Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu will return to the Nittany Lions next season, he announced Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Fashanu, who started eight games at left tackle this season before exiting the Ohio State game with an injury, skyrocketed up NFL Draft boards in his first year as a starter.
- The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked the 19-year-old Fashanu, who turns 20 in December, as his fifth-best prospect and biggest riser in his midseason top 50 in early November.
- Fashanu allowed just seven total pressures on his 299 pass blocking snaps this season, per Pro Football Focus. He was credited with giving up zero sacks and was not penalized all season.
🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/7rwlpCcIiz
— Olu Fashanu (@olu_fashanu) November 28, 2022
Backstory
Fashanu, a three-star recruit in the Class of 2020, made his first start last January in the Outback Bowl because of an injury to Rasheed Walker. That bowl performance was a confidence boost on the field.
“If you just look at him in person, you’re like, ‘Man, I want that guy on my team;” offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said of the 6-foot-6, 308-pound Fashanu earlier this month. “And then, you just look at the way he goes out there. He anchors. He has really good power. Sometimes he isn’t in the best position, but he overcomes it with strength and power. And then he also has good technique, good hands, good violent hands and he plays physical, which that’s what you need in the NFL to be able to play physical every single down.”
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Off the field, Penn State coach James Franklin said Fashanu is a drama-free player, a supply chain and information systems major who could become an Academic All-America honoree.
“Off the field, he has everything that (scouts) want as well,” Trautwein said. “You know, he has the intelligence to play any position if you wanted to, and then he’s just overall a great kid. And that’s what they’re looking for, because they’re always trying to find red flags. And there’s not one red flag on Olu.”
What Fashanu’s decision means for Penn State
Fashanu’s decision was the most important one among Penn State’s draft-eligible players this offseason. It would’ve been understandable if first-round projections would’ve been enough for Fashanu to move on after three years at Penn State. Now, the Nittany Lions have another season with an elite left tackle, ensuring that presumed new starting quarterback Drew Allar will be running the offense with a proven pass protector in 2023.
Freshman running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who both enjoyed breakout seasons, will also have little more breathing room with Fashanu helping pave the way on a team that figures to have high expectations in 2023 after a 10-2 regular season.
“He is strong in the weight room, but he’s got unbelievable play strength,” Franklin said earlier this season. “More than anything, it’s just about his consistency. You watch the tape and the guy has got play after play after play of protecting the quarterback’s blindside and finishing blocks.”
What could the 2023 line look like?
Fashanu is the second Penn State offensive lineman to make his intentions known for next season. Hunter Nourzad, who worked as the team’s sixth lineman for the early part of this season before injuries forced him to take on an increased role, could play guard or center next season. Nourzad announced earlier this month he’ll return for a sixth season, his second at Penn State after transferring from Cornell.
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Senior center Juice Scruggs has a year of eligibility remaining because of the 2020 COVID-19-impacted season and said he’d talk with his family to discuss his future “over the next few weeks.”
Penn State hasn’t had the original left side of the offensive line since it beat Northwestern on Oct. 1. Starting left guard Landon Tengwall underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in October, and Fashanu’s injury two games later forced Penn State to burn freshman Drew Shelton’s redshirt. Shelton could slot in elsewhere on the line, potentially on the right side, where starting right tackle Caedan Wallace was injured for part of this season before being replaced by senior right tackle Bryce Effner.
Effner was introduced on senior day but technically could return for a sixth season. Wallace, who has been at Penn State for four seasons, has started 27 games at right tackle.
Fashanu’s decision makes it highly likely that Penn State returns at least four starters along the line, and the experience gained by Shelton in his absence will give Trautwein and Penn State the kind of depth they previously lacked.
(Top photo: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)