Penn State just handed one of the most important jobs on the roster to a guy who hasn't played a single college snap. Matt Campbell confirmed Malachi Goodman will start at left tackle when the Nittany Lions open the season, capping a camp that reportedly turned heads up and down the offensive staff.
Malachi Goodman will open the season as Penn State's starting left tackle, per coach Matt Campbell today. Goodman was ESPN's No. 139 overall recruit in the 2025 class, and took a redshirt last season.
The pedigree is there. Goodman was ESPN's No. 139 overall recruit in the 2025 class, and other services had him rated even higher out of Paramus Catholic in New Jersey, including as high as a five-star and the No. 19 overall prospect in the country. Programs like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and USC all wanted him. Penn State won that battle and then did what most programs do with a talent that big: they redshirted him and let him grow into his frame.
That frame is the story on its own. Goodman is listed at 6-foot-6, 330-plus pounds, and by multiple reports he moves like he's 50 pounds lighter, with the lateral quickness and long arms teams covet at tackle. A redshirt year with zero game reps is exactly the kind of runway a prospect that size needs before he's trusted with a starting job on the edge of the line.
Left tackle wasn't just an open competition for Penn State this offseason, it was the position the staff needed to nail more than any other on the offensive line. Whoever lines up there is responsible for the quarterback's blind side on every dropback, which is not a spot programs hand to unproven players lightly. Goodman apparently made the decision easy, with coaches reportedly calling his camp performance one of the best on the team.
None of this happens in a vacuum, either. Offensive line has quietly become one of Penn State's better developmental pipelines under this staff, and a redshirt freshman claiming the blind-side job before he's played a snap is the kind of outcome that program is banking on more of. If Goodman holds up, this is the first line of a long resume. If he struggles early against real competition, it'll be a crash course for a true first-year starter at the toughest spot on the field.
Either way, Penn State's season now runs through a guy nobody outside recruiting circles had heard of a year ago. That's the deal with blind-side tackles: they only get talked about when something goes wrong. Goodman is about to find out what that's like in real time.