Olumuyiwa Fashanu: The True Lion King at Penn State

The Lion King is one of the greatest movies of all time. The movie showed how the king lion protected all the animals from the predators of the outside world and Olumuyiwa (Olu) Fashanu does the same for Penn State’s quarterback as their starting left tackle.

As a former 3-star prospect out of Gonzaga High School, Fashanu was underrated due to his famous teammate Caleb Williams getting all the attention (yes, they are from the same high school).

However, after the last two seasons of top-notch play for the Nittany Lions, I think it is safe to say to say Fashanu is the next great NFL offensive lineman.

Predator in Pass Protection

Fashanu is one of the best pure pass-protection offensive linemen I’ve ever seen. At 6-foot-6 317 pounds with 34 7/8 inch arms, Fashanu combines great size and arm length to handle all types of defensive linemen.

Extremely light on his feet like a dancing bear, he effortlessly gets great depth initially on his pass sets on the perimeter of the pocket. For a man his size, Fashanu is very fluid and regularly meets the defensive linemen on speed rushes and still has the strength in his anchor to stone defenders on bull rushes. Fashanu’s length allows him to sometimes toy with defenders as he quickly sets with his punch to end the pass rush before it even starts.

Fashanu shows off another trait, his football intelligence in pass protection.

This Penn State left tackle quickly recognizes defensive line stunts and counter moves leaving defenders helpless and sometimes quitting the pass rush rep.

Clever and graceful in the run game

Fashanu’s athletic ability in the run game is like watching a talented ballerina dancer. He gracefully glides when pulling into the open field and quickly finds targets to block to enhance the gain on the play. On zone blocks, Fashanu is good at hitting his mark to get to the outside shoulder of his man. Also, Fashanu is good at reaching the second level (where the linebackers line up pre-snap) and taking on the defender on inside zone and opposite zone runs.

Concerns where the ‘Lion King’ could be challenged

I truly believe Fashanu has Pro Bowl-level potential. However, to reach that all-pro level, there is one thing Fashanu has to fix. PAD LEVEL! PAD LEVEL! Yes, I know I said the same words twice. That is because I can not stress the importance of pad level.

Fashanu in pass protection rarely shows bad pad level, but in the run game OMG he is too high. On wash blocks, when an offensive tackle blocks down on a defensive tackle, and on second-level blocks you see Fashanu often only get a slight push or no push at all. Now Fashanu is so good and strong that he still manages to get the bare minimum of a successful blocks done at the college level, which is insane.

However, for a player of Fashanu’s caliber, you will like to see him drive defenders into the ground and finish opponents to break a four-yard gain to a 10 to 15-yard gain. You will like to see him pull and put defenders in the dirt and not just give the defender a push. NEED MORE NASTY!! Fashanu also needs to be aware of being too eager to lunge at a defender. This gets him out of position. It sometimes even forced him to hold the defender, which we all know is a ten-yard penalty.

Scouting Report

Game Film Evidence (Penn State 2022)

Auburn

Ohio State

Michigan

Penn State 2023

Iowa

West Virginia

Illinois

Fashanu definitely lived up to the hype and was an ultimate joy to watch. His pass protection, athletic ability, and Football IQ will make him a very sought-after prospect and a definite first-round pick as long there are no off-the-field issues or injuries. If Fashanu fixes his weakness by lowering his pad level the sky is the limit for this Nittany Lion.

Tatum Round Grade: First-Round (Top-10 Lock)

Looking Forward To:

Fashanu versus Ohio State, Michigan, and a bowl game to check if he’s improved his weaknesses and to see if his pass protection holds up against higher-level competition.

Rashad Tatum has been a deep-rooted fan of football since his grandpa introduced him to the game at the age of five years old. He’s from Houston, Texas. He uses YouTube and All22 film to break down prospects to give his direct analysis of players. Rashad has a trained eye developed by his former high school coach Steve Strahan who was in the NFL and played at Baylor University. He currently covers the top-rated prospects in the NFL Draft for Firstroundmock.com. When writing about football he lives by the motto “Lover of football, fan of no team.”