![Florida offensive line coach Phil Trautwein is shown during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 12, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2087,h_1173/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kqpttaf48aak4z7yp4.jpg "Florida offensive line coach Phil Trautwein is shown during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 12, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
One of the areas of concern for Florida heading into the 2026 season is the offensive line. The group had two starters from 2025 leave fo the NFL, and all throughout the spring, the current group struggled and drew the ire of Jon Sumrall.
But in time, this group should gel together, and if Florida fans at all have concerns about the long-term health of the offensive line, a recent first-round pick in the NFL Draft just gave Gator fans the ultimate endorsement.
Phil Trautwein is known for development
The Baltimore Ravens used their first-round pick on guard Olaivavega Ioane out of Penn State. Ioane came to Penn State as a mid-tier three-star prospect as part of the class of 2022 and became an entrenched starter by 2023. He took 614 snaps in 2025 with just four total pressures allowed.
In 2024 and 2025, Ioane didn’t allow a sack.
During his rookie mini-camp this weekend with Baltimore, the topic of Ioane working at right guard came up, since he spent almost his entire time at Penn State as a left guard. Ionane didn’t seem concerned and made sure to credit Trautwein for his development:
“I played both left and right, a little bit of center as well. Shout out to Phil Trautwein, my O-line coach at Penn State. He made sure every day we were rotating left and right just to get used to it. But out here, it's definitely a little bit of work to get used to.”
Florida fans are hoping to get that same level of development in Gainesville. One of the many qualms of the Billy Napier Era was the seeming lack of development along the offensive line. In fact, going back to the Dan Mullen Era, the Gators have had just four offensive linemen drafted since 2020 (with Jake Slaughter and Austin Barber being the third and fourth).
Meanwhile, since the 2021 NFL Draft, Trautwein’s first draft group at Penn State, the Nitty Lions have had nine players selected. Recreate that in Gainesville, and the glory days might not be that far away.
Add us as a preferred source on Google