Olu Fashanu - Penn State

Position: Offensive Tackle

Height: 6’6”

Weight: 312 lbs.*

Year: Senior

Hometown: Waldorf, MD

Experience: 3-Year Starter

Measurables: 

40yd dash: 5.11s

Broad jump: 9’1”

Vertical: 32”

3-cone: N/A

20yd. Shuttle: N/A

Bench Press: N/A

Career Notes: 

Fashanu arrived to Penn State’s campus in the Fall of 2020 as a true freshman. He did not see any game time in his first year, but did score the nifty internal award of the Developmental Squad Offensive Player of the Week in October of that season.

As a sophomore in 2021, he appeared in 9 games and started one game, a bowl game against Arkansas. Oddly enough, Fashanu took over left tackle for one of the Nittany Lions’ team captains… redshirt junior Rasheed Walker who would sit out the bowl game and declare for the NFL draft two days later.

As a junior, Fashanu arrived on campus in the Fall of 2022 with a buzz around him. And he delivered, starting 8 games before his season was cut short due to an undisclosed injury against Ohio State. Even with his injury, Fashanu was considered the consensus #1 offensive lineman in months leading up to the 2023 draft before he declared he would return to University Park for his senior season.

As a senior, Fashanu has put up an impressive 324 snaps without a sack. He has awed NFL front offices and awards committees alike, earning respect as a consensus top-2 offensive lineman in the 2024 NFL Draft and the Big Ten offensive lineman of the year. As

Injury Report: 

Fashanu suffered an undisclosed injury on October 29th, 2022 vs Ohio State in the Nittany Lions’ eighth game of the year.

Career Stats: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/olu-fashanu-1.html

Analysis: 

Run Blocking 4.15 /5.0: Fashanu was a stud in Penn State’s zone run offense, walling off defenders and allowing crafty running backs to read & react to clean lanes. His physical flexibility stood out as his greatest strength in the run game, allowing him to blanket defenders and cut off lanes to the backfield. His power was impressive as he consistently maintained alleys against defenders with varying size, speed, length, and power. Against Michigan in 2023, he allowed no tackles for loss and even put a couple defenders on the ground. His grip strength was a concern at times as defenders could often move laterally away from frame and shed his blocks with little resistance from Fashanu. Another concern that showed up in games against Illinois and Michigan was a lack of driving guys off the line of scrimmage. Against the bigger & stronger guys like Kris Jenkins (Michigan DL) and Keith Randolph (Illinois, DL), he held lanes open and kept them from the backfield, but he never moved them very far off of their position (if at all). This may have simply been because that isn’t necessarily the aim of offensive linemen in the zone run game and he may have just doing what he had been coached to do. This concern about not imposing his will by moving guys is very minimal for me.

Pass Protection 4.65 /5.0: A stud in the run game, Fashanu was a star in pass protection. You could watch entire games and count on one hand the amount of blocks he didn’t finish through the whistle. Whether he faced power rushers, speed rushers, stunts, or secondary blitzes, Fashanu kept the blind side cleaner than my first plate on Thanksgiving. His power and flexibility were just as impressive in the pass game as they were in the run game. He clearly worked on footwork and hand technique over the years. His feet never crossed, as he would cleanly kick-slide into position. He also worked to land his hands on defenders’ outside shoulders with good timing to limit the effectiveness of any pass rush moves. His hands definitely have room for improvement as he could be more consistent with his hand placement, but he’s as sure a bet as there is in this draft in pass protection. 

Agility 4.5 /5.0: Many scouts and media members have lauded Fashanu’s agility, and rightly so, as his quickness and reactions were stellar. He moved with the speed and ease of tight ends, the likes of Ravens stand-out Mark Andrews. His feet were light, and his ease of movement allowed him to adjust his leverage when engaged with a defender without losing balance. In Penn State’s zone run offense, he got to show off his speed getting down the line on outside zones without losing ground at the line of scrimmage.

Summary: Fashanu was lauded as the top tackle in college football for the past two years, and that title befits him. He was as consistent and dominant an offensive lineman as there was in the NCAA for the past two years. In Penn State’s zone run offense, he was a reliable wedge to carve running lanes for very talented skill guys in the backfield. In the pass game, he could be counted on to consistently make life tough for edge rushers. His technique was solid in 2023, with some room for improvement along the lines of consistency. In both phases of the game, his strength, speed, quickness, reaction time, and balance were as good as anyone (and better than most guys) in this draft. While I would have liked to see him dominate bigger guys more in the run game, every player is coached to do different things. He may show up to the NFL with the ability and willingness to maul those bigger defenders.

Overall Grade 4.43/5.0

If drafted by the Packers:

To address the elephant in the room, it looks like Fashanu is a lock as a top six pick and won’t be in play for the Packers who spent the second half of the season running away from the top 20 picks. Through the draft process, however, front offices have been talking themselves into Joe Alt, who’s coming off of a fantastic season. At this point, Fashanu could fall a bit as the top and middle of the draft are stacked with guys like Jer’zhan Newton, Malik Nabers, Cooper DeJean, and Kool-Aid McKinstry.

If Fashanu fell to the Packers, he’d be the heir-apparent to hall-of-famer, David Bakhtiari. Barring injury, Fashanu would be a starting tackle for ten years. He’s an exciting pick as well as a safe one, with tremendous consistency, athleticism, and with power that is nothing to sneeze at. He would be an asset in the run game regardless of where the Packers’ scheme ends up next year, but especially for Matt LaFleur’s current version of the Packers run game. Having deployed a combination of zone run and pin & pull schemes over the past three seasons, LaFleur would have a heyday putting Fashanu’s agility to use by spreading him all over the field to create running lanes. In the pass game, Fashanu would find a home next to Elgton Jenkins, with whom he could keep the left side of the pocket safer than indoor recess. Nearly two years ago, Gutenkunst waited until the thirteenth-to-last pick to take a Penn State offensive linemen who has held down the fort this season in a difficult year for the Packers’ line (Rasheed Walker). If Gutey goes back to the well of Nittany Lions with the 25th pick, the future would be bright for the Packers offense and a well-protected Jordan Love.

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