The Fashanu Files: Meet Olu Fashanu, the 19-year-old phenom making 2023 NFL Draft noise
Penn State's Olu Fashanu is only 19 years old, but that has not stopped him from playing like the best left tackle in the nation.
Should he decide to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft, Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu would go almost the entirety of his rookie season without being able to legally drink alcohol. And yet with only nine starts to his name, Fashanu is already making the claim as the best left tackle in football at just the age of 19.
The Big Ten was home to three big names in this 2023 NFL Draft tackle class, as Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr., Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, and Maryland’s Jaelyn Duncan rose to the top. Now past the midway point in the season, Fashanu’s name is directly in the mix and potentially at the top of this class.
And he did not even play football until his freshman year of high school.
Building up a strong resume of pass rushers he has stifled throughout the 2022 season, Fashanu is building a legitimate resume of an Outland Trophy winner and a first round draft pick. He has faced off against Auburn’s Derick Hall and Colby Wooden, Ohio State’s Zach Harrison and J.T. Tuimoloau, and Michigan’s Mike Morris, among others. And yet on the season, he has yet to give up a single sack and only eight total pressures.
I had the chance to sit down and pick the brain of Fashanu. You can find the full interview here:
Olu Fashanu wins with preparation
He is quiet, describes himself as a boring guy, and is not one to participate in trash talk. He lets his preparation and play on the field speak for themselves.
Making his first career start in the Outback Bowl a year ago, Fashanu revealed he was not even nervous as he was “completely focused on Arkansas.”
“When we finally came to the end of the week and we were at the game I was completely relaxed. I was just ready to go. I felt like I prepared enough to where I kind of expected everything that happened. I was really calm throughout it, I did not really get any jitters.”
Fashanu spends on average about an hour a day studying tape. Whether he is watching one of his own games, vigorously studying his opponents and their tendencies, or professionals he wants to model his game after, the wits and acumen of Fashanu shine through on the field.
An Academic All-Big Ten player as well, Fashanu takes his studies as seriously in the classroom as he does in the film room. And he is not ready to stop at just All-Conference as he strives to become an Academic All-American.
“Having that title, ‘you were able to be an Academic All-American’ that will carry a lot more weight after I am done playing football. So that is definitely a goal of mine that I am hoping to achieve.”
Leaning on those who have been there before
Having upperclassmen every single year to learn from, Fashanu has taken every opportunity to absorb as much as he can from those who have done it before him. He describes learning from a “complete technician” in current Indianapolis Colt Will Fries, still watching the tape of 2021 Penn State left tackle and now Packer Rasheed Walker, and receiving continued guidance from fifth-year Senior center Juice Scruggs.
In fact, Fashanu described shadowing Scruggs and his daily routine all offseason and this season to pick the brain of a guy with a world of starting experience under his belt.
He even went into the weight room culture at Penn State as well, a school that continues to churn out elite athletes year in and year out. From the moment he stepped on campus, he had athletic freaks like Micah Parsons and Odafe Oweh, two 2021 NFL Draft first rounders, setting the example with their intensity in the weight room.
“Our weight room culture is really aggressive but aggressive in a good way… if you are competing to the best of your abilities, not only are you getting yourself better but you are getting everyone around you better… Whether that is on the field or in the weight room.”
Taking the Nittany Lion mentality to heart off the practice field and in the weight room, Fashanu’s desire to be a sponge has done nothing but wonders as he goes to war for 60 minutes every Saturday. While Fashanu kept his verified testing numbers close to the vest, his tape would indicate he’s another athletic specimen that will blow the doors off at the NFL Scouting Combine whenever he chooses to declare.
His refinement on the field at 19 years old is eye-popping
With fast foot speed, elite grip and core strength, and disciplined eyes, Fashanu is proving to be a refined technician already. Taking on wide defenders, Fashanu has no issue reaching edge rushers trying to beat him with speed and flexibility. When dealing with length, Fashanu’s anchor proves durable in handling length and power without giving up ground.
Fresh on his mind from a loss to Ohio State, Fashanu broke down his snap-to-snap process of going against two top-tier pass rushers with totally different approaches to getting after the quarterback. Dealing with Harrison, more inclined to win with length, explosiveness, and power, and Tuimoloau who has a wide arsenal of moves to go along with his twitch and flexibility, Fashanu was forced to prepare with two separate mentalities.
“Last week of preparation was a lot different. Going into the Ohio State week, J.T. and Zach Harrison, are both different types of pass rushers. So I knew this week with J.T., with him being as savvy as he is with a lot of different moves in his bag, my main emphasis with him was to be patient… Zach, he is a longer edge rusher who likes to utilize his length to get his hands on before you. So I knew there was a good chance he was going to long-arm or bull rush. I knew against him I just needed to get out of my set and prepare to anchor.”
He gave up just one pressure on the day against the Buckeyes.
When discussing who he watches a lot of tape from to model his game after, we both had the same player in mind: Seattle Seahawks’ 2022 first round pick Charles Cross.
Cross and Fashanu share plenty of similarities: they are not known for being people-movers in the run game. Yet they continuously win with elite upper body strength that allows them to frame off rush lanes and drop their anchor with absolutely no notice. Both young offensive tackles possess exceptional grip strength and understand how to use their arms as levers, winning with precise hand placement and latching.
He described watching Cross and his fellow rookie teammate Abraham Lucas to see how they have been so successful so early, but looks to mold his game after a young tackle playing at an All-Pro level:
“I watch Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas a lot, but I want to get to the point where I can replicate my game after Andrew Thomas.”
Fashanu is only focused on today
A common theme when talking to Fashanu that kept rising to the top was his ability to block out the noise around him. He even forgot Penn State played Auburn when I brought up his Outland-worthy resume:
“I feel like there will be a time for me to recollect all of that later on at the end of the year. If I am being completely honest with you I just take everything week by week… I just stay present-minded.”
Deleting his Twitter throughout the week to stay focused on the task at hand, Fashanu does not pay any attention to the outside noise. He admitted to hearing buzz around his name but remains focused on what is directly in front of him. As far as his future beyond this season?
“When the appropriate time comes, I’ll devote the appropriate amount of time to it.”
Penn State is set to take on Indiana this week, then three games left in the regular season before their bowl game. Fashanu has plenty of time to decide what is best for him, his family, and his future.
Sure to hear his name called in the first round either this year, next year, or the year after that, Fashanu has earned every bit of buzz through his work and preparation. The 19-year-old remains a stalwart left tackle with a battle-tested resume who has established himself among the best offensive linemen in the country.
But all he cares about today is Indiana.