All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. This edition will look at true freshman offensive lineman Vega Ioane.
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 330 pounds
Hometown: Graham, Washington
Before Penn State: Ioane comes to Penn State from the state of Washington after initially being committed to the University of Washington.
At Graham-Kapowisn High School, Ioane helped his team to a 31-1 overall record over his last three seasons and earned second-team All-America honors from Max Preps as a senior. 247Sports, On3, Rivals and ESPN all had Ioane as a three-star recruit.
He committed to Washington in June of 2021 but de-committed this past January, two months after Washington fired coach Jimmy Lake. He flipped to Penn State on national signing day, Feb. 2.
Where he stands: With Penn State’s offensive line seemingly deeper than it was a year ago, thanks to factors such as players like Landon Tengwall and Olu Fashanu taking on more significant roles and the addition of Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad, Ioane probably won’t play a lot as a true freshman.
But he’s big and has experience producing on a winning team, so the time could come when Ionane is a vital part of Penn State’s offensive line.
A quote about Ioane: “I was shocked,” coach Jams Franklin said on signing day, talking about the first time he met Ioane. “You know, a lot of times you see guys on film, and you’re not really sure what they’re going to look like in person. And he showed up here, and he was 336 pounds, and carried it as well as anybody I’ve ever seen. Probably looked like he was 295.
“And you look at his athleticism on tape and how quick his feet were and how light he was on his feet. You know, [I was] just really impressed. I also love the fact that he comes from a winning program. I think that was a big deal as well. The more I find out about this guy, the more I like.”
