2015 OL

[Ian]

PSU is in a much better place with the OL in 2015. Can't get any worse, right? They will have 4 full units in the fall, only 2 seniors, some girth and length, and people in more natural positions. Hackenberg should be much more productive and with their schedule a 10 win season is not out of the question as this was the unit that prevented one last year. Think NW, Michigan, Maryland, and Illinois! In fact, only MSU whooped' em. The offense, with more weapons, should be much more efficient, productive, and exciting....

RT - Andrew Nelson, Brendan Brosnan, Noah Beh, Adam DeBoef
RG - *Angelo Mangiro, Brian Gaia, Chasz Wright, Evan Galimberti
C - *Kevin Reihner, Wendy Laurent, Ryan Bates, Tom Devenney
LG - Derek Dowrey, Brendan Mahon, Steven Gonzalez, Albert Hall
LT - Paris Palmer, Chance Sorrell, Sterling Jenkins, Charlie Shuman

 

[canuckhal]

Noticed in interview that Franklin didn't mention Dowrey. Is there any word about heading back to DT or just didn't mention him?

 

[dawgduice]

They are still a few years away from where they need to be. Example, OSUs (young OL?) had seven of their 10 deep in the program for at least 3 YEARS !!!! This year they will have 7 with 4 YEARS in the program. (I do not thing any left this year?)
Franklin will get us there. Patience is the problem for far too many fans

 

[Mister Magoo]

I think Mahon is going to start at LG.


Mangiro will slide to RG if Reihner can play right away. That gives us 2 fith year players(Mangiro and Reihner), two 3rd year guys in Nelson and Mahon. They were both rushed last year. I feel improvement from them will be the key to the OL. Both were pretty good prospects out of high school. Paris Palmer is starting his 4th year out of high school. Sat out a year with an injury and two years at Lackawanna.

Good depth up the middle. Three 4th year players; Laurent, Gaia and Dowrey. Need a tackle to emerge as a back-up to provide more depth.

 

[Samurailion]

I think we will see

LT Palmer- Sorrell
LG Gaia- A. Hall
C Rheiner- Laurent
RG Mangiro- Dowrey
RT Nelson- Brosnan- Hall

 

[GregInPitt]

I do too. And I still think, although I am surprised it has not happened

yet, that Dowrey may end up back at DT.

With the 4 redshirt freshmen OT's, I believe we will see 2 that get regular playing time in the rotation this year, especially against the weaker teams on the schedule. My guess is Wright (really big kid that CJF has said good things about, and either Brosnan or Sorrell.

 

[GregInPitt]

Agree, the OL will be better and deeper. But your positions may not be


correct. Here are some of the issues:Beh was practicing at Guard last year, so with all the competition/bodies at Tackle one would think that Beh stays at Guard. Beh has gained lots of weight, but still may be too light to really get in the competition for playing time this year.Wright looks like a Tackle. He is huge and is an extra year out of H.S. - has a great chance to battle for and win a backup position. As Magoo pointed out, Mahon was playing ahead of Dowrey at Guard last year and most think Mahon will start.Hall is battling Palmer and Sorrell for one of the starting Tackle spots, and is not 4th team LG. But someone said that Hall is getting some reps at Guard
It will be interesting to see how things do shake out on the final Spring depth chart. OL is definitely the position where we could see some surprises based upon the staff moving kids around extensively. Someone did say the Wright was getting reps at Guard.







This post was edited on 3/29 10:37 PM by GregInPitt

 

[blion72]

Re: Agree, the OL will be better and deeper. But your positions are not correct

if Hall is battling Palmer for OT starting position, then Palmer may not be what we expect. We are so weak at that position, I would think Palmer starts immediately.

last year the G-C-G positions were where we had all the trouble, which only improved when Miles came back for some games (at about 70%). Mangiro seemed like the one guy who had the talent to impact. I really hope we see Reihner come in and take C, and Mangiro moves to G. I think the other G spot should be a battle between last year's redshirts and this incoming FR class. Gaia and Dowery could then return to their true positions.

if you look at the Bama OL the last few years, almost every other year they have an FR emerge as a starter, and that has been the premier OL program in the country.

