UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The NFL draft has already had a huge impact on third-year offensive lineman Olu Fashanu’s college career.
In the days leading up to Penn State’s matchup with Arkansas in the 2022 Outback Bowl, it became clear then-redshirt junior offensive lineman Rasheed Walker was going to forego his final collegiate game and focus on preparing for the NFL draft.
Walker, who started 32 games at left tackle for the Nittany Lions and is now a member of the Green Bay Packers, in turn created an opportunity for Fashanu to step in against SEC pass rushers.
Penn State lost the Outback Bowl 24-10, but Fashanu gained experience when he made his first career start at left tackle.
“It was a great week of preparation, and obviously, it helped a lot with all the bowl prep practices, just building confidence and trust in myself,” Fashanu said. “It also helped that the coaches trusted me a lot, trusted me enough to even give me the start.”
Though Fashanu was disappointed with the result, he picked up on what he did well and struggled with and carried those lessons into the offseason. In the 2022 campaign, like he did against the Razorbacks, Fashanu has started both games for No. 22 Penn State (2-0) at left tackle.
The Nittany Lions’ offensive line has utilized a rotation at the guard spots and at right tackle at times during their first two games against Purdue and Ohio, but Fashanu has been a mainstay on the blind side.
Sixth-year quarterback Sean Clifford has been impressed by Fashanu’s communication skills, as well as his performance. According to Pro Football Focus, Fashanu has allowed zero quarterback pressures and has yet to be called for a penalty.
“I think Olu is playing at as high of a level as a tackle as you can,” Clifford said. “For him to be able to really jump in the spotlight and make a lot of plays and just do his job at a high level, I think he’s been very impressive, and it definitely puts my mind at ease having him as my blind side.”
During his Tuesday press conference, James Franklin said it hasn’t been a surprise to see Fashanu performing in the manner he currently is. Since Fashanu arrived at Penn State prior to the 2020 season, he’s done “everything right” in Franklin’s eyes, whether that be on or off the field.
“His play strength is exceptional,” Franklin said. “Whether it’s games or practices, where one of our defensive ends or somebody will put a good move on him and catch him, he’s able to recover with his play strength. It’s really impressive.”
Fashanu recognizes he wasn’t quite ready to contribute when he was a true freshman, though. In his mind, it’s difficult for offensive linemen to get on the field early in their careers because they likely need to gain muscle and weight to compete at the Power Five level.
Fashanu, who is now 6-foot-6 and 306 pounds, has grown in ways other than his physique, though, as evidenced by his pass-blocking success. However, the Maryland native is aware there are certain aspects of his run-blocking game he needs to continue to work on.
“I’m trying to understand leverage in the sense of trying to understand the right way to position my body to make the right type of block on any certain play,” Fashanu said.
Fashanu’s continued development in the run game is as critical to Penn State’s success in that avenue as anybody. If the Nittany Lions want to run the ball as well as they did against Ohio, when they had their first 100-yard rusher in nearly two years in freshman running back Nicholas Singleton, Penn State needs its five linemen to be firing on all cylinders.
While Auburn has yet to face a Power Five team this season, their run defense has been impressive to say the least. The Tigers are 10th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 128 yards on 60 carries.
For the first time in a while, Penn State has tasted success with running the ball, as evidenced by Singleton’s trio of 40+-yard rushes against Ohio. But, on the road once more, it’ll be a matter of whether Fashanu and the other linemen can do enough to replicate those kinds of successes against a stout Tigers front seven.
“Seeing those types of runs on Saturday, it was awesome. It felt like a long time coming,” Fashanu said. “It was a little testament to the hard work that the entire offense has been putting into our run game this offseason.
“Hopefully, again this weekend, we can see even more of those runs.”
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.
First Published: September 15, 2022, 9:30 a.m.
