Penn State lineman Landon Tengwall will miss the remainder of 2022 season
Landon Tengwall will miss the remainder of the 2022 season, Penn State coach James Franklin said on Tuesday.
The offensive lineman started the first five games of the season at right guard. However, after briefly warming up at Michigan, he left the field before the pregame festivities concluded. By the time the Lions reemerged from the locker room for kickoff, the Annapolis, Md., native was still in his uniform but never took the field. Ever since, he’s been seen only in a sweatsuit. Now, his playing time is over for this fall.
“Landon did have surgery, and is out for the remainder of the year,” Franklin said.
There was no immediate word regarding what the injury was or how long into the offseason it will keep Tengwall sidelined.
The Tengwall file so far at Penn State
Tengwall came to Penn State as a highly-touted recruit in the Class of 2021. As most freshmen linemen do, however, he redshirted in year one but saw time in three games to prepare for this year.
As a sophomore, Tengwall was part of a rotation at right guard with Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad, who has been and will continue to be the starter there, of course, with Tengwall out of action.
“Landon seems like he’s been apart of our program forever,” Franklin said. “He’s been productive, he’s started and played well at guard for us to win. He’s started and played well at tackle for us to win. I think he has a very, very bright future.
“You hate these setbacks and disappointments. It is part of the game. Landon’s attitude has been phenomenal, and the team’s attitude about next man up has been phenomenal.”
The Penn State coaching staff picked Tengwall as its player of the game following a September win over Auburn. It was his highest-graded game of the season, per Pro Football Focus. All told, the Lion played 278 snaps in 2022. That includes a season-high 78 during an October win over Northwestern. He will be in line for starter reps again in 2023.
Lions offensive line shuffle will continue
Penn State has had numerous offensive line combinations in late October and to start November. That will continue now that Tengwall has been ruled out for the year.
What is not as clear, however, is when the Lions will get tackles Caedan Wallace and Olu Fashanu back in action. The former, who starts on the right side, has missed the last two games. Fashanu, then, was hurt late in the Ohio State loss and did not travel with the team to Indiana, where the Lions won 45-14.
Franklin did not offer a new update on either player’s status on Tuesday, other than saying Fashanu is week-to-week. All that means, though, is that neither has suffered a season-ending injury. However, when one or both of them will return to action remains to be seen.
Before the injury issues up front, Penn State was hoping to redshirt tackle Drew Shelton and guards Vega Ioane and JB Nelson during their first year on campus. The Lions may no longer have that luxury though, or at the very least not with all of them. Shelton has played in three games and started last week. If he plays in two more, he will be over the threshold. Nelson has also played in three games with three regular season contests plus a bowl game to go. Ioane has only played in one game and is the most likely redshirt candidate of the group.
Penn State returns to action Saturday against Maryland. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
