Eric Wilson decided back in January that Penn State was where he wanted to finish his college football career.

Now, the former All-Ivy League pick and interior offensive lineman is on campus and ready to get rolling with his new team.

Wilson previously played at Harvard, which did not have a 2020 season because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was a multi-year starter there, however, but saw a chance to compete for playing time in the Big Ten while potentially improving his NFL Draft stock by moving on to the Nittany Lions.

After finishing all of the requirements to receive his Harvard diploma last week, Wilson jumped in a car and headed south to State College, where he started Penn State’s first summer semester on Monday.

“My short-term goal is to help the team in any way I can,” Wilson said before he made it into town.

Despite not playing in a game since 2019, Wilson still got plenty of strength and conditioning work in and focused on improving his techniques and fundamentals while working out with now ex-teammates with the Crimson. He also observed what the Lions were doing during their 15 practices between March and April from afar, so that he’ll be as far along as possible when it comes to learning new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s system and also Phil Trautwein’s teaching style.

“I went through all of the drills the Harvard linemen did and participated in all of the lifts,” Wilson said.

“I was able to zoom with [offensive line] Coach (Phil) Trautwein frequently to watch the offense and understand as much of the install as possible before getting here. It allowed me to get a feel for the offense and imagine myself in some of those situations.”

Wilson will not be guaranteed a starting spot, but he’ll certainly have the chance to compete for one.

Mike Miranda is sliding inside to center to replace Michal Menet, which leaves both of the Lions’ starting guard spots open. Des Holmes, Juice Scruggs, Anthony Whigan and Saleem Wormley all are in the mix to win a job, which means Trautwein has plenty of options to assess this summer before making a final decision ahead of the opener at Wisconsin in September. Wilson will hope to be a first-team option, but if not, he knows that being a part of the rotation is possible, and he’s happy to do whatever he can to help Penn State succeed.

“My long-term goal is to develop myself into a player that proves he can play at the next level while being on a big ten championship team,” he said.

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