Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
2 0 M A Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Stats were not kept officially for re- lease, but each player had a few moments. Smolik, who missed all of last season with an undisclosed injury, threw the game's only touchdown pass, but Grunkemeyer may have been sharper on a down-to- down basis. Regardless, the margin was thin. If the numbers on the powder blue quarterback jerseys had been harder to see, many observers might have had trouble telling them apart. Grunkemeyer showcased a big arm with a few strong throws into traffic. He showed off his skill set moving to his right and hitting a couple of crossing re- ceivers, including a nice gain to Samuel and another one to redshirt sophomore tight end Joey Schlaffer. He completed 4 passes in a row on his first drive, which ended in a field goal by freshman Mat- thew Parker. Grunkemeyer was also on the field for a pair of fumbled snaps, though one never made it back to him in the shotgun. Smolik looked nimble while trying to avoid a strong Blue pass rush. He got out of trouble more than once and made some nice throws. Grunkemeyer was probably a little more polished overall, but Smolik did have the scoring play on his box score, which isn't nothing. "Things are going phenomenally," Franklin said. "They've got strong arms, and Jaxon missed the whole year, so we didn't have a whole lot to compare and contrast. Jaxon had a great spring, so it will be a battle for the backup quarter- back spot. "It's going to be important that we get these guys reps in practice and in games as well. Whoever wins the backup quarter- back job, we're going to have to get them Penn State sped through its Blue- White Game at Beaver Stadium, providing a glimpse into the team's progress this spring. Here are the highs and lows from the scrimmage, for which official stats were not kept: PLAYER OF THE GAME: With some of Penn State's top safeties absent, Vaboue Toure took advantage of the opportunity for increased reps. The redshirt freshman picked off senior quarterback Drew Allar and could hear his name mentioned frequently over the Beaver Stadium loudspeaker for his many tackles and assisted stops. PLAY OF THE GAME: Redshirt soph- omore quarterback Jaxon Smolik con- nected with true freshman receiver Lyrick Samuel for the only passing touchdown of the afternoon. With the first half winding down, Smolik's heave went for 42 yards and a score to give the White a 10-2 advantage. BEST PASS: There were a few to choose from in the second half, with Allar engineering a scoring drive for the Blue team. None were better than when he found redshirt senior Kyron Hudson for a 20-yard gain in traffic to move his side into scoring position. BEST RUN: Redshirt senior receiver Liam Clifford picked up 13 yards on an end-around early in the Blue team's second possession. BEST CATCH: The precision of Allar's second-quarter connection with se- nior transfer Devonte Ross for 14 yards was excellent. Allar threw a simple out pattern toward the sideline, and Ross toe-tapped his way to a first down with the haul. WORST DROP: Junior cornerback Elliot Washington II was visibly frus- trated by a missed opportunity to reel in an interception on a pass by red- shirt freshman quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer that had been affected by pressure from redshirt freshman defensive end Jaylen Harvey. BEST SACK: A real sack would have earned someone a trip to the dog- house in this game, so the Nittany Lion defenders had to be careful. Nevertheless, they still managed to apply pressure a few times. The best "sack" of the afternoon was by red- shirt freshman defensive end Mylachi Williams, who tagged Grunkemeyer down for a 5-yard loss. BEST HIT: Cornerback Daryus Dix- son was among the early enrollees who turned heads this spring. In the Blue-White Game, he showed what's been behind all that buzz, laying a wicked, helmet-popping hit on red- shirt freshman receiver Josiah Brown. Though the second-half reception went for 14 yards, Dixson's shot was the afternoon's most aggressive and impactful tackle. BEST KICK: Into the wind in the first quarter, freshman kicker Matthew Parker gave the White team an early 3-2 lead by sending home a 43-yard field goal. Redshirt senior Gabriel Nwosu deserves a shout-out, too, for his spiraling second-half punt. Nwosu's primary role has been as Penn State's kickoff specialist, but he's listed as a punter on the roster. WORST KICK: The Lions started the afternoon with a kickoff competition for which points were awarded. That's how the Blue squad began with a 2-0 lead. Redshirt sophomore kicker Ryan Barker excelled on field goals last season, but his kickoff into the wind toward the south end zone wobbled out of bounds. BEST DECISION: Penn State purposefully kept this year's Blue-White Game off television for competitive reasons, but the in-stadium production made an event that can often be a slog into something better. Moving briskly, the Nit - tany Lions put in some productive work and finished in well under two hours by shortening the quarters, tightening up the halftime break and using thud tempo in the first half. — Nate Bauer Blue-White Game Highs & Lows Senior wide receiver Devonte Ross made a strong impression in his first appearance since transferring from Troy. PHOOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS