Penn State football: More questions than answers on the offensive front line after Week 1

Bryce Effner came through for Penn State in a big way.

Apparently, the 6-5, 287-pound redshirt senior provides offensive line coach Phil Trautwein with his only reliable reserve among the 15 linemen who aren’t part of the team’s main 6-man rotation. Even with 21 rostered players in his room, Trautwein has sparse options outside his regulars. Only 5 of the bench players, including Effner, are at least 3 years out of high school. And 1 of those, junior college transfer JB Nelson, was dealing with physical issues as the season began Thursday night at Purdue. Nine are true freshmen.

Head coach James Franklin talked up his team’s depth in the preseason, and backed up that talk by playing most of the players on the 2-deep in the tense, back-and-forth Big Ten road victory in West Lafayette, Ind. The Lions even went 3 or more deep at some spots.

But not on the o-line. And that has been and will continue to be an issue, because at least 1 of the starters really needs to be pushed, if not replaced.

… This is the part of the story where I feel obligated to say that I am not an expert on offensive line play, just an observer who’s followed this team with a critical eye for some time now. … 

Caedan Wallace, starting his 21st game at right tackle, looked awful. The coaching staff must have agreed, because the 6-5, 324-pounder didn’t play during the final 4 possessions of Thursday night’s 35-31 victory. Effner took his place.

“Obviously, Caedan’s got some things he’s got to work on,” Franklin conceded in his postgame media session.

The line for those final 4 drives included starters Olu Fashanu at LT, Juice Scruggs at C and Sal Wormley at RG. Hunter Nourzad, the grad transfer from Cornell, was in at LG in place of redshirt freshman first-time starter Landon Tengwall.

Nourzad played throughout the evening, rotating in at both guard spots, spelling both Tengwall and Wormley. Effner also saw action before the home stretch, taking the field as a 6th offensive lineman as 2nd-year offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich tried out a heavy package — with some success — in short yardage situations. The formation included not only Effner but 2 tight ends, in one case with all 3 of them snugged up to the right of Wallace. The strategy worked to convert a 3rd-and-1 with a Kaytron Allen run, and later on a key 4th-and-2 when Sean Clifford hit Devyn Ford with a play-action swing pass.

The final stats didn’t look great for a much-maligned line that everyone from Franklin to the equipment manager agrees needs to be much better than last year’s version. The team finished with 98 rushing yards on 3.1 per carry, and no back had more than 10 carries or 31 yards. Keyvone Lee had the only run of 10+ yards, a second-half jaunt that went for 12.

Squint hard enough, though, and one can see a silver lining. Penn State’s highly touted freshman backs, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, both ripped off 9-yard gains on their first college touches. The ground yards were hard to come by after that, but the efforts did keep the ball away from dynamic Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell for all but 13 minutes of the first half. Tengwall looked strong early; he probably gave way to Nourzad late because the veteran was a better option for a pass-heavy, late-game situation.

The bigger concern: What’s going on with Wallace? He left the game for good shortly after surrendering Purdue’s only sack. Defensive end Scotty Humpich blew past Wallace with a simple speed rush.

https://youtu.be/jS7MlhHBK4Q?t=1244

Earlier, Wallace was called for holding, a penalty that was declined because Penn State’s 3rd-down pass was incomplete anyway. If Penn State’s most experienced lineman grades out as its worst starter in the season-opener, the depth issue is even worse than was thought.

At least Effner, the program’s plug-and-play big man, is still around. He’s appeared in 24 games since 2019, including 2 starts at left tackle last year in place of Rasheed Walker, the latest PSU lineman to close his college career with a whimper. Effner entered the game for the first time as a 6th lineman on the Lions’ third possession. He was in the game in place of Wallace on the final drive of the half, and sprinted down the field to be one of the first Lions to greet Brenton Strange after his 67-yard touchdown reception. Down 14 pounds from his listed weight 2 years ago, No. 72 was moving well.

Because Effner stayed ready while garnering little mention in the preseason, Penn State should be all right if Wallace has an issue that causes him to miss time, or just continues to struggle. But then the question will be: Who the heck gives Effner a blow? After having to fight his way onto the field repeatedly since arriving in Happy Valley in 2018, maybe the Illinois native will insist he doesn’t need any more rest. Wouldn’t that set a tone?

Luke Glusco

Luke Glusco is a Penn State graduate and veteran journalist. He covers Penn State and occasionally writes about other Big Ten programs and topics. He also serves as the primary copy editor for Saturday Tradition.