As longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin likes to say, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity, and that line applies to Penn State left tackle J’ven Williams.
Drew Shelton, who projects to be Penn State’s starter at the position, missed all of spring practice with an injury.
This was overall a negative for Penn State since Shelton’s expected by some to be a star.
But it opened the door for Williams to get reps with the first team in spring practice that otherwise wouldn’t have been there. Now, he’ll look to follow that up. Williams is the latest subject in All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State player.
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 306 pounds
Hometown: Reading, Pennsylvania
Before Penn State: J’ven Williams came to Penn State as the school’s only five-star signee in the Class of 2024. At Wyomissing High School near Reading, Williams was an All-American on the gridiron and a state-record holder in track. He helped Wyomissing Football to glory, with the team going 39-3 with three district titles over his last three seasons. Williams was an all-state performer in his junior and senior seasons, also being named the 2022 Lancaster Lebanon Conference Player of the Year. Williams was also Earned All-Berks Lineman of the Year and small school Lineman of the Year. He committed to Penn State in February 2022.
Last year: Williams redshirted his freshman season, playing in three games.
Where he stands: Although Shelton is likely to start if healthy, coach James Franklin recently said that he feels Penn State has eight offensive lineman that can play. One would have to think Williams is one of those eight. Don’t be surprised if Williams gets plenty of snaps in his second season.
A quote by Williams: “The first two days of summer camp were really rough for me. I wasn’t used to that intensity. Olu (Fashanu) and Caedan (Wallace) would pull me aside and tell me, ‘The best players go through this.’
“Knowing they went through those sorts of things, knowing that Olu came here and didn’t start right away and knowing he had to earn his stripes helped me.” — Williams this February at Penn State’s second-year player media availability, via Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle.
A quote about Williams: “He’s super athletic. He has great feet, He just has to work on the little things. There’s not one guy in my (offensive line) room who can throw the shot put 66 feet (like Williams did in high school). I threw it 43 feet. He’s way more powerful than me.
“I’m trying to get him to use that power. If it happens and it should, he’s going to be a bona fide dude.” — OL coach Phil Trautwein on Williams at a coaches availability this June, via Scarcella.