 

[GregInPitt]

Re: Agree, the OL will be better and deeper. But your positions are not correct

I don't see it that way. Hall was a decently athletic TE and he has been working to add weight to make the transition to OT for over 2 years now. He is now legit OT size which he wasn't last year when he was 2nd team and getting reps. So if he has continued to progress he could be a legit OT and beat out Palmer who is built like a power forward according to CJF.

Last year's 4 redshirts are all OT's, although Beh practiced at Guard during his redshirt year. I don't see any of the other 3 playing inside this year, but who knows. I think Gaia is a Guard for the duration of his career. He started and got lots of experience last year and should be improved this year. Dowrey was behind him on the depth chart so he would be the likely guy to move back to DT. But so far is still at Guard.

I think it's a given that Reihner starts on the OL this year.

Yes, we could have a very talented RS freshman come in and start on a great OL. But those are the 4/5 star kids that do that. Our 2014 class didn't have any of those type of recruits in it.

Maybe Bates redshirts and then wins a job during the 2016 season. As much as CJF likes Jenkins, I would be surprised if he plays this year and surprised if he starts in 2016.

But going forward I expect CJF and Hand to bring the quality of the OL back to what we had in the 80s and 90s, or maybe even better. That will take until 2018 or 2019.

 

[Ranger Dan]

Palmer has a tight end power forward body now.

He really needs to add size and strength to become a legitimate tackle. When he does add size I think he'll be quite good, I'm just not sure he can bulk up by August.

This post was edited on 3/29 4:14 PM by Ranger Dan

 

[GregInPitt]

Most here don't think a redshirt is in the plan...

But our 3 of the redshirt Fr kids, all except Beh, are probably more physically ready to play B10 OT than Palmer. Wright is huge and will be in his 3rd year out of H.S. (1 year less than Palmer) and definitely looks more ready to play. It may be in Palmer's best interest to redshirt.

There will be some interesting decisions made regarding the OL in August. We may not find out much this spring regarding the OL.

 

[GregInPitt]

AND... in yesterday's press conf CJF mentioned Hall, Sorrell, and Palmer as

the 3 that are battling for the starting spot opposite Nelson.

 

[spud358]

Re: Agree, the OL will be better and deeper. But your positions are not correct

Originally posted by GregInPitt:

Here are some of the obvious issues:Beh was practicing at Guard last year, so with all the competition/bodies at Tackle one would think that Beh stays at Guard. Beh has gained lots of weight, but still may be too light to really get in the competition for playing time this year.Wright is a Tackle. He is an extra year out of H.S. and has a great chance to battle for and win a backup Tackle position.As Magoo pointed out, Mahon was playing ahead of Dowrey at Guard last year and most think Mahon will start.Hall is battling Palmer for one of the starting Tackle spots, and is not 4th team LG.

I don't think this is correct considering so far this spring:

1.) Beh has been at OT
2.) Wright has been OG
4.) Hall has been getting reps (including some with the second team) at LG.

 

[blion72]

Re: Most here don't think a redshirt is in the plan...

does Palmer have 2 or 3 years of eligibility left? I thought he came out of Lackawana after only 1 year, but maybe not. If he has 3 years, that is really good news, as he has a lot of time to develop.

does anyone recall if Wisniewski started as a FR for us? I thought that he did, just like he started for the Raiders as a rookie. is a guy like Bates possibly another guy like this?

 

[NJPSU]

Re: AND... in yesterday's press conf CJF mentioned Hall, Sorrell, and Palmer as

Yep and the most recent update has the LT position down to Palmer and Sorrell. Franklin said Hall is still doing nice things but Palmer and Sorrell are getting the most work.

 

[Nitwit]

Palmer has 2 years eligibility over 3 years remaining

So he could redshirt but I doubt he will. He has more playing experience than many of our other candidates. It all depends how well he competes for the starting job I guess.

 

[OldTiredLion]

2014's line = D -
2015's line = C -