Anthony Donkoh has learned much about himself and about the Penn State football team since he arrived in Happy Valley in 2023.
Once a four-star prospect, Donkoh has been a two-year starter. He endured injuries and offseason surgery this year, which knocked him out of spring practice.
He’s healthy now and back at right tackle, where he feels more comfortable. He has emerged as a team leader in Matt Campbell’s first season as Nittany Lions coach and has served as a connector among the Penn State returnees, the nearly 40 transfers and the incoming freshmen.
“When you do things off the field and you’re able to bond really well, that immediately transfers to the field,” Donkoh said this week at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “We’re building trust and faith in each other before we even step on the field.
“It’s better that we build the bonds off the field first because the on-the-field stuff can be superficial. Off the field, ‘You’re my brother.’ That’s how it has to be. That’s how it has been. It’s been great.”
The 6-5, 332-pound Donkoh is one of the Lions’ few returning starters and the only one on the offensive line. Cooper Cousins, who’s beginning his third season at Penn State, and Iowa State transfer Trevor Buhr are expected to be at guard. Texas State transfer Brock Riker is the leading candidate at center.
Three players will battle for the left tackle job when preseason practice begins next week: Malachi Goodman, Garrett Sexton and Owen Aliciene.
It’s expected to be a while before the linemen are fully in sync. Donkoh said they’ve spent a lot of time together outside practice, including extra film work, eating dinner and socializing.
“If the guys on the offensive line aren’t the closest group on the team, nothing good will happen,” Donkoh said. “It was pretty quick. The guys who were here and the guys who were coming in, we don’t have big egos or pride so it was very easy to get to know each other, build relationships and bond pretty quickly. We were able to build trust during spring practice.”
Donkoh watched in the spring because he was recovering from surgery to repair an upper-body injury he sustained late last season.
“It’s never fun to get injured,” he said. “You just have to live with it and move on. The recovery wasn’t easy, but it hasn’t been the worst thing I’ve done. It was like a blessing in disguise because I was able to work on the stuff that was hindering me early on in my career and fill in those gaps. I feel like I’m the strongest I’ve been in my career. It’s been good.”
Donkoh, a former Virginia high school star, received his first significant action in the 2023 Peach Bowl against Mississippi when Olu Fashanu opted out before the New York Jets drafted him in the first round.
Donkoh won the right tackle job coming out of camp two years ago and helped put Penn State in position to reach the Big Ten title game and gain a College Football Playoff berth. But he suffered a season-ending leg injury in November at Minnesota.
“I got hurt and I wasn’t able to be part of the team that made that run,” he said. “I was able to internalize things and know that the worst is never the worst in life.”
He also endured pain last season, along with the Lions. Expected to be contenders for the Big Ten and national championships, they opened 3-0 before dropping their first three conference games, which led to James Franklin’s dismissal as coach.
“When we won our first three games (all outside the conference), you saw a lot of guys being content,” Donkoh said. “Then we get into a game and we get punched in the mouth, we don’t know what to do. We can’t be a deer in headlights. We have to keep the focus the same and keep going on the same path.”
Donkoh played most of last season at right guard, mostly to allow Nolan Rucci to start at right tackle. But now he’s back at the position he prefers.
“At tackle, the game speed is pretty fast because you’re going against the fastest D-linemen,” he said. “At guard it’s like a boxing match going against the strongest D-linemen. I loved the experience at guard because you don’t really get the straight-on, brute stuff at tackle.
“I like playing tackle a little bit more because I can use my God-given abilities to make a difference,” he said.
