Penn State Football - 2026 Offensive Line

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1:00Every team, every topic, everywhere. This is Belize. Hi everyone and welcome to State of State, a Penn State football show presented by Fandall, play your game. I'm your host Tom Hanoff and joined by former Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens. Today, we're taking a look at the 2026 offensive line for Penn State football. What can Penn State expect to put on that field at the starting five, but also what does the depth look like ultimately? The competition within the room is going to have a significant impact on what this season looks like for Penn State. I think there's confidence justifiably in quarterback Rocco Becht. There's confidence in the running aim, confidence in the tight end room, confidence of wide receiver, but still some questions to be answered.

2:01Of course, none of it goes anywhere without the offensive line. There's certainly talent, but what is it really going to look like? So we're going to try and dive into that today. Part of this is stemming from some news that broke last week and with our recording schedule, we're just kind of getting to it now. Tommy, veteran offensive lineman, expected right tackle for Penn State in 2026. Anthony Donco recently underwent a medical procedure according to the team and is expected to miss spring ball. Are you terribly concerned about that? Or is it just kind of like, hey, you know what, bubble wrap them, see in the fall? Yeah, that's more so with the way it would look in here. And it's kind of become a, I don't want to say a return theme, but there are a decent amount of guys that we're expecting to see a lot of football from in the fall that will be missing camp. And again, it's kind of one of those things where it's like, man, I wish they could be out there. Any reps are going to help, but you know, it's not the end of the world. Be a little bit more concerned if this was fall camp that they were missing. But at the end of the day, spring practice is just a fine tuning your skills,

3:04finding, you know, with the own field, more reps, you know, things like that. So not too concerned, but a long run. When it comes to a veteran like Donco, it's a couple of things. One, he sustained an injury in 2024, amidst the road game at Minnesota, and the rest of the season, it was Nolan Rucci who came in, stepped in and played well at Wright Tackle for the playoff run. Donco then returns in 2025 and they're trying to figure out the right combination during 2025, and that they had Donco at Guard, they had Rucci at Tackle, and they'd mix and match that quite a bit. They put Donco back at Tackle, and there was a bit of a revolving door to a degree. Donco being a veteran, and I would say Penn State's best offensive lineman heading into 2026, is this worrisome from an injury standpoint, and I think also, you know, you mentioned missing spring ball. This is going to be some change in terms of what the offense is going to look like, maybe not a gigantic chain from what Penn State's identity has been for the last few years,

4:06but still, it's a new coordinator, it's potentially new wrinkles to the playbook, any concern for a veteran like that trying to figure out the new things? I mean, yeah, that's kind of the biggest issue here is that, you know, it's new, there's a lot of new things going on, but if you are going to have one of the guys miss it and feel comfortable with them missing, I feel like it's Donco. I think that the guy that's been the leader of the room, I guess, and then we'll continue to be the leader of the room. You have to find different ways to lead, obviously, the spring, and you know, it's at least, I fall back on my own experiences, when I missed spring in both 18 and 19, you know, it kind of takes you out of necessarily, I guess, the driver, so you can say, and then puts you into a different type of role, I guess, that you still are involved, you're still in the meetings, you're still around the guys, so I don't want to say that he's going to turn into a coach, at least right now, but there's

5:07many things that he's learning, obviously, at the time, but continuing to stay with the guys, learn with them, just because, you know, you want to get continuity within the group, but ultimately, if he's not going to be able to get out there, his reps are going to have to come from his eyes and then the film group. And I have every confidence, Donco, is going to be able to fall along just fine. He's done very well as the system has changed over the years, and I think if he's a stabilizing presence there in the room during spring ball and then is able to step in and kind of play as more natural position, it seemed like a right tackle guard, it's not that he struggled mightily at that position, it was more so that tackle seems to fit him, and it's right tackle. And I think that's part of the degree of reasonable concern for Penn State fans going into 2026 is that you have an expectation that it could be Donco at right tackle, it could be Cooper Cousins at right guard. It's center and everything to the left that kind of makes people a little nervous because it is one of the more open competition times that I've seen

