Makaio Butler

Penn State's offensive line coach showed up to spring practice in a black cutoff shirt with the word "Dogs" on it. His hat said "Dogs. Offensive Line." His office door has a sticker that says "Beware of Dog." This is not a bit. This is Ryan Clanton. And most Penn State fans have no idea who he actually is. Clanton did not start playing football until his junior year of high school in Bakersfield, California. He went completely unrecruited. Ended up at City College of San Francisco — where he lived in a garage for two years — and became a junior college All-American. That earned him a scholarship to Oregon. He became a captain under Chip Kelly. Won the Rose Bowl. Won the Fiesta Bowl. Went 36-4 as a player. Got invited to NFL training camps with Tampa Bay and Green Bay. Then he coached his way from his high school alma mater to Ventura College to Northern Iowa to Iowa State and now to Penn State. Every single stop earned on merit. Nothing handed to him. At Iowa State his offensive line went from 108 rushing yards per game to 174.5 in three seasons. His linemen got drafted. He turned Campbell's run game into one of the most physical in the Big 12. Now he is standing in Holuba Hall telling Penn State players they are either a human shield or a hammer. "You have to be violent. You have to want to be violent. You have to want to run through somebody's face." Last week during a drill a 331-pound tackle named Malachi Goodman punched him in the chest so hard he felt it in his back. Clanton's response: "That's exactly what I'm looking for." Penn State's offensive line has been soft for years. The standard has been to protect. To absorb. To survive. That standard just changed. Dogs only. We Are. 🦁

Congratulations to my friend and former colleague on winning the National Championship! Way to go Cig, What a historic season! 🔥