Q&A: OL Landon Tengwall Opens Up About Penn State Commitment

Penn State added its third commitment in the Class of 2021 last week when Rivals100 offensive lineman Landon Tengwall announced Thursday that he had chosen the Nittany Lions over Notre Dame. The nation's 27th-ranked prospect, Tengwall earned 30 scholarship offers. Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen was the first to extend an offer, although it was so long ago that Bowen was still at Maryland at the time. The offer came the day after Tengwall played his first high school game as a freshman, Sept. 2, 2017.

In the years that followed, Tengwall visited 10 schools. Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Ohio State were a few of the more notable programs on his list, but by last summer, Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State emerged as the three schools he was focused on the most. He planned to see both Notre Dame and Penn State in March and April, then decide on April 16. However, once the NCAA enacted a dead period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tengwall decided not to wait.

Blue White Illustrated recruiting analyst Ryan Snyder caught up with Tengwall this week to discuss a variety of subjects, including what it's like to be recruited at such a young age, what separated Penn State from Notre Dame and much more!

Ryan Snyder: To start this off, I want to go back to the very beginning of your recruitment. Tyler Bowen started recruiting you before you were enrolled in high school. Other coaches were interested then, too, so what’s it like being recruited at such a young age? Were you calling coaches to talk before your freshman season? Just receiving mail? How did that work?

Landon Tengwall: Well, I’ll never forget my first call. It was Coach Bobby [Bentley] at South Carolina. I believe that was in the spring of my eighth grade year. That was mainly because Blake Corum was staying with me and my family at the time, but still. He was interested in me, too. But at that age, unless the coaches know they’re going to be going after you, it’s not much. Coach Bowen knew he was going to be going after me. He was at Maryland at the time. It also depends on your coach and how much they push you. Most coaches don’t care about eighth graders, but I do think that’s something that gave Penn State an advantage with me. I went to Penn State’s camp that summer and that’s when I met Coach [James] Franklin. He knew then that he was going to want me down the line, so he introduced himself then and we talked that day. He wasn’t doing that for most eighth graders. I don’t think he did that for any other [eighth grader] that day. So, it just depends on your coach and the coaches recruiting you. But I did have coaches wanting to talk and I did start getting mail and stuff like that before I played my freshman year.

Snyder: What was Penn State to you growing up? Was it just another school? Did you pull for them? I'm asking because I remember you told me a few years ago how big it was to earn an offer from PSU. Were you fan? If not, who did you pull for growing up?

Tengwall: That was really cool. That was just a big moment for me. As soon as Coach Franklin told me that, I told him that this was the offer I was waiting for, and I really meant that. It was the first big offer for me. Before that, I had Maryland, Virginia Tech, Toledo and Virginia. It was kind of a blur after that, and I mean that respectively. Actually, Coach Franklin told me that was going to happen. When you get that first big offer, it gives other schools a reason to give you look, and that’s what happened.

Snyder: Were you a fan of any particular school growing up?

Tengwall: My grandfather played at the University of Tennessee, but I really wasn’t a college guy growing up. I was all about the NFL growing up. I used to be obsessed with the NFL. I used to be able to tell you every stat, tell you who the starting guard is on a bunch of teams. I still am a big NFL guy, but as I’ve gotten into recruiting more, I’ve started leaning towards college ball more and more. I wasn’t super big on college football growing up, and I’m a huge Steelers fan still, but as I’ve been in football more and more, and you see how many guys just care about the money and the divas in the NFL, it’s fallen off a bit for me. A lot of guys still play for the love of the game, but the money and the divas annoy me. (laughs) So, I kind of enjoy college football more nowadays because they all play for the love of the game. The fans and the atmosphere are better. I’ve become a college guy as I’ve gotten older. But growing up, I would watch NFL Network every single night. That’s what I cared about the most growing up.

Snyder: You took 10 visits to Penn State between November 2017 and January 2020. I believe you also took 12 additional visits to nine different schools. What kept you coming back to Penn State compared to seeing other schools? Was there something you were unsure of? Was it mainly just because of distance? That feels like a big discrepancy compared to other schools.

Tengwall: Distance was a huge part of that. A big reason why I love Penn State is because it’s a perfect distance for me. It’s a three-hour drive from home, so it’s far enough, but not too far. That’s ideal for me. There were things that I wanted to learn more about as I got deeper into all of this, and also some of those trips were for camps and games, so they weren’t all true visits with the coaches. But for me, I never really had that much interest in the SEC. I had to give those schools a look, but I was never really interested in those schools. That’s why I didn’t take too many visits down there. For me, I was always going to be a Big Ten guy, plus Notre Dame, which is similar to the Big Ten. I was planning to visit Michigan and Notre Dame more. I had those visits scheduled to Notre Dame. I wanted to see Michigan more last summer, but I just couldn’t make it. So, that’s just the way it worked out. It’s also because Penn State was always a very important school to me.

Snyder: When did Penn State become the team to beat? Last April, you told me you were still deciding between PSU, Michigan and Notre Dame. Notre Dame then emerged as the only true competitor. So, when did PSU become the favorite? Can you think back to any certain visits?

