Blue White Illustrated

U nder the circumstances, Brenton Strange can reDect on his per- formance in 2020 and feel proud. In only his second season at Penn State, the tight end prepared himself to work in concert with the team's star at the position, Pat Freiermuth. Ready and able to bring toughness and a team-1rst, blocking- heavy approach to the 1eld, Strange was eager for the opportunity to play a role, limited though it might have appeared. An early-season injury to Freiermuth upended those plans. Propelled into the starting lineup at the midpoint of the sea- son, Strange made the most of the sudden promotion, which turned out to be per- manent, as Freiermuth was forced to un- dergo season-ending surgery. "I think I did a great job," Strange said. "I had some big shoes to 1ll, but I felt like I came in, did the best job that I could with my given situation, and I feel like I'm going to do a lot better this year expand- ing on that." Taking the majority of the snaps at tight end in the 1nal 1ve games of the season, Strange saw his role expand signi1cantly. Aer being targeted only 1ve times in the Nittany Lions' 1rst four games, he reeled in 14 receptions on 15 targets through the rest of the 2020 campaign, 1nishing with 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 17 catches ranked fourth on the team, as did his yardage total, and he was third in receiving touchdowns. Strange bene1tted from the staC's deci- sion to redshirt him in 2019. With three tight ends ahead of him on the depth chart – Freiermuth, Nick Bowers and Zack Kuntz – he appeared in only two games but was able to begin the diJcult work of learning a college oCense. He said the ex- perience helped prepare him for the sud- den expansion of his role last November. "I'm kind of happy it happened when it did, because my freshman year when I redshirted, I wasn't prepared for some- thing like that," Strange said. "But last year, yeah, I was prepared for it and I was waiting for my time to come. It came a little earlier than I expected." Freiermuth has since moved on to the NFL, having been chosen in the second round of the dra by the Pittsburgh Steelers. His exit means Strange will con- tinue to be the team's starter in 2021. ROLE OF A LIFETIME Brenton Strange thrived after an unexpected promotion. He'll be working to continue his progress this fall | S P O T L I G H T T I G H T E N D S >> Taking his cues from the NFL's top tight ends, speci1cally San Francisco 49ers All-Pro George Kittle, Strange said he be- lieves he's capable of performing at a high level as both a blocker and a pass catcher. Emulating Kittle, arguably the NFL's best blocking tight end, Strange wants to build on a pass-blocking performance that was rated second-best on the team by Pro Football Focus last year. He also wants to improve on his run blocking, which ranked next-to-last among Penn State's oCensive performers according to PFF. Strange believes that eCort can not only help the Nittany Lions succeed this com- ing season but also can pave the way to- ward a future at the next level. "That's what I want to be a part of my game," he said. "It's just a toughness thing. I feel like I already have it, but it's a mental thing because it's what you want to go out there and what you want to go do. That's what you've got to do if you want to make it big time. "I'm driven for that. I want to get my de- gree here now, but I'm driven to go to the NFL. That's something that can change my family's life forever, so de1nitely, that's something I work for every day." While professional football is the ulti- mate goal, Strange says he isn't getting ahead of himself. He's been preparing throughout the oC-season for his redshirt sophomore year and is determined to see that both he and the team take advantage of the lessons they learned in 2020. "I wish we would have found a diCerent way," he said, "but I think this last year will make us a lot better." ■ FAST FACTS LETTERMEN RETURNING 2 (Theo Johnson, Brenton Strange) LETTERMEN LOST 3 (Trevor Baker, Pat Freiermuth, Zack Kuntz) STARTERS RETURNING 1 (Strange) STARTERS LOST 1 (Freiermuth) OTHERS WITH STARTING EXPERIENCE 1 (Johnson, 1 career start) WHAT THEY'RE SAYING COACHING STAFF "Brenton Strange [did] a great job last year stepping in, and Theo as well, when Pat left. And I'll tell you what, he's gotten better every day. He has good short-area quick- ness and does some really nice things with the ball in his hands." Ty Howle

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