Penn State OT Caedan Wallace focused on winning over starting

Right tackle was a question mark entering training camp, and it still is for Penn State.

Less than three weeks to go until the 2023 season opener against West Virginia, James Franklin has yet to name a starter on the right side of the offensive line.

The competition is down to redshirt senior Caedan Wallace and sophomore Drew Shelton. The former is a veteran with 27 starts on his resume. The latter was thrust into action last season as a true freshman, filling in for an injured Olu Fashanu.

Obviously, Wallace wants to be the guy. He’d be thrilled. But Wallace won’t be bitter if Penn State’s staff opts for Shelton.

“Position battle? You know, we want to win,” Wallace said after Monday’s practice. “If Drew’s a better tackle, I’d rather them take Drew. If I’m the best, play me. I just want to win. We want the best product out on the field.”

That’s a rare piece of perspective, one you might only get from a 23-year-old who’s had a roller coaster of a career so far.

Wallace made seven starts as a redshirt freshman during the covid-shortened 2020 season. He started all 13 games in 2021. And he started the first seven games last fall before being sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

Wallace’s play has been up and down the last three seasons. One play, the 6-foot-5, 340-pounder would look like a brick wall. The next play, he might not.

Franklin hinted last week that Wallace is playing up to his potential. He mentioned Fashanu and center Hunter Nourzad as “the foundation” of the offensive line. In the same breath, he said Wallace is “starting to work into that category.”

But the job isn’t his. At least, not yet. Franklin wants to see more.

“We’ve all seen flashes of Caedan being maybe as good as any tackle in the country. He’s just gotta do it more consistently,” Franklin said. “… Caedan in terms of strength, size, athleticism is as good as you’re going to find. … It’s our job to help him do it on a more consistent basis by demanding it at practice every single day. Obviously, there’s some ownership from the player, as well. But it’s our job to get that out of him.”

It sounds as if Wallace is taking ownership. He recognized that he got off to a slow start in 2022, ceding snaps to Bryce Effner. Wallace said he felt like he was getting into a rhythm before suffering an injury in the third quarter against Minnesota.

Wallace practiced at various points after that October game against the Gophers. But he didn’t see the field again until logging 20 snaps in the Rose Bowl.

During the time he missed, Wallace said he was supported by family and friends. But as one of the older players on the team, the New Jersey native felt as though the responsibility fell on his shoulders to work his way back.

“Being a 23-year-old college student, I leaned on myself,” Wallace said. “At the end of the day, my family couldn’t rehab my injury. I had to do a lot of stuff myself. I feel like that was a part of growing up, being more mature.”

A part of that process was being there for his teammates, something he still focuses on. Asked about his relationship with Shelton, Wallace called him “my guy.” Wallace added that he was proud to see Shelton step in and play as a true freshman.

“It was amazing. We needed him,” Wallace said. “Him being such a young guy, from the first day he was on campus he was locked into the playbook. He was asking questions. A lot of freshmen come in thinking they’re not going to play, and Drew didn’t have that mindset. It worked out. It paid off for us.”

It might pay off for Penn State this season, too. Shelton’s experience, starting the final five games of the season including the Rose Bowl, is valuable. But so is Wallace’s leadership and raw ability.

Whether Wallace can show that ability on a more regular basis will determine what kind of role he’ll have in his final season at Penn State.