Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> Penn State's offensive outlook with Blue White Illustrated website editor Nate Bauer. Here's what he had to say: BWI This offense scored 41.1 points per game last season, the second-most in Penn State history. How do you improve on a number like that? RAHNE I think the number one thing that we need to do to improve on that is to continue to improve our first- and second-down efficiency in terms of being able to run the ball a little bit more efficiently. We were very, very ex- plosive last year. We did a great job. But we need to be able to be efficient and be able to carry on drives that way while still maintaining our third-down per- centage, which was probably the num- ber one reason we were able to put up 41 points a game last season. We were so good on third down, and then we were still explosive. You've got to maintain being explosive while being ball-secure, and then being able to understand the value of 4-, 5- and 6-yard runs. And, quite frankly, 4-, 5- and 6-yard com- pletions. But the thing for me that I have to do is, while wanting those plays, I can't take away the aggressiveness of the entire unit that's created these explosive plays that have been so vital to our success the last two years. BWI Joe Moorhead used to cite point production, turnover margin and explo- sive plays as the three pillars of the of- fense. Were you where you wanted to be in those categories last year? RAHNE Yes. I think we were very ball- secure, especially in terms of fumbles last year. We did not fumble. We were very ball-secure that way. That's why in the spring game, you turn the ball over two times, you take those two fumbles and you turn those into touchdowns and you're going to look up and see you had a lot of points. So we've got to continue to be ball-se- cure in those areas. Our quarterbacks and receivers have got to continue to be ball-secure in terms of interceptions and making contested catches, and putting the ball where our receivers can get it and the defender can't, so that we can continue to minimize interceptions. BWI Does Saquon Barkley's absence, in some ways, open up more options for this offense? Opponents appeared de- termined to take him away, and by ex- tension the running game, through the second half of last season. RAHNE I think it always is going to change week-to-week and by year, how teams are going to perceive your offense. Last year, they wanted to take him away. I think it's extremely debatable whether they did. The guy still ran for more than 1,000 yards, and his receiving numbers were still outstanding. I think the beauty of this offense is, the ball goes where it's supposed to go, es- pecially with a quarterback like Trace. That's why I think this offense is so great. You're not trying to force it to people. We had multiple guys with 50 catches last year, and I think that's the beauty of this offense. So yeah, last year, if they're taking away the run, you've got to find either a LETTERMEN RETURNING 16 QB Trace McSorley, Tommy Stevens OL Ryan Bates, Will Fries, Alex Gellerstedt, Steven Gonzalez, Connor McGovern, Michal Menet, Zach Simpson, Chasz Wright TE Jonathan Holland RB Miles Sanders, Johnathan Thomas WR Juwan Johnson, Brandon Polk, DeAndre Thompkins LETTERMEN LOST 9 OL Brendan Mahon, Andrew Nelson TE Mike Gesicki, Tom Pancoast RB Saquon Barkley, Josh McPhearson WR Saeed Blacknall, Irvin Charles, DaeSean Hamilton STARTERS RETURNING 8 >> Ryan Bates (8 starts in 2017), Will Fries (9), Steven Gonzalez (13), Juwan Johnson (13), Connor McGovern (13), Trace McSorley (13), DeAndre Thompkins (8), Chasz Wright (9) OTHERS WITH STARTING EXPERIENCE 3 >> Mark Allen (1 career start), Brandon Polk (3), Miles Sanders (1) STARTERS LOST 4 >> Brendan Mahon (12), Mike Gesicki (13), Saquon Barkley (12), DaeSean Hamilton (13) O F F E N S E F A S T F A C T S POINTS/GAME 41.1 (T-1st Big Ten; T-6th FBS) YDS/GAME 460.3 (2nd; 19th) RUSHING YDS/GAME 170.2 (6th; 59th) PASSING YDS/GAME 290.2 (1st; 23rd) PASS EFFICIENCY 153.59 (2nd; 14th) FIRST DOWNS/GAME 22.8 (T-2nd; T-31st) 3RD-DOWN CONVERSION PCT. 48.0 (2nd; 5th) 2017 STATISTICS

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