Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1052705
T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N hen Penn State head coach James Franklin discusses his true freshman tight end Pat Freiermuth, one word reoccurs at seem- ingly every occasion: Huge. Freiermuth, who stood 6-foot-5, 250 pounds coming out of high school and has added 10 pounds over the past few months, has lived up to all of his ad- vance billing. Both physically and in the form of his immediate production, the Merrimac, Mass., standout has been nothing short of big. "Pat Freiermuth has been huge for us," said Franklin following Penn State's 30- 24 victory over Iowa last month, a game in which the newcomer caught an 18- yard touchdown pass from Trace McSor- ley. "Freiermuth, as a freshman, has really done well. I think that he just con- tinues to make big plays because he has a lot of confidence in his ability. Trace has a lot of confidence in him, and the coaches have a lot of confidence in him." At no point was that confidence a given prior to his arrival at Penn State as a May enrollee. In fact, the arrival itself wasn't a guar- antee for Freiermuth until later in his recruiting process. He had attracted early interest from nearby Massachu- setts, Boston College and Syracuse, but his recruitment didn't really take off until Penn State extended a scholarship offer immediately after its July 2016 White Out camp for underclassman prospects. The visit and offer made a huge impres- sion on Freiermuth. "I'll never forget driving up there and seeing the stadium when I got into town. It kind of feels like you're in the middle of nowhere after driving all that way, but then, when you get into town and you see that big stadium, you instantly know where you're at," Freiermuth told BWI after his visit. "When I actually walked into the stadium then for camp, it just gave me the chills. I instantly realized how cool it would be to play here. … That whole camp was great. When I left that camp, I really wanted to be a part of that program." Recounting the experience, one in which a relatively unheralded Freier- muth calmly walked into Beaver Sta- dium and performed well against some of the top recruits in the country, Franklin said recently that the attraction was mutual. "I will never forget when he at- W BIG MAN ON CAMPUS Tight end Pat Freiermuth has had a sizable impact on the offense during an encouraging freshman season at Penn State |