Blue White Illustrated

OL seeking continued improvement over summer T he starter-heavy Blue team didn't produce big numbers in Penn State's spring game. Five players combined for 56 yards and a touchdown on 18 car- ries, with quarterback Sean Cli8ord turn- ing in the closest thing to a chunk play on the ground – an 11-yard carry in the sec- ond quarter. Ricky Slade, expected to be the top running back this coming fall, 7n- ished with four carries for 10 yards, while his top competitor for the starting spot, fellow sophomore Journey Brown, 7n- ished with 10 yards on three carries. Those numbers, coordinator Ricky Rahne said, were not indicative of the of- fense's performance during the practice sessions leading up to the Blue-White Game. "I've been really happy with how we've run the ball all spring, so I wish obviously that we would have run it a little bit more e9ciently today," Rahne said. "But if I take all 15 practices, I was happy with how we ran the ball this spring." Head coach James Franklin had said a few days earlier that Slade and Brown had separated themselves from their com- petitors for the running back spot. But if the Nittany Lions are to adequately re- place Miles Sanders, they will need their o8ensive line to come together, too, and that process is ongoing. Rasheed Walker and C.J. Thorpe started for the Blue in the spring game, with Thorpe's primary competitor for the right guard spot, Mike Miranda, out of action during the team's 7nal practice session. Walker, a redshirt freshman, and Thorpe, a redshirt sophomore who 7lled in on the defensive line last year, joined Michal Menet, Steven Gonzalez and Will Fries in the 7rst-team lineup. Menet started 12 games at center last year, while Gonzalez started all 13 at le: guard. Fries earned starts at both tackle spots but appears to have settled in at right tackle this year, with Walker looking like a de7nite starter at the opposite spot. Franklin and Rahne both said that Thorpe made great strides throughout the spring, and the consensus coming out of the Blue-White Game was that he would likely share reps with Gonzalez and Miranda at the two guard spots in the fall. Rahne said he expected the competition to carry over into preseason camp. "That's going to keep going. And I'm happy. Those guys are really, really good players," Rahne said. "They've had some experience in games, whichever side of the ball it's on, and I think those guys can just continue to come up." Among the returning starters, hopes are high for the upcoming season, even a:er a middling performance in the spring game. "I think there is de7nitely room for im- provement. It was not to our standard, and I think that there are de7nitely things we need to improve on," Fries said. "It de7nitely was not what we wanted, but there were things that we did well and things that we can build o8 of." Rahne said that sentiment applies to the entire o8ensive line. Despite losing Con- nor McGovern and Ryan Bates to the NFL a year before their eligibility was up, the second-year o8ensive coordinator sized up the group with con7dence coming out of spring practice. "We've got some experience," Rahne said. "Obviously, there are still some bat- tles to be won there at a couple of posi- tions. But we do have some experience, and what I expect is for them to set the men- tality of the o8ense and for us to be a physical team that can run the ball when we want to. And that's what I expect out of those guys: 7nishing guys, being great in pass protection, hav- ing a great pocket and those sorts of things. Because we have the talent and the experience to do that." ■ P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> | ON THE BLOCK Fries (71) and Thorpe (69) protect Sean Clifford during a passing at- tempt in the Blue- White Game. Fries is a returning starter at tackle, while Thorpe is vying for a first- team spot at guard. Photo by Steve Manuel

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