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PHIL'S CORNER Penn State has the talent to maintain its momentum in 2013 here certainly weren't many people who agreed with my prediction for Penn State's 2012 football season. Readers may recall that I stated the Nittany Lions had a chance to produce a 9-3 record despite the NCAA sanctions, which had just been levied. That pronouncement was not well received. While the Lions finished one victory shy of my prediction, I am back to announce what many will probably write off as another unrealistic projection. Despite the losses of some key starters, I think Penn State can finish with a 9-3 record in 2013. It certainly isn't going to be easy. It will be difficult for either of the starting quarterback candidates – sophomore transfer Tyler Ferguson or freshman Christian Hackenberg – to duplicate the performance of Matt McGloin in 2012. Many believe that if Ferguson and/or Hackenberg aren't able to do what McGloin did as a senior, Penn State won't have any chance of matching or improving on last year's victory total. Given the way O'Brien operates his offense, the quarterback is perceived to be a genie who performs wonders. McGloin helped encourage that line of thinking last year by leading the Big Ten in pass attempts (446) and completions (270). Now he's gone, and so are Jordan Hill, Michael Mauti, Gerald Hodges, Pete Massaro, Sean Stanley and Stephon Morris. Given those losses, it might seem unrealistic to assert that Penn State will match or perhaps even improve upon T last season's record. But I believe it's an attainable goal. With a credible performance by either Ferguson or Hackenberg, I believe the Nittany Lions have enough talent on offense to post nearly 30 points per game against most of their opponents. Zack Zwinak, Bill Belton and redshirt freshman Akeel Lynch are set to go, giving Penn State one of the best overall running back units in the conference, a unit whose depth rivals that of Wisconsin and Ohio State. Zwinak, Belton and Lynch provide Penn State with excellent balance at the running back position. Zwinak is a between-the-tackles power runner with much better north-south speed than some people realize. He is the type of runner O'Brien likes to have in his offense. Belton brings versatility. He catches the ball exceptionally well coming out of the backfield and can be placed in the slot and even split out wide to expand the offense. That brings us to Lynch. At 6-foot0, 215 pounds and with sub-4.5-second 40-yard speed, he has the ability to bring an extra dimension to Penn State's offense. He has home-run capability but is a patient runner with the size and speed to get yards both inside and outside. I realize he will only be a redshirt freshman this fall, but I agree with Big Ten Network analyst Howard Griffith, who has predicted that Lynch will be the Big Ten's newcomer of the year on offense. I believe the balance that Zwinak, Belton and Lynch provide could end up being critical to the development of Ferguson and Hackenberg. It's unrealistic to expect Ferguson and/or Hackenberg to bear the whole offensive burden. For Penn State to have a consistent offense this fall, there will have to be some semblance of balance between the run and the pass. This certainly will be a different offense than the one Penn State fielded last fall, particularly with respect to the running game. If the Lions are able to strike a balance between the run and the pass, the quarterbacks' learning process will be made much easier. Especially since the rest of Penn State's offense is loaded with talent. Allen Robinson, Brandon MosebyFelder, redshirt freshman Eugene Lewis, Alex Kenney, January enrollee Richy Anderson and Matt Zanellato combine to give Penn State one of the best and deepest wide receiver units in the conference. Robinson and Moseby-Felder combined for 108 receptions for 1,450 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012. Lewis is still an unproven commodity, but wide receivers coach Stan Hixon said last year that he "just might be the best pure athlete at wide receiver" on Penn State's depth chart. At tight end, the Nittany Lions could have the finest unit in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Carter made the watch list for the John Mackey Award in his first season, and Jesse James is a matchup nightmare. He's 6-7, 249 pounds and ran a sub-4.7-second 40yard dash in spring practice. As a freshman last season, he totaled five touchdowns and averaged a teamhigh 18.4 yards per catch. People around the program are already starting to talk about his NFL potential, saying he's got a chance to eventually be a high draft pick. I'm not about to argue. But no offense can prosper without a strong performance by the line. In senior right guard John Urschel and redshirt sophomore left tackle Dono-

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