Blue White Illustrated

March 2023

Penn State Sports Magazine

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Site Lines C O M M E N T S F R O M T H E L I O N S D E N A T B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M MARCH 2023/VOL. 38, NO.7 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mark Panus, Chris Riffer WEBSITE PUBLISHER Sean Fitz WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITER Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Daniel Althouse, Bill Anderson, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Courtesy Birchmeier Family DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship, Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Stu Coman BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Autry ADVERTISING SALES/MARKETING Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 877-630-8768 CIRCULATION MANAGER Sarah Boone CUSTOMER SERVICE Cathy Jones, Laura Thornton, Crystal Clayton 800-421-7751 BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Company, 905 W Main St, Ste 24F, Durham, NC 27701-2076. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $59.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription informa- tion call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Dur- ham NC 27702. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ON FILLING THE LEADERSHIP VOID FACING PENN STATE'S 2023 FOOTBALL TEAM … The notion that a leader needs to be very vocal is biased and misplaced. Sports history is filled with players who provided leadership through their play. Shane Conlan was a prime example [during the 1986 national championship season]. This leadership thing is overblown. PSU has been dominated by Ohio State and Michigan because of a lack of superior talent, not lack of leadership. — Blair10 I agree that leadership doesn't have to be vocal, but leadership on any team is very important. A perfect blend of vocal and quiet leadership on a team is a benefit to all. I have coached teams where there was very little leadership, and it was like pulling teeth to get players to perform at a high level. I have coached teams where there was a good blend, and it made coaching a helluva lot easier. No team will be successful if they don't have leadership, whether they have quiet leaders or vocal lead- ers. You cite Shane Conlan, and his quiet leadership through his play was very instrumental in that team's success. So, leadership is not "overblown." Any coach will tell you it is necessary for success. — bohucon This gives me 2016 PSU vibes. Departing quarterback, emerging star at running back, a very experienced/ talented defensive backfield. There is some senior leadership on the defensive side, but it's lacking from the offensive standpoint. I think it might be the portal guys who shoulder a little bit more of the leadership role on offense until guys like Drew Allar take the reins. — Manny17 Going into 2022, we knew who the leaders were. The question was, who would step up to be a play- maker? This year, we know who the playmakers are, but we don't know who the leaders will be. — Chest Westerson ON THE PROGRESS OF THE NITTANY LIONS' OFFENSIVE LINE … I think the offensive line will become a strength. No doubt [assistant coach] Phil Trautwein has proved himself — great 2022 and 2023 classes, and we already have very talented commitments for the 2024 and 2025 classes. Also, from all I read, Olu Fashanu could be a top-10 pick in the 2024 draft, which will help. The key is to have strong classes each year. Perhaps we will not have four four-stars every year, but get- ting at least two or three per year hopefully will be the norm. Hopefully, the presence of great playmakers now (our two freshman running backs) and offensive linemen will help at- tract future top running backs and wide receivers to PSU. The future is bright. Kudos to Traut and the whole coaching/ recruiting staff! — psykim You've also seen a shift in body types. Trautwein is not signing 6-foot-2 interior linemen with great fundamentals but limited reach. Everyone is 6-4.5 these days at a minimum. The shortest is [redshirt freshman lineman] Vega Ioane, and he's obviously the biggest dude, too. Just because a kid is 6-5 doesn't mean he's good or bad, but it seems like kids are increasingly going to be able to play their best position, unlike a Will Fries or a Ryan Bates — NFL guards but college tackles. — PSUCrusader The big thing that Traut has changed since he got here is an adherence to measurables as a baseline. He has certain traits, arm length being the easiest to explain, that you must hit if you want to get a scholarship for a certain position. What he isn't doing, that Matt [Limegrover, his predecessor as offensive line coach] was willing to do, is ignoring that to get his numbers. He'll take kids, especially at the tackle position, that need work in either direction, as long as they have the traits that he deems necessary. I think the second year was a big help for Traut. The OL still wasn't built with the guys he would want for the offense he's in, but it was a breath of fresh air to see what an increase in talent and an offseason of stability brought. I'm looking forward to it now with two tackles who fit what we're trying to do with [offensive coordinator Mike] Yurcich. — MT72 4 M A R C H 2 0 2 3 Phil Trautwein will be entering his fourth sea- son as Penn State's offensive line coach this fall. During the 2023 recruiting cycle, he helped PSU sign four linemen with either four- or five- star ratings from On3. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE

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