College Football
Penn State Football got some not-so-good news on Wednesday evening as offensive lineman commit Nana Asiedu announced he has to forgo his college football career before it even started.
The Problem
The true freshman out of Virginia announced that he has a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Unfortunately, the condition will prevent him from playing college football. This stings, however, he will remain with the team in some sort of capacity that is yet to be determined.
The Down Side
This is a tough blow for Penn State. James Franklin and his staff aggressively recruited Asiedu out of Virginia. He would have seen the playing field this season just based off how good his talents were. He was the third best offensive lineman in the state of Virginia.
What’s Next
Now James Franklin and his staff need to reevaluate things. In the 2018 cycle, there are only two other commits at the offensive lineman position and those two commits are Rasheed Walker and Bryce Effner. With a very talented lineman down, Franklin will possibly put a lot of trust and confidence in Rasheed Walker. After all, Walker is ranked 65th nationally at the position and fourth in the state of Maryland. Look for Franklin to let Walker get playing time and to show that this recruiting class is top notch and has depth to back up an already stacked roster.
Conclusion
With Nana Asiedu now officially done, Franklin and his staff have to show trust in the other two, but most notably have faith in Rasheed Walker. It’s unfortunate what has happened with Asiedu. However, just like in every other sport, you need depth and the “next man up” mentality to come into play. Rasheed Walker and Bryce Effner can still learn from some upperclassmen. One of those guys is Will Fries who last year appeared in 13 games, starting nine of those. Walker may also have a chance to learn from another recruit in the previous class. C.J Thorpe, who red shirted his freshman year, is a guy Franklin can count on to show Walker and Effner both the ropes. On the other hand, Franklin may count on Thorpe (as he should) to step it up and show the freshman what to do. Thorpe came from power house Central Catholic. However, besides Thorpe, look for graduate student Chasz Wright to help the newest members of the offensive line. Wright appeared in 12 games starting nine of them for the Nittany Lions last year. He protected McSorley so in the end there are key offensive lineman to learn from.
