ALTOONA (Nittany Nation) — Life after sports has long been considered one of the toughest challenges facing former athletes. Last fall, just before Penn State’s season opener, offensive guard Landon Tengwall was unexpectedly forced out of the game he loves after several head injuries.
“I want to be a great husband. I want to be a good father. I want to be a great businessman. And you have to take all of that into consideration and make an adult decision,” he said.
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Still living in the shadow of Mount Nittany, escaping Penn State football wasn’t easy last fall.
“Most people who retire do it at the end of a season and they have that offseason. The football is not there,” he said. “But it wasn’t that. The focus was on Penn State.
Landon took trips out of town to clear his head and leaned into his Pittsburgh Steelers fandom. He created a new account X (formerly Twitter) and started dismantling football. He was pretty good at it, and from there he was hooked.
“At first, I didn’t really know where I was going with this,” he recalls. “It’s kind of turned into this thing now where I’m creating a ton of cool content with our, you know, our former players, our current players.”
Landon began applying his skills at Penn State, and in the spring he pitched Behind the wallhis podcast and his YouTube channel. It includes in-studio interviews with former players and other football minds, as well as match analysis. The energy he once devoted to preparing a game is the energy he devotes to preparing its content.
“People ask me now on Saturdays and they say, ‘Hey, is this hard for you?’ And I’ll tell you, I really don’t feel too much grief because I’m so focused when the game starts,” he said. “If I’m in and around the game, I have a notepad and I’m constantly writing down every little part so I can remember and refer to it.”
Tengwall’s platform has grown steadily, to no surprise from head coach James Franklin, who said Tengwall’s experience as a national recruit and former Big Ten starter positions him uniquely.
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“His ability to understand what our players are going through and also maintain relationships with them. I think he can ask some really good questions that a lot of fans want to hear,” he said. “I think he does a very good job. I’m proud of him and we’re not surprised at all.
Landon’s journey from player to media member was not without its challenges. But with his unexpected retirement more than a year away, Landon is excited about the next chapter.
“I love it. I wake up every day inspired, so it’s really exciting for me to experience that again,” he said. “Having this goal of working towards something. And I’m grateful and I’m lucky because I think most people, most football players don’t have that, and it takes them a long time to figure out what they want to do. And some guys never realize it.
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