Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1480138
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M that plays out, but he's going to play a lot of football for us. "When it comes to Hunter, it's prob- ably a similar situation. I would say both of those guys, whether they're start- ers or not, will play starter reps. Right now, we look at Hunter being able to play both guards and center. Our plan is to play him starter reps at both guard [spots]." Tinsley came to Penn State after two seasons at Western Kentucky in which he totaled 130 catches for 1,779 yards and 18 touchdowns. Before that, the Lee's Summit, Mo., native had spent two years at Hutchinson (Kan.) Com- munity College, where he caught 57 passes for 556 yards. Tinsley's maturation into a high- level Power Five wideout was a step- by-step process that began even before his enrollment at Hutchinson. He said he didn't have any college offers com- ing out of Lee's Summit High, where he made 19 catches in his lone season of varsity football, but he was a strong all- around athlete and never doubted that he had the potential to play in a Power Five conference. "I walked on to my junior college out of high school," Tinsley said. "I didn't have any offers out of high school. The hunger and the fact that I knew I could eventually play at this level [were mo- tivational]. "It's been a journey," he added. "I feel like what has helped me in my process going from Hutch to Western Kentucky to here, [has been to treat it as] a day- to-day thing. You can't make the jour- ney too daunting. You've got to be pres- ent and get better each and every day, and focus on the details. … You can't look at the whole thing, the whole big picture. You know where you want to go, but you need to be focusing on the task at hand." Looking back, Tinsley said he believes his roundabout journey helped him adapt quickly to Penn State. He's now played at three schools and has had to learn a different offensive system every year, with Western Kentucky changing offensive coordinators in the middle of his tenure there. "This is my fifth offense in the five seasons I've been in college," Tinsley said. "At the end of the day, it's about letting the game come to me and trying not to be too tight or too tense. I'm just trying to be loose and just go play the game the way I know how to." The Nittany Lions have two other transfers from four-year schools who are playing prominent roles this fall. Junior cornerback Johnny Dixon, for- merly of South Carolina, has been seeing significant playing time in the secondary and even started the Lions' home opener against Ohio. Super senior punter Barney Amor, formerly of Col- gate, has taken over the starting duties and through four games was second in the Big Ten in punts of 50 or more yards (7) and in punts downed inside the op- ponent's 20-yard line (10). Both Dixon and Amor arrived last year. Otherwise, the Lions' roster is made up primarily of high school and junior college players that they developed themselves. That appears to be the formula for success in modern college football: recruit and groom as much tal- ent as possible, and when you have to dip into the transfer portal to fill a hole somewhere, make it count. So far, the Lions have done just that. ■ "This is my fifth offense in the five seasons I've been in college. At the end of the day, it's about letting the game come to me and trying not to be too tight or too tense. I'm just trying to be loose and just go play the game the way I know how to." M I T C H E L L T I N S L E Y Super senior wideout Mitchell Tinsley was leading the Nittany Lions in catches (17) and was tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions (3) through four games. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE