Penn State may turn to Mangiro and a shifting line again

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The officiating controversies and the unexpected fourth-quarter comeback by Penn State in last week's loss to Ohio State overshadowed a shuffling act on the Nittany Lions' offensive line that would have pleased any magician.

The key figure in those rearrangements was fourth-year junior center Angelo Mangiro. When starting left tackle Donovan Smith went down with an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter, the 6-foot-3, 309-pound Mangiro moved to right tackle, and right tackle Andrew Nelson moved to the left side.

Mangiro even saw some action at guard in the late stages of the game. Despite the moving around, the Lions managed to score 10 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 17-all, and pushed across a touchdown in the first overtime before losing in the second extra period.

While saying he is hopeful that Smith will return Saturday against Maryland at Beaver Stadium, Penn State coach James Franklin has not given any indication of Smith's status, which means that Mangiro again could be shifting here and there.

It's all in a day's work for the North Jersey native. He credits offensive-line coach Herb Hand with "cross-training," or having the players take snaps in practice at several spots.

"At certain team periods in practice, he rolls guys in at different positions," Mangiro said. "I'll be at center and come out, and he might stick me at guard for a couple of plays, then take me out and put me at tackle for a couple of plays. This way, we can be familiar and comfortable in a righthanded stance or a lefthanded stance."

Franklin was pleased with the play of his makeshift line, but he'd much rather do a position-for-position substitution in the event of injuries than resemble a guy doing a hidden-ball trick.

"It causes some challenges," Franklin said. "It's not an ideal situation. I do think, from a big-picture perspective, it does help them kind of understand the game, and what we're trying to get done, and why they have to work together. But it's just part of where we're at."

When the season began, Smith was the sole returning starter, and Mangiro was the only other player to have seen action on the offensive line.

The lack of experience has hurt the Nittany Lions (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten), who have lost three straight games. The team fell again, to 120th in the FBS ranking, after rushing for only 16 yards against the Buckeyes. That total included five sacks of quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who has been dropped 25 times behind the line of scrimmage.

Franklin continues to speak positively of the line, that it's improving "day by day, step by step, game by game." The unit may stand out Saturday in what is expected to be cold, blustery conditions, because the Terrapins (5-3, 2-2) are next-to-last in rushing defense (212.4 yards per game) in the Big Ten.

Mangiro said the players have followed Franklin's lead.

"As a whole family, we've been pretty positive," he said. "It starts with coach Franklin and goes through our coaching staff and to our players, from the older guys down to the younger guys. It's been a collective effort."

Four Lions arrested. Four underclassmen - offensive lineman Wendy Laurent, defensive end Garrett Sickels, safety Anthony Smith, and tight end Brent Wilkerson - were charged with criminal mischief for allegedly throwing eggs at a campus building.

"We are aware of the egg-throwing situation that occurred Thursday evening and will determine the appropriate measures for the four squad members involved," coach James Franklin said in a statement.

The alleged incident happened between 10:36 and 11:18 p.m. Thursday, according to the Penn State police log.

All players have sophomore eligibility except for Sickels, a redshirt freshman. None is a starter.