Interior offensive lineman J.B. Nelson no longer on Penn State roster
The Penn State football program has its first roster movement of the spring cycle. As of late Thursday evening, sixth-year senior offensive lineman J.B. Nelson is no longer listed on the Nittany Lions’ team roster.
He is the only removed name from a roster that had 120 participants in the program this spring as of Thursday afternoon, now down to 119. The news reverses course on a decision Nelson made in January to return to the program for a bonus season of eligibility.
From his announcement to return:
“A Pittsburgh, Pa., native, Nelson dealt with some injuries in 2024, resulting in playing just 228 snaps compared to the 417 he took a year ago. Teammates around him staying healthy also contributed to the drop in snaps. But, he’s a key cog in the rotational and also receives plenty of work on special teams.”
Nelson appeared in all 16 games for the Nittany Lions in 2024 while battling nagging injuries. His stretch of the least participation took place during Penn State’s postseason run, appearing for just two snaps apiece in the Big Ten Championship, Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl, bookending around 18 snaps against SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
J.B. Nelson outlook
Just this week, Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein was asked about Nelson’s progress through the spring. Despite honorable mention All-Big Ten status during the 2023 season while starting eight games and playing in 11, Nelson did not start last season as Sal Wormley and Vega Ioane handled the guard positions surrounding center Nick Dawkins.
Though Wormley exhausted his eligibility and moved on this offseason, Ioane’s return, that of Dawkins, as well as the blossoming start to the career of Cooper Cousins created something of a logjam on the interior of the Nittany Lions’ offensive line. Trautwein said Nelson had been working with both the first and second team offensive lines this spring while competing for the job outright.
“He’s competing, he’s getting better, he’s out here right now, just working. He takes most of the ones, but also gets some twos because I want to rotate guys in. So he’s been doing both,” said Trautwein. “But he’s a guy that’s versatile as well, as he has actually played tackle out there. He’s a guy that just works every single day, and he’s continued to work, and he’s fighting to make sure that gets that spot, or he doesn’t get it taken away, or he gets it, or whatever it is. So he is working his butt off.”
A redshirt senior who played for current Penn State Director of High School Relations Bob Palko at West Allegheny in Pittsburgh, Nelson spent two years at Lackawanna College in Scranton. His first year was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and did not count against his eligibility, while he started 10 games in the 2021 season and arrived at Penn State with four years to play three. He played in four games, but preserved a redshirt, in 2022.
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