Penn State football began its spring practice with all five starting positions on the offensive line open for competition, head coach Matt Campbell said on Mar. 28. Campbell noted that ten players will compete for these spots throughout the spring and into the fall.
The competition is significant as it sets the foundation for the team’s performance in the upcoming season. Campbell said, “We feel like there are ten guys that are going to be competing for starting spots. I’m excited because to me, there’s great competition, there’s bodies and there’s guys that certainly have the ability to play high-end football. Those guys are going to have to earn it.”
Campbell brought in several new players during the offseason, including redshirt junior Trevor Buhr, redshirt freshman Kuol Koul II, redshirt freshman Vaea Ikakoula, redshirt freshman Will Tompkins, and transfer Brock Riker from Texas State. The team also retained key starters such as Cooper Cousins and Anthony Donkoh.
Donkoh has started at right tackle for two seasons and received All-Big Ten honorable mention as a redshirt freshman in 2024 after making ten starts. Cousins appeared in twelve games last year with two starts and is considered a leader among his teammates. Offensive line coach Ryan Clanton said of Cousins: “He’s willing to stay after hours with the young guys, and that’s a big thing for us… He’s a great leader.”
Cousins also praised Riker’s leadership skills: “He’s really good at getting everybody on track… Just talking to him and picking his brain… It’s amazing to see what he says, and on the field, he is a dog.” Riker started all twelve games at center last season at Texas State without allowing a sack in 438 pass-blocking attempts.
Coach Campbell highlighted both Riker’s experience and Buhr’s performance at Iowa State: “Brock Riker is another guy who started meaningful reps… Trevor Buhr… was one of the best offensive linemen in the Big 12.” Buhr did not allow a sack over two seasons while earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.
Cousins added praise for Buhr: “Trevor is really good… He’s an absolute dog that can drive people off the rock and be super violent.”
The group has adopted a “Dog Mentality,” which Clanton introduced as their guiding principle this season. Cousins described it as: “Just coming to work every single day with your lunch pail… Moving people off the ball… That’s what Dog Mentality is for me.”
As Penn State continues through spring practice under this new approach, coaches say they expect strong daily effort from each player vying for roles along an evolving offensive line.
