Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> he game was winding down, and with each second that came off the clock, Penn State's comeback chances ebbed just a little bit more. Kentucky had taken a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter of last season's Citrus Bowl, and the Nittany Lions were trying desperately to put a scoring drive together against one of the better defenses in the Southeastern Conference. They had reached the red zone on a Trace McSorley run with about nine minutes to play. Eighteen yards were all that separated them from turning what had been shaping up as a comfortable Wildcats victory into a one-score game. But every yard had been a battle to that point, and when Pat Freier- muth looked out at the Kentucky players lined up against him, he saw a wall of determined inten- sity. "I'm pretty sure it was Josh Allen. He looked over at me and was like, 'You're not scoring a touchdown on this one. We know what you're about in the red zone,' " Freiermuth recalled. He had every reason to take that warning seri- ously. Allen was an All-America defensive end. He had wrecked more than his share of opposing game plans throughout the season. Freier- muth was a true freshman tight end who was only a little more than a year removed from his last high school game. But while the rising Penn State star was well aware of Kentucky's defensive prowess, he wasn't fazed. "I kind of was like, well, OK," Freiermuth said. "And then we scored a touch- down. So I was kind of like, whatever." Freiermuth's 18-yard TD reception trimmed Ken- tucky's lead to 27-21. The Nittany Lions weren't able to complete their comeback, ending their sea- son with a 27-24 loss to the Wildcats, but the touchdown pass to Freiermuth encapsulated one of the great strengths of the program during the James Franklin era: They've had (and will likely continue to have) tremendous tight ends. Before Freiermuth, there were Jesse James and Mike Gesicki, both of whom are in the NFL this season, James with the Detroit Lions, Gesicki with the Miami Dolphins. Gesicki, who is now in his second season after being chosen early in the second round of last year's draft, recently enjoyed a breakout game in Miami's first victory of the year, catching six passes for 95 yards in a 26-18 win over the New York Jets. Freiermuth is all but certain to join those two in the league at some point. The true sophomore has been dubbed "Baby Gronk," a reference to the re- cently retired New England Patriots great Rob Gronkowski, with whom Freiermuth shares a jersey number (87) and a classic tight end physique (6-foot-5, 256 pounds). As with Gronkowski, one of Freiermuth's strengths is his ability to foil coverage schemes that are intended specifically to stop him. Just as Allen knew that the Nittany Lions would be looking for him in the red zone, so, too, do the team's Big Ten opponents. And yet, TIGHT CONNECTION Throughout the James Franklin era, Penn State has gotten a big lift from a succession of standout tight ends. Pat Freiermuth is the latest member of that group to excel in the Lions' offense | T SCORING BINGE Freiermuth had a big day at Michigan State in October, scoring three of the Nittany Lions' four touchdowns in a 28-7 victory over the Spartans. Photo by Steve Manuel

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