. That’s always the challenge.”
Penn State’s offensive line is rated No. 1 in the country by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and No. 2 by PickSix Previews and Lindy’s Sports.
The blockers will protect senior quarterback Drew Allar, considered one of the top passers in the country, and senior running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who are both coming off 1,000-yard seasons.
The Lions led the Big Ten in rushing last season with 202.3 yards per game and were third in total offense.
“With the two running backs we have and the quarterback,” Franklin said, “it puts those guys in a really good position to have successful years because it starts up front.”
He made it clear that Penn State has an eye on winning the Joe Moore Award for the first time since its inception in 2015. The award goes to the best offensive line in the country.
“Maybe my favorite award in all of college football is the Joe Moore Award because it’s not an individual award,” Franklin said. “It’s a group award, which is pretty cool.”
