Penn State star Olu Fashanu makes history with major Big Ten honor

Penn State football has had its offense under a microscope all season. With many of its flaws magnified, lost in the shuffle was that the Nittany Lions were still a fairly talented group offensively. This fact was brought to the forefront Wednesday with the release of the annual All-Big Ten honors for the offensive side of the ball. While a dozen Nittany Lions were honored by the conference, Penn State star OT Olu Fashanu stole the show, being recognized as Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year.

Penn State OT Olu Fashanu honored as Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year

On Wednesday, the Big Ten released its all-conference awards for the 2023 football season. Although the conference recognized multiple Nittany Lions, Olu Fashanu received the highest honor. The star Penn State OT won the Rimington-Pace Award for Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year.

🗣️ OLLLLLUUUUU

B1G Offensive Lineman of the Year. 🏆#WeAre | @Olu_Fashanu pic.twitter.com/r4cXJrGuWt

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) November 29, 2023

It was a historic honor for Fashanu, becoming only the second Penn State football player to win the award, following in the footsteps of A.Q. Shipley in 2008. The 38th major conference award winner in Penn State football history, Fashanu becomes the 12th Nittany Lion to take home such an honor under James Franklin.

Of course, Olu Fashanu had already cemented himself as one of the top linemen in college football by the end of last season. A projected first-round NFL Draft pick last year, Fashanu is likely a top-five pick in the 2024 Draft.

“He’s hungry every single day, Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein said of Olu Fashanu earlier this season. “No matter what people say about him, good or bad, he doesn’t care. He just wants to be great. And when you have that mindset, all that other stuff doesn’t really matter. Like, he just wants to go and just be great. And to work hard and work on his fundamentals.”

Multiple Nittany Lions bring home conference honors

Olu Fashanu wasn’t the only Penn State Nittany Lion honored by the conference. In total, 12 offensive players brought home Big Ten honors Wednesday, with 16 defensive and special teams players being recognized on Tuesday.

On defense, three Nittany Lions took home first-team honors. Star DE Chop Robinson was recognized as first-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. LB Abdul Carter was named to the first team on the coaches’ ballot, while DE Adisa Isaac earned the honor from the media.

Fashanu was the only player to earn first-team honors on the offensive side of the ball. C Hunter Nourzad was a second-team selection by the coaches and media, while RB Kaytron Allen was recognized as second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches.

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