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also scored a team-high eight receiving touchdowns. Not bad for a true freshman who didn't make his first start until the fifth game of the season. The 6-5, 258-pound Freiermuth gives the Lions a lot of flexibility, maybe even more than they had when Mike Gesicki was holding down the position in 2016 and '17. In addition to being a sure-handed receiver who can make plays downfield and find openings in the red zone, he's a capable and enthusiastic blocker – a tra- ditional tight end, in other words. Which is not to say that the Lions don't prize players who are more reminiscent of Freiermuth's predecessor. Gesicki was essentially a wide receiver in a tight end's body, and the Lions have another one of those types of players in the 6-7 235- pound Kuntz, who played a bit in 2018 without sacrificing his freshman eligibil- ity. "This is a system that uses the tight end very differently than other systems," assistant coach Tyler Bowen said. "He is a prime receiver in the pass game, not just a decoy. That has changed overall, and Mike… has put us on the scene from a tight end recruiting perspective." Freiermuth's emergence has consigned his more-experienced teammates to backup roles. Hol- land, who began the season as the starter at the position, caught only seven passes for 114 yards, while Bowers and Dalton combined to make nine catches for 69 yards. They'll be competing with Kuntz for playing time in 2019, but Freiermuth figures to be the Lions' main man here for at least the next two years. STAFF SAYS Bowen on Freiermuth: "Obviously, coming in, he was a very ma- ture player, being a post-grad guy out of high school. he's done what we ask of all our guys, just get better every week. We can ask him to do a little bit more, and he's handled that well. Nothing has been too big so far, and he's continued to get better throughout the season." OFFENSIVE LINE KEY RETURNEES C: Michal Menet, Juice Scruggs; G: Bryce Effner, Steven Gonzalez, Des Holmes, Mike Miranda; T: Will Fries, Alex Gellerstedt, Rasheed Walker KEY LOSSES C: Zach Simpson; G: Con- nor McGovern, Charlie Shuman; T: Ryan Bates, Sterling Jenkins, Chasz Wright NEWCOMERS Caedan Wallace, An- thony Whigan, Saleem Wormley OUTLOOK The Nittany Lions looked as though they might return one of the most experienced offensive lines in the coun- try, with all five of this year's starters holding eligibility in 2019. But then Mc- Govern began turning up as one of the top guards in a number of mock drafts, and on Jan. 2 he made it official, announcing that he would be skipping his senior year. Later that day, he was joined by Bates, an- other three-year starter who is leaving early. Also gone is Wright, who started 16 games in his final three seasons. So now the Lions have some rebuilding to do. They will return a couple of multi- year starters in Gonzalez at left guard and Fries at left tackle. In addition, Menet is set to return for his second season as the starter at center. But the holes at right tackle and right guard will need to be filled as quickly as possible, and the coaches have a lot of options to consider as they put the pieces back together. One of those options would be to simply promote the players behind McGovern and Bates. That would be Holmes at guard and Gellerstedt at tackle. Another possibility would be to move Gonzalez's backup, Mike Miranda, to McGovern's spot on the right side of the line. Miranda started at guard against Maryland due to injuries elsewhere on the line, and the Lions enjoyed one of their best days of the season on offense, rushing for 310 yards. Also presumably under consideration: moving C.J. Thorpe back to offense, where he would likely have a good shot at a start- ing spot somewhere. Thorpe had been second team at right guard to start the year but made a midseason switch to defense to help address an acute manpower shortage in the middle of the front seven. F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K FAST START In his first college sea- son, Freiermuth led the Nittany Lions with eight touchdown recep- tions. Photo by Steve Manuel

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