6:12recently for this offensive line, it feels like Tommy for the last handful of seasons, that a pretty good idea of who the guys are going to be, who the five are going to be. There was great continuity and familiarity there and having that chemistry is very important, but for the first time in a long time and part of it is the regime change. You're seeing potentially three to four positions along the offensive line being up for grabs. It's, man, and again, I keep falling back to this whole continuity thing, and getting the reps and being able to, say, lean on your guys, that talked about the combo blocks last time between the garden and the center, but there's also combos between the garden tackle, there's pulling schemes, there's all kinds of different things that you can do, and so not only are you trying to find the most talented players, we have to figure out who works well with each other as well, and so I think when you have guys that can play multiple positions that helps at really any position,

7:15but especially offensive line, it's really difficult for those guys to play multiple spots. It's easy as it may seem to the general public. It's not, I mean, sometimes it's hard for the right tackle, or I'd say oftentimes, hard for the right tackle to just flip over and go to the left tackle. You don't see that very much. So just having guys that are interchangeable, I guess, in there. That's the good news here, too, is that there are a lot of guys that you can kind of mess around with, play with, and this is kind of the best time to do it, at least in the spring, is to figure out what you have and who works well together. I want to start with left tackle, because for years, it's been an embarrassment of riches, and that you went from Olu Fashionew, who didn't allow a sack, I believe, for two years, if my memory serves me correctly, and then you ran into the Drew Shelton era, who spent a lot of time behind Fashionew and was learning, and Drew Shelton, I would not put in the same conversation as Fashionew, in terms of overall ability, but still that was stable at left

8:17tackle. So now you're going into a season where this very much feels like an open competition for left tackle. And there's plenty of ability to the point that you were making, some guys that are incumbent from Penn State from last year, in terms of Malachi. Goodman as a guy has been thrown out there, 66315 pounds, registered freshman, Owen LSEN, I hope I'm pronouncing his name correctly, listed at six seven, roughly 300 pounds, Garrett Sexton, who's had a lot of hype ever since high school, in the state of Wisconsin, Bredschert sophomore, six six, 300 pounds, Chimdi Ono is a guy who's been a part of the program, I think is probably going to be in the mix for a handful of different positions, and it's not to say that the transfers from Iowa State and a number of other schools won't be in the mix for that, but I think those are some of the names to look at there. Tommy, for you, in your time at so many different levels of the sport, whether it be college football, the NFL, CFL, as a right handed quarterback, like Rocco Becht is, when you're seeing that competition that left tackle, play out in spring ball and in fall camp, what's your process

9:22of evaluating that, not necessarily saying you're making the call on it, but looking there and being like, hey, this is not working, or this is working. Yeah, I mean, I think it's as simple as that, right? You know, if you're, you know, watching the tape or if you're actually in there and taking the reps, like, is this something that, like, are you feeling secure in the pocket? Are you feeling a sense of pressure or things getting through there? All these things are, I wouldn't even say going through your mind. It's probably more so something that you would, I guess, unless it's a problem. If it's a problem that it's going through your mind, but if it's a, you know, it's probably something that you're going to be able to evaluate on tape, at least from a quarterback perspective, right? There's a lot of things going on that you, you are trying to process and whatnot and, you know, I've been told that if your eyes are down, looking, you're, you're in trouble. So, I definitely think that it's a, if things are going well, it'll be something that they evaluate through the, the, the, the film of Depping said, I mean, I think that these guys are, yeah,

