While Penn State football escaped Seattle with a narrow win over the Washington Huskies on Saturday, the Nittany Lions sure gave the Penn State faithful a scare in the second half.

Washington scored 19 unanswered points before Penn State iced the game with a 7:40 drive to secure the win.

The Nittany Lions made a series of critical runs on that final drive, which is ever more impressive considering redshirt sophomore Garrett Sexton checked in for an injured Malachi Goodman at left tackle in the second half.

“I wish I had talked more about Garrett after the game, to be honest with you. … To watch Garrett go in, honestly, the big block that happens at Carson [Hansen’s] run at the end of the game is because of Garrett Sexton,” Matt Campbell said Tuesday. “I think both those guys, for Garrett being a young player that’s growing, and Malachi being a very young player that’s growing, I thought it was a really huge step forward for both those guys on Saturday.”

The Hansen run Campbell mentioned was a 36-yard dash on second-and-6 to take Penn State all the way down to Washington’s 22-yard line with just over five minutes remaining in the contest.

Sexton held his own on the left side, giving Hansen just enough room to break through the middle and dash for one of his biggest runs in a Penn State uniform.

“He went in and did his job. I thought he did a job on the back end, on the backside of me, in pass-pro and in run protection. … Just a little stint of action that he was able to get in real play,” quarterback Rocco Becht said.

Sexton received his highest career snap count (30) after Goodman exited the game at the half. Becht was sacked three times, but the encouraging rushing performance overall signals major improvement for the big boys up front.

The emphasis on better run blocking from offensive line coach Ryan Clanton’s group has been apparent since Week 1.

Penn State really failed to get the ball rolling up until the Purdue game, when Cam Wallace and Hansen both gashed the Boilermakers en route to the Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten win.

The offensive line showed much improvement, creating craters for the backs to run through. That improvement is even more tangible with Sexton’s involvement.

The next man up came in essentially unnoticed, which is a good thing, especially on the offensive line.

“Sexton’s in there every morning early, late at night, working on his craft. He’s a film junkie. He’s always in the offensive line room watching film. … He’s always working out through practice and constantly grinding,” right guard Cooper Cousins said. “That’s why when he went on there, and it was his turn to go and hold it down on the left side, he held it down to the best of his ability to do the job.”

Cousins knows a thing or two about handling adversity in a Penn State uniform, but he doesn’t bear that weight alone. Returning players Anthony Donkoh and Goodman share that bond with him, and Sexton played in every game in 2025, though mostly in a special teams role.

If anyone knows how much Sexton can genuinely contribute to the Nittany Lions, it’s Cousins. Sexton passed the eye test against the Huskies. If Goodman isn’t able to go on Saturday opposite Minnesota, Penn State should be in good hands on the left side.

“He has a mean streak to him. He’s the nicest guy ever, but he has a mean streak to him,” Cousins said. “He plays with his length, and he plays with his abilities. He’s super smart. That’s what you’ll see on tape for Sexton. … He’ll know what the defense is doing before the snap even happens, because he’s that smart and he works at it.”

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