Penn State making progress on offensive line

Penn State offensive line coach Herb Hand recalls when he was a graduate assistant coach at Clemson and the Tigers were shocked, 13-10, by Marshall in their 1999 season opener at home.

"Tommy Bowden was our head coach," Hand said Thursday. "We had a coaches' meeting the next morning and he basically said, 'All right guys, we know where we're at now, and we know where we want to be, so let's get to work getting there.' "

That's the philosophy Hand pretty much has employed with his guys since Temple dominated the Nittany Lions' offensive line in a season-opening 27-10 victory at Lincoln Financial Field. Small progress was made last weekend in a 27-14 win over Buffalo and the Lions (1-1) hope to continue that climb in Saturday night's Big Ten debut against Rutgers (1-1).

The opening-game performance by the offensive line, which included 10 sacks of Christian Hackenberg, shocked everyone who follows Penn State. Hand, known for his positive nature, was a little surprised himself.

"You have certain expectations and thoughts as you kick things off, and then you find out who you are," he said. "This certainly didn't start out the way we all envisioned it would. but what matters right now is this weekend and getting ready for Rutgers."

Hackenberg was not sacked at all against Buffalo and the Bulls hit him only twice. The running game picked up in the second half and opened up the passing game. The Nittany Lions gained 202 total yards and averaged 6.5 yards per play in the final two quarters.

When it was suggested the caliber of the opponent wasn't up to Temple's level, Hand said he was "not going to disrespect Buffalo in any way."

"Winning in college football is not easy," he said. "Some people think you can just roll your helmets out there on the field and you're going to win the game. That doesn't work that way.

"I don't care if you're on the road, at home, whether it's a conference game, not a conference game. It doesn't matter. . . . You still have to do it when the lights are on, when the stadium is full, when everybody has their eyes on you. You have to go out and execute."

The Nittany Lions made a significant change on the line last week, moving Andrew Nelson from right tackle to left tackle, replacing Paris Palmer. The 6-foot-7, 302-pound Palmer, the top-ranked junior college tackle in the nation last season, started against Temple but struggled and did not start against Buffalo.

But when Nelson was injured on the final play of the opening half, Palmer returned to the field at the start of the third quarter and gained some confidence, Hand said.

"At halftime I had a talk with Paris about his opportunity," the coach said. "It was an opportunity for him to go out and prove to himself that he could play at this level, to prove to everybody watching the game that he could play at this level, and most importantly, in my opinion as an offensive lineman, he wanted to be able to prove to his teammates that he's a guy they can count on."

The Nittany Lions will be challenged this week by Rutgers' 3-4 defense. The Scarlet Knights rank fourth in FBS in rushing defense, allowing just 78 yards in two games although their best defensive lineman, senior Darius Hamilton, has missed both with a lower body injury.

"They've got great players in general but on the defensive side of the ball, they're very athletic," Hand said. "They do a very nice job from a scheme standpoint presenting you problems with movement. That's what we've been working on this week, getting ready for that."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq

Key Matchup

Penn State WR Chris Godwin (6-1, 208) vs. Rutgers DB Blessuan Austin (6-1, 185)

Of the six players who started training camp with Rutgers only to be dismissed from the team after their arrests, three of them started at least one game in the secondary last season. Austin became the first true freshman to start an opener for the Scarlet Knights in six years. He has six tackles and a pass breakup. Godwin is the Nittany Lions' top receiver with 10 catches for 156 yards.

Player to Watch

R-Sr. DB Carl Nassib (6-7, 272)

Nassib, who started the first game of his career at either the high school or college level two weeks ago, accounted for three sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception last week against Buffalo. Opponents usually double-team either of the Nittany Lions' defensive tackles, Anthony Zettel or Austin Johnson, but may have to reconsider given the former Malvern Prep player's performance.

Trackin' Hack: How is Christian Hackenberg faring?

25 Completions (Last week: 14)

52 Attempts (Last week: 27)

231 Yards (Last week: 128)

87.9 Pass efficiency rating

Hackenberg was not sacked last week and took only two hits in a 27-14 victory over Buffalo. He was more efficient as the Nittany Lions tried to get their running game untracked before opening up a little more in the fourth quarter, when Hackenberg threw his first TD pass of 2015 and completed a season-long 38-yard throw.