Penn State football lost one of its starters Saturday at Minnesotaย and coach James Franklin confirmed during his weekly presser Monday that OL Anthony Donkoh will be out long-term.
Donkoh, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound redshirt freshman who won the starting right tackle job over veteran Nolan Rucci during fall camp, had to be carted off the field on Penn Stateโs first series.
Considering PSU has one regular-season game left plus a likely College Football Playoff berth, thereโs a chance Donkoh has played his last snap of the 2024 season. If thatโs so, than PSU has lost a key part of its offense.
WHAT PENN STATE IS LOSING
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 30: Penn State Nittany Lions offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh (68) during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Mississippi Rebels on December 30, 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire)
Donkoh has been Penn Stateโs best run blocker per Pro Football Focus with a grade of 76.9. By comparison, Rucci, who replaced Donkoh against Minnesota and is set to start in Saturdayโs season finale against Maryland at Beaver Stadium, has a run-blocking grade of 58.9. Donkoh also improved his pass blocking as the season went on. After a shaky outing against USC in which he allowed two pressures and had a pass blocking grade of 36, Donkoh didnโt allow any pressures in the five games since and never had a pass blocking grade below 70.3.
WHO IS REPLACING HIM?
The good news for Penn State is that the guy who is slated to replace Donkoh has a lot of experience under his belt, both in college football and for PSU this season. Rucci played at Wisconsin for three seasons before transferring to Penn State over the winter. This season, heโs played in all 11 games and has played 20 or more snaps five times. Against Minnesota, he played a season-high 59 snaps. Pro Football Focus wasnโt kind to him, giving him a grade of 47.1.
Penn State and Maryland are scheduled to kickoff at 3:30 on the Big Ten Network.ย
