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Penn State

A year older, Caedan Wallace turns attention toward 'smash-mouth' football

nate-mug-10.12.14by: Nate Bauer07/13/22NateBauerBWI
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Caedan Wallace is ready to bring on a more physical attitude to his play this season. (T. Frank Carr/BWI)

Caedan Wallace doesn’t shy away from his frustration. The starting right tackle on Penn State’s inconsistent offensive line, the back-and-forth took its toll.

For the team, the ramifications manifested themselves. Penn State finished 118th in rushing at just 107.8 yards per game. And, at 2.62 sacks per game, Penn State’s sacks allowed finished 94th of 130 ranked teams.

But, the showing was not without personal ramifications, too. For Wallace, a prideful starter with extensive career experience ahead of his fourth year in the program, his ego admittedly took a hit.

“Honestly, I would say yeah. I’m an ego guy. I feel like to play a sport, you have to have a little bit of an ego. And I don’t like losing,” Wallace said. “So it did. It messed with my ego a little bit, but in a positive way.”

Eager to correct the setback, Wallace has worked through the offseason to improve alongside his offensive line teammates.

A year more experienced with Juice Scruggs, who also started every game for Penn State last season, and an expected breakthrough for Olu Fashanu, and a trio of pillars has emerged for the position group.

And according to Phil Trautwein, those improvements, with Wallace a central piece of that chemistry, have created an optimism this offseason for those already made and those still to come.

“I’m fired up with where the guys are,” Trautwein said. “The second year in the offense, guys are starting to feel comfortable. Less (missed assignments). Guys are starting to understand and just getting better at my technique, and just becoming better overall, just better people. 

“Guys are starting to feel comfortable and they’re just getting better. I mean, it just takes time. Even the old guys are still kind of young guys because they’re new to my technique. But now you can see guys that are starting to really get it and it’s starting to click. And a lot of them are doing that just because (of having) more time they’re able to spend with me, more time to be able to see me in person. It kind of just starts to happen.”

Wallace credits that clicking to the comfort he’s worked to establish up front this offseason.

Simplifying the techniques that Trautwein has implemented, focusing on footwork and ideology of plays, the time spent together has left Wallace looking to turn the corner toward something else entirely. Technique established, physicality is the next step, he said.

“I think in the past, we had a different aspect of, ‘We got to do this, we got to do this, we got to do that.’ And in reality, it’s football,” Wallace said. “It’s ‘knock the guy across from you’ and that’s it.”

While having a new coordinator in Mike Yurcich admittedly changed the equation last season, Wallace said he’s confident that Penn State’s offensive line is past that acclimation period. Ready to parlay that confidence into on-field success, it’s a moment the Nittany Lions are ready to run with as camp draws near.

“Throughout spring, we preached positivity,” Wallace said. “We already have this great mindset, but now we’re working on bringing it more towards the smash-mouth aspect of football. Everyone knows the plays on the field. Everyone knows what their assignment is. But now it’s a matter of destruction, messing up the guy across from you.

“I’m excited for camp. I’m always excited to put some pads on.”

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