Tengwall: Honestly, I would say that they were always the team to beat. I think I knew from the very beginning, when I got that offer, that they were going to be the team to beat. I just loved that place so much. I visited there and camped there before I got the offer, so I knew about it a little bit and from there it just got better. Getting to know their coaches and the players was a big part of that. The distance, like we talked about, definitely helped. There are a lot of things. State College is a cool town. There’s so much that separated them.

Snyder: When it became clear that on-campus visits were being put on hold, you originally mentioned that you wanted to visit PSU and Notre Dame one more time, then make your decision. What changed? Was Penn State putting pressure on you to make it official? What were those talks like?

Tengwall: They never pressured me to do anything that I didn’t want to do, but we definitely talked about that. It was more so just something that I wanted to do than anything else. I wanted to start helping recruit for them, so it is something we all talked about. I wanted to get the ball rolling. I knew I was going to come to Penn State. I saw what Ohio State, UNC and Clemson were doing [in recruiting]. I saw the success those schools have been having, so I just thought that it was time.

Snyder: If there was one thing that stood out about Penn State compared to Notre Dame, what was it? Can you point to anything that really swayed things in PSU’s direction?

Tengwall: I would say the one thing was the people and the players at Penn State. I just found myself associating with the people at Penn State more. There were just a lot more players and coaches that I found myself comfortable with. That’s not a knock on Notre Dame at all. There were still a lot of people at Notre Dame that I really liked, but in the end, I just felt like more of those people were at Penn State.

Snyder: Fans always want to know who you plan to recruit to Penn State. We already know you plan to help with a bunch of DMV guys, but are there a few players that people like myself aren’t talking about enough? Are there maybe a few guys that we don’t currently consider Penn State to be the favorite with, but in reality, Penn State is in a pretty good position?

Tengwall: I would probably say Aaron Armitage. He’s probably the first guy that comes to mind. You guys definitely talk about him a lot, but he’s someone I think people need to follow. For being a five-star guy, he’s someone people talk about a lot, but maybe not enough, and that’s Tony Grimes. I could definitely see him coming. I talk to him a decent amount. I was down at Future 50 with Tony. We talk every once in a while. We’re not super close or anything, but he’s a guy that I know really likes Penn State. With Aaron, I’ve talked to him a couple times. Donovan Edwards is probably a guy that fans should follow more closely than they do. He’s another guy that I think could come.

Snyder: I want to ask about your strengths and weaknesses. What’s one thing that just comes natural to you? Also, is there anything you want to improve on before you enroll next June?

Tengwall: One thing I want to get better with is my punch. That’s a big focus for [Phil Trautwein]. He’s really big on that, especially in the pass game. Your punch to stun guys makes a huge difference. That’s a big one for me. Something that has always come naturally to me is probably just run blocking. It’s not just about mauling guys. There’s a lot of technique that people don’t realize, and that’s something I’ve worked hard on over my career. But really, there are a lot of things that I’m working to improve. There’s nothing that I can’t improve on.

Snyder: Do you know any of your lifting numbers? What’s your max on the bench, squat, power clean? Do you know any of those numbers?

Tengwall: I just got 400 on the bench. That's a number I've been working hard to get. We never really do just one rep when we squat, but when we calculated what my one rep max would be for the squat, I believe it was around 585 or 590. It was right around that range. My power clean is right around 315, which I think is pretty good for a junior offensive lineman in high school. I’m proud of that one. A lot of people doubt my quickness, so I like to throw that one up there. That shows explosion.

Snyder: Any idea what you’d like to study? Also, if you don’t make it to the NFL someday, what would be your dream job?

Tengwall: So, I plan to major in business. I already run a landscaping business at home. I've got a decent amount of clients. I just hand out fliers around town and then people will call me. I do a lot of yards, stuff like that. I do a lot of stuff. I lay down mulch and tear up flower beds. I mow a ton. That’s what I do most of the time. I have a riding mower and a trailer, all of that. That’s where the good money is at. (laughs) But I also did a lot of leaf cleanup this year. I always try to stay busy. I’m not out there doing farms or anything like that, but I do what I can to make some money. I would love to someday take it to a different level.

Snyder: Would having a big landscaping company be your ultimate goal someday if you don’t end up playing in the NFL?

Tengwall: Well, it depends. I just want to go where the money is. In a perfect world, I would go to the league, although playing in the NFL is far from my ultimate end goal. That’s just a great place to start. I’m using football to get a free education and then to hopefully make money playing. But really, I want to find some sort of business. I’ll franchise McDonald's if I can. It doesn’t matter to me. I just want to work hard and find a job that's rewarding.

Snyder: OK, last question. I like to give recruits an opportunity to say something to Penn State fans. Is there anything you’d like to say to all the fans reading this?

Tengwall: I would just like to tell the fans what kind of guy they’re getting. I love working out. I’m always going to be the guy that’s in the weight room after practice or whenever. I’ll always be putting in that extra work. I’m definitely a guy that likes to push people. I credit that to my time at [St. Vincent Pallotti]. We had some tough coaches there that pushed us. I just want to be a leader. They already have a lot of those guys. I know Shaka Toney has been the guy pushing them a lot during the off-season. I just want to lead and do my part.

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