Jets' Olu Fashanu excited to play with 'football idol' Tyron Smith

NFL

NFL Draft 2024

by zach braziler

When Olu Fashanu first played on the offensive line as a sophomore in high school and just started playing football, he wanted to see footage of the NFL's best offensive tackles.

Tyron Smith's name came up multiple times.

They are teammates now.

“He's really my football idol and it's great for me to be in the same room with him and have the opportunity to learn from him,” Fashanu, a first-round pick of the Jets, said Friday on One. He said this when he was officially introduced. Jets Drive.

It was a full-circle moment for Fashanu, the 11th overall draft pick who went on to star at Penn State.

He learned a lot about his position just by observing Smith, an eight-time Pro Bowler whom the Jets signed to a one-year deal worth up to $20 million in incentives in March.

Fashanu, 21, provides insurance for Smith and Morgan Moses, who is expected to be the starting right tackle.

Smith and Moses are both 33 years old.

Injury issues limited Smith to four games in 2022 and two in 2020, while Moses is recovering from chest surgery.

Fashanu will be able to learn behind them for a year before assuming any position.

“The biggest reason I watched Tyrone so closely was because I felt like he was tall, toned, had long arms, and we had a similar build,” Fashanu said. “If you look at how technically skilled he is and the way he moves, he has no wasted movement and is intentional in everything he does, the way he uses his hands and the way he runs off the ball. So as a tackle, he's the standard and always has been.”

Fashanu, who is 6-foot-6 and weighs 312 pounds, was a late starter.

He was a basketball player from an early age.

He didn't start playing football until his freshman year at Gonzaga High School (Washington, DC).

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That first season, he was a defensive lineman.

The following year, he moved to the offensive line and stuck there.

Fashanu quickly reached the bars.

“I think the first thing I liked about football was that it really rewarded you physically, whereas in basketball you’ve been penalized for it all your life,” he said. “Growing up playing basketball, I was a big, tall, chubby kid. So I was just a typical center, not very useful on offense, really only used on defense. So I would use up all my fouls, and in soccer, physicality and toughness are still valued, so it was easy for me to make the switch.”

It was clearly a good decision.

On Thursday night, Fashanu developed into a three-star recruit, playing alongside Caleb Williams, the star quarterback from the University of Southern California who was drafted No. 1 by the Bears.

He was a key part of Penn State's offensive line, starting 21 games and earning team captain and team MVP honors last season.

In 2023 with the Nittany Lions, he did not allow a sack on 382 pass blocking snaps.

He became a Jet on Thursday night and visited the training facility on Friday.

Soon he will meet his hero – Smith.

“It's pretty hard to explain, to be honest. I mean, it's everything I imagined it to be,” Fashanu said. “I've worked hard for this moment, and for it to finally come true means everything to me.”