10:25kind of talked about this a little bit with the running backs, but, you know, these guys are for a reason, right? And they're all talented. You know, different skill sets, sure, different body types, sure. But ultimately, I mean, I think that these guys were brought here, especially a lot of the guys that were brought over from Iowa State for the vision that they have for the program. And they know a lot about what they have in these guys, they're bringing over to. So, yeah, man, I, of all the position groups, this one is probably the most exciting to me. I think you said it from the very beginning. You know, it might not be as maybe glamorous. It might not get the most clicks. It might, you know, people might not understand how significant the offensive line is, but you truly go as they go. They, they set, they take the tempo of the offense. And we have a lot of good football players in this group. So, I'm definitely excited about it and excited to see how it shapes up. When it comes to the competition at left tackle, I don't want to throw out. Will Tompkins, the Iowa State transfer elicited 6500. He could be in the mix

11:29for a couple different positions there. But do you take solace in the fact that there is such talent and depth in the tight end room that if Penn State gets into a situation where hey, left tackle is not as rock solid as right tackle. And then man, like we've been talking about it this whole off season, you can go 11 personnel, 1213. You can help chip on the left side. Maybe the gift of this offensive line in 26 is not past protection. Maybe Ryan Clanton and company are focusing more on running the football. I don't even think that's a maybe. I think that's very likely based on the size they've tried to recruit in the transfer portal for both sides of the line, but especially the offensive line. So, if anything, as a quarterback knowing it's like, hey, like by blind side, you use a little help. Well, congratulations. You've got Rapply A Pramer and Berkel there, potentially to help you out. Does does that make a difference for quarterback if the left side is a little questionable? Absolutely. And then you get the nail in the head. It's exactly where

12:30I was going to go with my next point. I was going to talk about how they can help these guys. And you know, having a lot of bigger body tight ends, not just pass catchers guys that are inline blockers can absolutely help. And like I know, there have been times in the past, different levels that I've been. If you've got, let's say, a stud defensive end that you don't want to, Joe Morehead always labeled them as game records. And you don't let the game records wreck the game. So, if you've got somebody that is potentially going to wreck the game, you're going to make his life as difficult as possible. It's just like anything else, right? And if you're going to make your adjustments, you know, you're going to try to attack them in their weak areas and not play to their strengths. So, you're going to get extra hits on them with the tight ends. You're going to, you know, just find ways to to irritate these guys and then not let them get into a groove because a lot of pass rushers will thrive off of, off of energy, right? Like, you know, you get, you know, they kind of start to feel. It's at the different position as far as like what you're

13:33able to work with as far as momentum goes. And I think a lot of pass rushing has to do with, you know, what you're able to identify early in the game. So, if you're constantly switching things up with them and then giving them different looks and then constantly just hit them, especially because, you know, maybe those power rushers or wouldn't be the good example to use here, but more of the finesse speed guys, those guys don't want to get hit. They don't, especially don't want to get chipped. They want to rush the pass or they want to bend the edge. They don't want to get sacks. So, anytime you can irritate those guys, it's so fun. It's, I love listening to those guys, you know, relax with a better term, get upset. After, you know, why do you guys keep chipping me? Like, it's, it's the greatest. You can tell it's very, very bothersome to them. And I, it's, it is a problem on either side of the offensive line that's an easy adjustment you can make. It's still in some extra tight embodies in there, getting a piece on them. And then quickly to stop the pass structure, run the ball right at them. So, we'll see what happens.

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17:05merchandise is available now support the show and grab state of state t shirts hoodies hats and more visit www.bluewhiteoutfitters.com today we have a pretty strong indication that they're going to want to run the football heavily this upcoming season and hit a whole piece about the running backs in terms of being able to help along the offensive line if it comes past protection yes just tight end but Carson Hanson is a bigger body more stout running back not to say he's a squatty potty or anything like that but he's very capable in the running game but he's also a tough hard nose dude and he's a little he's thick in a good way that if he can contribute in past protection and I think that's just kind of a universal thing when it comes to running backs and Penn State's been pretty good about that the past in the James Franklin era at least most of the running back coaches do on cider especially were of the mind of if you don't past protect you don't play so there are accept yeah not to say say while Barkley was not good in

