ALTOONA, Pa. -- No group felt the ramifications of missed practices and no offseason more than those lining up along the offensive line for Penn State. It's also no surprise that when those up front settled in, the Nittany Lions won football games.
With no offseason and limited opportunities for offensive line coach Phil Trautwein to make his mark, it took quite a bit of time for the offensive line to get going. That limited time, in a position where technique is paramount, helped magnify the issues Penn State faced early in the season up front.
During the time the Nittany Lions couldn't be on the field, Trautwein showed his group of linemen YouTube videos of the proper techniques he wanted them to follow and implement once back on the field.
Now with a full offseason ahead of them, Trautwein won't need to rely on YouTube to be the sole source of technique film. Instead, they'll be on the field and way ahead of the game compared to last season.
At times in 2020, the front looked mismatched and out of place, resulting in quarterback Sean Clifford spending a lot of time on his back or rushing throws. There was no run game to lean on at the time, not that they would have had anywhere to go though.
The turning point was moving Will Fries from tackle to guard and inserting Caedan Wallace at right tackle. This resulted in CJ Thorpe being bumped from the lineup and ultimately heading to the transfer portal. It wasn't a quick or easy fix, but after a few games, the Nittany Lions gelled, resulting in allowing only three sacks over the final three games of the season, all Penn State victories.
It won't be the same offensive line when spring practices start with Thorpe gone, and Fries and center Michal Menet off to the NFL. Though it won't be the same, the unit shouldn't miss a beat.
Left guard Mike Miranda and left tackle Rasheed Walker are both back for 2021 keeping Clifford's blindside well protected. With Wallace returning to right tackle, the only spaces available pending the outcome of position battles would be center and right guard vacated by Menet and Fries, respectively.
The most likely player to replace Menet is Juice Scruggs, who's comeback has been nothing short of incredible. Scruggs was in an automobile accident prior to the start of spring practice in 2019. The accident left him with a fractured L3 vertebra and put him on the shelf for nearly 17 months.
Fast forward to 2020 when Scruggs saw game time and getting back to nearly 100 percent health. With the benefit of an offseason and spring practices, Scruggs would be the heir apparent to the center position, much like he was before his accident.
Replacing the versatile Fries is a much more daunting task, but not impossible. The Nittany Lions now have early-enrollee Landon Tengwall at their disposal, as well as graduate transfer Eric Wilson.
Tengwall had the build of a college lineman before stepping foot on campus as a student standing at 6-foot-5, 303 pounds. He played tackle in high school but the possibility for him to develop into a versatile guy who can play both guard and tackle at the collegiate level is very much there.
Wilson comes to Penn State via Harvard and the Ivy League, who didn't play in 2020. He was considered one of the top offensive linemen in FCS prior to the 2020 season and was a second-team All-Ivy League selection in 2019. Wilson will provide added depth to the interior of the line.
Unlike Tengwall, who's already on campus, Wilson will be enrolling at Penn State following his graduation from Harvard this spring. Once on campus, Wilson will be eligible immediately at a graduate transfer.
The stability and ability of being able to go through a full off-season will be a blessing in disguise for the Nittany Lions who despite the limitations continued their improvement and the Penn State line found its way.
Trautwein's ability to get his linemen to learn on the fly and develop their techniques in unique ways will always be understated, but impressive nonetheless. With a full offseason ahead of them, the offensive line will be out to prove why they were the most improved unit on the squad and now have developed into one of the more experienced groups heading into the 2021 season.