Teams that build around offense during the NFL Draft don’t always turn to quarterbacks and wide receivers first. Offensive tackle sometimes moves to the forefront, especially in the case of the 2024 class.
Will Olumuyiwa Fashanu be plastered at the top of most franchise’s big board? Here’s everything needed to be known about the left tackle prospect.
How Tall Is Olumuyiwa Fashanu?
If teams turn to tackle to bolster the offense, they likely want someone above 6’5″ handling the edge rushers or oncoming blitzers.
Fashanu meets the requirement, entering this class as one of the taller draft-eligible prospects — standing at 6’6″. He happened to grow one inch from his high school years, as he once stood at 6’5″.
How Much Does Fashanu Weigh?
While height is often at the top of discussions when looking at a tackle’s intangibles, a tackle prospect’s weight doesn’t always have a ceiling. Granted, teams don’t want their tackles to be too thin.
Fashanu’s weight hasn’t been a dilemma before draft day. He checks in at 321 pounds, more than adequate for the position. He’s only added 21 pounds to his frame from his high school years. His weight gives him average size for what’s needed at tackle.
How Old Is Fashanu?
Born on Dec. 9, 2002, in Waldorf, Massachusetts, Fashanu is among a handful of prospects entering the NFL at 21 years of age, which will make him one of the youngest players in the league by the time the 2024 season kicks off.
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He won’t turn 22 until teams start making their playoff push.
Fashanu played his high school football for Gonzaga High in Washington D.C. He went on to become the No. 6-ranked prospect in the nation’s capital for the 2020 class.
What School Did Fashanu Go To?
Fashanu was a three-star prospect who signed with Penn State.
Even though he wasn’t a high-profile four- or five-star prospect, Fashanu was still one of the more coveted tackle prospects for his class, one who had several college football national powers aiming to lure him in.
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio State were among the Power Five powerhouses trying to court Fashanu with four-year opportunities. He ultimately chose the Nittany Lions, to great success.
Revisiting Fashanu’s College Career
Fashanu’s first college football game didn’t unfold on CFB’s opening weekend. It instead occurred on another important day in the CFB realm: Jan. 1.
That’s right. Fashanu’s CFB debut was on New Year’s Day 2022 in a bowl setting. And his opponent was the SEC’s Arkansas Razorbacks.
Despite the Nittany Lions falling 24-10, Fashanu convinced Penn State it could trust him to protect the blindside of its quarterbacks. And he didn’t disappoint from there.
Fashanu went on to become a steady starting presence and didn’t allow a sack on his side in 2023. In turn, his hype is both warranted and predictable.
Fashanu’s Potential in the NFL
Will Fashanu become OT1 in the draft?
He’s joining a loaded tackle class that could have as many as six prospects land in the first round. But PFN draft analyst Ian Cummings believes the Nittany Lion will be one of the first tackles taken.
PFN lists Fashanu as the No. 2 ranked tackle prospect ahead of the draft, behind only Joe Alt. Cummings points to Fashanu’s bowl start as what’s helped propel his rise as an NFL prospect.
“Fashanu played well in that game, and it would come to be a premonition of his impact and ascent in 2022 and 2023,” Cummings said.
KEEP READING: Ian Cummings’ Full Scouting Report of Olumuyiwa Fashanu
Cummings noticed how Fashanu handled some of the best rushers in the always-stacked Big Ten — showing his might and pass-protecting prowess on fall Saturdays.
“Fashanu hit the ground running as the Nittany Lions’ full-time starter at LT in 2023, providing dominant performances every week against some of the best college football had to offer. Derick Hall, JT Tuimoloau, and Zach Harrison all struggled to get consistent disruption against Fashanu,” Cummings said.
In the end, Cummings believes Fashanu is a top-10 talent who has “one of the most complete physical tools and operational utility marriages in the 2024 NFL Draft class.” He’s projected to be selected either close to No. 10 or in the middle of the first round.
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