Penn State is getting a 'sneaky athletic' offensive lineman in JB Nelson
Penn State picked up its 13th Class of 2022 verbal commitment and second from Lackawanna College on Friday when offensive tackle JB Nelson picked the program over West Virginia and others.
What are the Lions getting in the 6-foot-5, 320-pound prospect?
According to the Falcons' offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, the answer is a deceptively agile big man who is ready to be developed.
"He's sneaky athletic because he's never in a bad position to get back into a good position," Lackawanna assistant Josh Pardini said. "It's rare that he gets beat across the face or up the field or takes a bad angle, and so you don't get to see that athleticism all the time, but what you do get to see is somebody who is just physically ready to play at the point of attack at that level.
"He is one of the strongest young men that I've had the opportunity to coach, and for him to come in, he unseated an 11-game starter, that started for us in the national championship game at right tackle, and he did that in two weeks."
Pardini has sent his fair share of talent to the next level since joining the Falcons in 2009, including a couple of offensive linemen to the Lions in Paris Palmer and Anthony Whigan.
Like those two, Nelson, who is from Pittsburgh, came to the junior college in Scranton with hopes of working his way up to the FBS level. By committing to the Lions, he's now set on that path, even if he was only able to play just two games this past spring due to a shortened slate because of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, more games in Falcons' blue and white are in his future before his pending State College arrival next spring.
"In the run game, he changes the line of scrimmage," Pardini said. "He gets the defense, understands leverage, and opposing players' leverage. He does a great job of accelerating defenders. If they want to go inside, he says I'm going to take the inside, and he's going to go there fast and violent.
"He's one of the guys that I've never really had to talk about finishing blocks. He just always plays through the whistle, and then I think in pass protection, he can be patient, because he can't get run through. He's athletic enough to cut off an inside move, and he's long enough to stop somebody on the edge."
Penn State now has three offensive line commitments in this cycle, as Nelson is joined by four-star Drew Shelton and three-star Maleek McNeil.
Blue-White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder obtained the quotes found in this story.
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