Austin Barrett

Penn State's highest rated recruit in the 2025 class never played an offensive snap his freshman year. Now he is taking starting reps at left tackle. Malachi Goodman. 6-foot-6. 331 pounds. Out of Paramus Catholic in New Jersey. The highest rated prospect from that school since it produced Rashan Gary and Jabrill Peppers in the 2010s. He could have entered the portal when Franklin was fired and landed at any program in the country. He stayed. Now Offensive Line Coach Ryan Clanton has a specific and direct assessment. "He can glide. He's long, he's aggressive and he's smart. He does a good job of retaining information." Penn State lost four starting offensive linemen this offseason. Anthony Donkoh — the only returning starter — is out for the spring. A redshirt freshman who stayed through the chaos and chose to learn Clanton's system from the ground up could be starting at left tackle in September. That is not a story about a recruit. That is a story about a player who made a decision to stay when leaving was easy. Clanton builds dogs. Goodman might be the biggest one in the room. We Are. 🦁