Penn State football reportedly got a major boost to its 2023 Big Ten title hopes on Monday.
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Nittany Lions offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, regarded as a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, will instead return to school next season.
“Fashanu told ESPN that he felt like he has ‘unfinished business’ at Penn State and that he’s returning primarily to help the Nittany Lions accomplish bigger goals, specifically naming the Big Ten Championship and a national title as two things he’d like to achieve in 2023,” Thamel wrote.
Fashanu, a redshirt sophomore, is in his first season as a full-time starter for Penn State. He appeared in nine games last season, making one start against Arkansas in the Outback Bowl.
This year, the 19-year-old Maryland native started the first eight games of the season at left tackle, but has not played since getting injured against Ohio State in late October.
Fashanu’s return is massive news for a PSU squad that went 10-2 in 2022 and aims to challenge Michigan and Ohio State for Big Ten supremacy next fall. In addition to the 6-foot-6, 310-pound tackle, the Nittany Lions will also be returning freshman quarterback Drew Allar and freshman running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, among others.