Former 5-star recruit J’ven Williams stays patient, awaits chance to make impact along Penn State offensive line

It’s become commonplace for five-star recruits to enter the transfer portal a year or two after signing with their original schools. Just take a look at the 2023 recruiting class. Eleven out of 247 Sports’ top 25 high school prospects in that cycle have transferred.

Some players — star safety Caleb Downs leaving Alabama for Ohio State, for example — leveraged immediate success into an opportunistic landing spot. Some players went searching for more money. Looking at you, Nico Iamaleava. Most, though, grew restless with limited playing time, bouncing to the next school after their first year or two didn’t go to plan.

In that sense, J’ven Williams has become a rarity in college football. The Penn State offensive lineman and former Wyomissing standout was a five-star recruit. He was the No. 25 prospect, the No. 5 offensive tackle and the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania in the 2023 class.

Williams didn’t log a start for the Nittany Lions in his first two seasons. That might not change this year, either. The majority of Penn State’s offensive line is returning from a team that reached the College Football Playoff semifinals, and Williams is not projected to be on the first team.

And yet, Williams is still in Happy Valley. He didn’t enter his name into the portal. He didn’t shy away from the reality that he had to grow despite his five-star status.

“I wouldn’t say it was difficult to accept that it would take some time,” Williams told PennLive. “But it was difficult experiencing it because I’m so used to being that guy.”

At Wyomissing, Williams was indeed “that guy.” The 6-foot-4 lineman was a run-blocking savant in the Spartans’ Wing-T scheme. He was a PIAA champion in the shot put and discus. Brian Dohn, a national recruiting analyst with 247 Sports, described Williams as a “well-rounded player with solid technique, length and body control,” as well as “high-level athleticism.”

There’s a reason why Williams picked up scholarship offers from Michigan, USC, Oregon, Tennessee, Miami and other top-tier programs. He looked like a future star.

But when Williams signed with Penn State and enrolled, he arrived with the knowledge he wouldn’t play right away. He knew he had a lot to learn about pass blocking and that it would be a process to get to the point where he could start for a Big Ten title contender.

“As coaches, you have to do a good job of letting them know that it’s going to take time, and they have to understand that,” offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said. “That’s why he’s still here. He understands that it’s going to take longer than maybe somebody in his class, like Anthony Donkoh, who has been doing pass and run his whole career.”

Williams had to have the patience to grow, both physically and mentally. He’s done both. Williams enrolled at 285 pounds; now, he’s around 320, Trautwein said.

On the mental side, Williams has learned from former teammates like Olu Fashanu and Caedan Wallace about pass blocking, as well as Trautwein, of course, who was a two-time national champion offensive tackle at Florida in his playing days.

“It definitely was something that took him a while, understanding the game and not just zone right, zone left,” Trautwein said. “It’s understanding defensive fronts and pressures and blitzes. It takes some guys longer than others depending on the high school’s system.”

Williams is “on track,” Trautwein said, to have a role this season.

After appearing in all 16 games last season, primarily on special teams, Williams has been working more at guard, in part because of Penn State’s depth at offensive tackle. Drew Shelton is entering his third year as the starting left tackle, and Donkoh and Nolan Rucci, after both impressed last season, are battling for the right tackle job in preseason camp.

Right guard is the only vacant spot on the O-line after Sal Wormley ran out of eligibility. Cooper Cousins, the five-star sophomore from McDowell who has turned heads since he arrived, is considered the favorite to land that opening. But Williams could push Cousins, or at the very least become a valued rotational piece as a swing lineman.

Even if Williams doesn’t start or feature extensively this season, he has no regrets about ignoring the portal, sticking around and trusting the process.

“There’s always more work to do,” Williams said. “But it’s about building confidence in yourself, and then what do you do with that? I have all the tools.”

Trautwein always emphasizes that “everybody’s journey is different.”

Williams might turn out to be the prime example of that.