Penn State strength coach Chuck Losey discusses the freshman class and their progress so far
Penn State State strength coach Chuck Losey spoke with the media on Thursday before the annual Lift For Life event in Holuba Hall. Losey and the strength staff spend more time with the players at this time of year than the coaching staff, thanks to NCAA rules. So, there’s no better authority on how players progress than the head strength coach. Today, we’ll discuss the freshmen Losey gave updates about during his 15-minute media appearance.
Chuck Losey comments on Penn State freshmen Peter Gonzalez and Anthony Speca
The duo of Central Catholic commits in the Penn State Class of 2025 arrived on campus a few weeks ago. Losey says that Peter Gonzalez and Anthony Speca have done the right things before getting here to be advanced for summer enrolled.
“We got two guys that just got here a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been Speca and Gonzalez, and I’m really impressed with their foundation coming out of high school. They’ve jumped right into it, and they’re ready to go. If you would watch one of our sessions right now, you wouldn’t know that these have only been on campus for a couple of weeks. So I’m really impressed with them.”
As always, any positive notes about a Penn State wide receiver will be welcomed by Penn State fans. It’s a long way to go between Gonzalez being advanced for a June enrolee and making a difference on the football field, but the good news is good news. On the flip side, Speca is likely a firm redshirt.
Cooper Cousins, Luke Reynolds, and Xavier Gilliam
There was little to update on Penn State star freshman Cooper Cousins from Losey. Losey reaffirmed that the freshman center is building on his impressive journey as a January enrollee.
“He’s continued the trend that he had throughout, all the way up till spring ball, which was the last time I talked to you about him. Coop’s a dude for us, you know, in every sense of the word.”
The same is true for freshman tight end Luke Reynolds.
“Yeah, I still am super impressed with Luke. He’s been phenomenal.”
But Losey stopped to expound on freshman defenisve tackle Xavier Gilliam. The Maryland native has transformed since enrolling in January, tipping the scales at 280 pounds. Just over a year ago, he worked out as a defensive end at the Under Armour camp in Baltimore.
“You know, another one That jumps out to me is Xavier Gilliam. That guy continues trending. The things that he does in some of our movement sessions, the way he explodes off the line, his strength, his power. You know, his ability to apply force. He looks like a vet out there.”
Penn State tackles Garrett Sexton and Eagan Boyer
Penn State enrolled two tackles in January, with Garrett Sexton and Eagan Boyer. Both players come to Penn State undersized from high school. Both were around 250 to 260 pounds but Losey joked that undersized offensive tackles are some of his favorite athletes.
“I actually enjoy that population because it makes you look really good as a strength and performance coach at the end of the day, once they leave after three, four years. You know, you can go up, and you can show the graph, and their numbers are off the charts.”
Then and now: Penn State freshmen offensive linemen
Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein posing with four of his five offensive line recruits in the Class of 2024 during a 2023 June prospect camp. From left to right are Eagan Boyer, Garrett Sexton, Trautwein, Donovan Harbour and Cooper Cousins. (Photo by: Sean Fitz/BWI)
A year later, Boyer is settled into his training at Penn State. (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)
Garrett Sexton working on his pass blocking technique with Wisconsin transfer Nolan Rucci (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)
Penn State offensive guard Donovan Harbour competing in the offensive line vs. defensive line kettle bell carry competition at Lift for Life on June 13, 2024 (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)
Penn State offensive lineman Cooper Cousins helping at prospect camp. (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)
But after laughing about the transformation process, he regained his serious tone when discussing the process of getting Boyer and Sexton to that final goal of 300-plus pounds with functional athleticism.
“Getting them to understand, Hey, you’re way behind the curve from a strength and a size standpoint, getting them to own that and then getting them to buy into the process of fixing that, which is training your butt off. Do everything that coaches were asking you to do and get the K-cals in. Your calorie intake has just got to be at a ridiculous level. I mean, nutrition is a huge thing with those guys.”
Sexton overcoming setbacks
For Sexton, the process has been challenged by several issues. The first is that he tried to put on weight too quickly. The Penn State strength coach discussed that in February during our last conversation after max testing day.
“He’s a classic case of a guy who came in and looked around and saw the size of these guys in the weight room and said, Wow, I gotta get bigger, and I got to eat, eat, eat. And he ate a lot early. And he put weight on early. So I actually had to kind of hit the brakes with him and slow him down a little bit.”
From there, Sexton suffered an injury that prevented him from participating in Penn State’s spring camp. So, how is the 6-6 freshman doing now?
“Good. It’s been nice to get him full-go and all the activities because he was so limited on some of the things we changed direction and speed. So it’s just nice to get him back in, and yeah, he’s good.”
Penn State tackle Garrett Sexton assisted at the team’s second prospect camp on June 9, 2024. (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)
Even though he couldn’t fully participate, Losey says that Sexton used that time to learn. Since then, he’s hit the ground running.
“What’s nice about those guys, you know, it’s an advantage of coming in as a mid-year; you kind of get to soak up even though you may be limited and rehabbing. You also get a great idea of what the expectation is around you in watching teammates train and conduct their business, and he took his good and notice, and he jumped right in once he was full go, and he’s done great.”
Liam Andrew update that Penn State fans have been asking about
One of the most mysterious Penn State freshmen with a high-profile recruiting ranking this cycle is defensive tackle Liam Andrews. Like Sexton, he’s had setbacks to start his Penn State career. Andrew suffered a season-ending injury his senior season in high school, which has set him back.
“Same thing. I mean, he’s doing a great job, really happy with Liam on everything.
“Once you accept, ‘Okay, I’m here. I’m on campus. I’ve got this vision of who I want to be. It’s not going to happen in the next five months because I’ve got a pre-existing injury. Once they kind of get over that hump and understand that their situation is just a little bit different, they’re good to go.”
“Both of them did a great job with that Liam’s and worked his butt off to. I’m fired up about him.”
Check out Nate Bauer’s piece from Thursday for Losey’s comments on Quinton Martin.
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