18:07past protection he got better at it with with his career but at first it was like hey this 26 kids got a lot of ability let's just get them involved and you figure things out but point being for guys like Cam Wallace and Quint Martin Jr who could be trying to fight for snaps behind James peoples and Carson Hanson how do you get yourself on the field you past protect so that could be some solutions there at left tackle if there are any concerns but I feel like Penn State has talent at the position it's just unproven talent and we just have to learn more spring ball starts on March 24th culminates with blue white weekend April 25th and then fall camp so I want to look at left guard the anticipation is that this could be Trevor Burr the transfer from Iowa State as 12 starts of the last two seasons he started the last six games in 2024 started in 2025 as well and then came out due to injury so kind of the theme of this offseason a lot of players with their at Penn State before or other places we're covering from injury during

19:08the winter and just trying to get ready for fall camp so hoping that acclimation process is all right Burr was a all big 12 honorable mention in 2025 a lot of experience at playing left guard so could be somebody that's in the mix just in terms of interior offensive line spots because I'm not trying to sit here and say yep it's a lock that cousins it isn't right guard for instance but Trevor Burr feels like a viable commodity at that position and there's plenty of other offensive lineman that Penn State is going to potentially trot out there in the tackle competition that I've already mentioned some guys that are transfers like vea I hope I'm not pronouncing his last name incorrectly I I coca la I I'm just gonna say vea I think that might be six three three three fifty five from Iowa State so he's gonna be eerily reminiscent body type wise to Vega Yuanay who is probably gonna be a first round pick here within a month so it feels like guard is just gonna be it feels like guard is going to be pretty comfortable at least I feel like there's

20:15some security knowing that it could be Burr in cousins is the two primary guards yeah I have to wait and see what the competition looks like but from looking at this roster how do you think left guard could shake out I think that's that was the perfect way of putting it I like watching the little bits of is it a Burr right I like watching him big strong guys play a lot of ball and then obviously a guy they like to to bring him over and they they feel good about him they brought him along with so I definitely feel good about where the guards are I think more I don't want to say concerned it's just you kind of said unproven right yeah an uncertainty maybe that's the best way of putting it at the you know left apple and in the center that's more so where we're at and I think the guards are are both very very good players and can compliment each other very well so yeah those I would be very happy with with those guys being my guards again a wide open competition as we get

21:19into spring ball here in a couple of weeks and then at center this one's interesting to me because Dominic Rooley has been a part of the Penn State program for a while he stepped in in the pinstripe bowl Nick Dawkins did not compete in pinstripe bowl was sitting out to get ready for the NFL draft and we wish him the best luck hope that he's selected but looking at this there was some news of that Penn State grab Brock Riker in the transfer portal from Texas State Riker played a lot in his inaugural campaign starting center the one piece of information that's come out and credit to our good friend Thomas Frank Hart from Blueite illustrated with on three saying that while Riker's listed a 285 he probably played most of the season at 275 and it was obvious on tape to those that are great tape analysts and I'll defer to those people saying hey you know he obviously got a lot of experience and he's smart but being able to hold up his body is just still acclimating to the college game okay so now you go from Texas State to Penn State

22:23so you kind of have to spend a little bit of time a training table in the weight room not to say that he won't but that's why when a workout in spring ball are going to be so important for Brock because if it's going to be a true competition for instance between Rulie and Riker Rulie might have a little bit of a lead having played some big 10 ball and been around this offense rotated in in terms of the interior of the offensive line a number of times in 2025 Riker yes I got I understand he got him in the transfer portal but you have experience with playing behind what you might describe as an undersized center yeah yeah for sure and I think another thing to add in is both these guys are going to a new system yeah for those that don't know there are a lot of responsibilities from the center now things can change obviously based on how they do their system which I don't know personally but you know for example like you've got a lot of o-line calls that will come from the center and so you get two guys that are both learning a new system that's another huge piece to this who's going to pick up the system faster

