Penn State guard Vega Ioane is a Sporting News first-team preseason All-American. The outlet, which is one of five that make up the unanimous All-American list after every season, put its initial group of honorees out on Wednesday, 24 days before the Lions open their 2025 season against Nevada. The team also had two second-team honorees: Running back Nick Singleton and defensive tackle Zane Durant.
“Ioane (6-4, 334) was one of the leading blockers for a Penn State offense that averaged 202.3 yards per game with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen,” Bill Bender writes for The Sporting News. “The Nittany Lions have improved up front, and Ioane allowed no sacks and just one quarterback hit while providing a presence in that relentless running game. He’ll get his due this year.”
Ioane is part of one of the deepest Penn State offensive lines in recent memory. The group, which was the program’s biggest weakness 12 years ago when James Franklin first took over, is now arguably its biggest strength.
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“We are in a different spot, right,” Franklin said last Saturday. “That’s not just good for our offense, that’s good for our defense. Iron sharpens iron every single day. It also allows us, when we talk about different weapons that we have in terms of wide receiver, running back, tight ends and trying to get them all on the field. You guys also saw us last year do some six offensive lineman sets. That is, obviously, helpful from a scheme standpoint. It’s also helpful from a development standpoint when you can get six and seven offensive linemen on the field, allows those guys to get some playing time.
“We have worked hard at creating position flexibility. So, a guy like [Anthony] Donkoh also has the ability to play inside. What we’re trying to do is, see how do we get the best five guys on the field, and then how do we also create depth with whoever our backup tackle is going to be, whoever our backup guard is going be to, whoever our backup center is going to be, the next best offensive lineman to get on the field. All those things we are trying to figure out during training camp.”
Singleton and Durant were first-team preseason Walter Camp All-Americans while Ioane earned a second-team nod. The Associated Press preseason All-American team will be announced on Aug. 18.
