The regular season may not have been Penn State’s way, but the off season is starting, as young red-black left redshirt Rasheed Walker has announced that he will be back in Happy Valley for his fourth season.
The 1.80m and 310lbs Walker designed to be an intermediate choice in the draft, but with the chance to improve his draft stock for first round territory, he decided to return for another season.
With Walker’s return, this gives Penn State a ton of experience on the blind side – Walker has been a starter for two years, having started the last 22 games for the Nittany Lions on the left tackle. Each year, Walker gets better and better, making constant improvements to his game. If these improvements continue, the next season could be (should it be?) A season full of praise for Walker.
We will have a projected depth very early on from yours in the next week or two, but Walker is a cool lock to start on the left tackle, and it really raises the roof for the Lions of Nittany offensive line. Walker and Caedan Wallace outside, with Des Holmes on the left guard, and Mike Miranda and Juice Scruggs occupying the center and / or right guard? This is the result of a beautiful front of attack.
From a broader perspective, it’s great to get some of those NFL 50/50 draft statements back. Sure, James Franklin is not in “I want a 20-year-old to refuse a life-changing money business”, but in the case of Castro-Fields, Brisker, Dotson and now Walker, his moves to come back make sense. And although they are not coming back just because they want to leave in better condition than 4-5, I think it is something that is on their minds as they work during the off-season.