23:24who's going to make I don't know more consistent you know line calls who's going to and if they do mic points and and then what not I'm not sure how they how they do it but a lot of responsibility comes from the center then labeled as the quarterback of the offensive line essentially right and so I think when people talk about center play they don't really mention much about how important intelligence is with that as well so what to see with that for both those guys but yeah as far as the maybe undersized piece people can look back to 2016 with Brian Gaia and you know Brian great teammate awesome guy great to me he was one of the older guys in the room I believe he was a fifth year senior I might write your freshman year so much older than I am but you know Brian was was a guy that that struggled with weight as well and was constantly trying to you know stay you know above a certain threshold of weight right and over the course of season that can be tough especially when you know you aren't maybe lifting as much as you would in comparison to

24:30the spring in the winter just because you're more so maintaining in the fall you're not really trying to squat max bench max during the season right and so keeping on that weight can be tough especially during maybe camp where it's hot out and you're sweating a lot so I guess I guess what I'm getting at here is it can be done and and if if this is the direction that Penn State goes with with Ryker and maybe it's a little undersized again this guy's always going to be pretty much involved very rarely will he be I don't know singled up unless they're just constantly in a bear front which is we're just lined up head up over every offensive line and very rarely will he be one on one I would say and if they do that that creates different opportunities for Penn State run game but regardless it can be done he'll be matched up with both those behemoths at guard so with that's the direction that they go there so it can be done and and I wouldn't say it's a reason

25:31to be concerned sure you'd rather have you know the perfect prototypical size guy had every position but you know not to say there haven't been undersized guys that that have performed well over the years so both guys are very very talented and maybe if not the biggest competition I would say of the offseason for the offense who's going to play center. Ryker was coveted in the transfer portal and I know a lot of people will go to gopsuseports.com and look at the roster and say we'll really listed it to 95 and Ryker's listed it to 85 these listings can be fudged a little bit incredible information to say like hey this is what Ryker was playing at last year so it's that juxtaposition of like hey it's really a shoot to 95 or is it to 90 is he to 85 there's another guy who's probably got to do a little work in the weight room this offseason not to say that he wasn't already doing it but he's a red shirt senior he's played more at the big 10 level he's played more for Penn State within its old systems but then you have that

26:31counter of Ryker getting the all of last season to be the guy at a young age so that's an exciting competition I really am curious to see how that plays out because again if you're going to have great size roughly 300 to 320 pounds at guard on out then you're going to be able to push people around in the run game hopefully but all of that has to start at the center of the past protection things we talked about earlier on in the show before we get out of here I want to give a little love to our friends at Fandall in one week March madness gets underway so I'm curious Tommy who do you think wins it all right now Michigan is in the lead according to Fandall plus 300 then Duke Arizona Florida Houston and Illinois in that order have you been watching a lot of college basketball up in Canada not a ton man it's hard to believe it's already March like it was just New Year's so yeah I don't care how much of the favorite Michigan is on

27:33a lot of room so it's fair yeah so and it feels awful saying this like I'm going to go from that to to picking Duke but I have had a chance to watch Duke they've been pretty impressive so I'll go with them Duke's been impressive I think Florida has the the core to put it all together but still Duke it's hard to bet against that in my opinion so yeah we encourage all of you to go to Fandall and play your game whether it's on Canadian football league futures with our buddy Tommy Stevens or looking at March madness here coming up so we're looking forward to having things regarding college football to talk about with our good friend Fandall in the near future as always getting our comment section on YouTube tell us what you would like to hear about during the off season we're in March and we're so looking forward to the end this month once spring ball gets underway and it's not injury news of who's missing it but who's actually taking part and how do they look so thank you all for joining us he's Tommy Stevens I'm Tom Hanuffin this has been

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