Blue White Illustrated

O'Brien has been impressed with Hackenberg's development, calling his season "remarkable" and asserting that he's only beginning to tap into his potential. Said the coach, "He's got a chance to have a very special career at Penn State." Hackenberg's continued development is critical for the Nittany Lions, because the offense won't be successful unless the quarterback running the show has a complete grasp of how the offense needs to operate. That said, when you look at the skill position players Penn State returns in 2014, you have to like its chances of keeping its momentum going. In the backfield, Zwinak returns after rushing for a team-high 989 yards, and Belton also is back following a breakthrough season in which he finished with 803 yards. Zwinak, Belton and Akeel Lynch combined to rush for 2,150 yards on 427 carries in 2013. Joining them next fall will be incoming freshmen Mark Allen, Nick Scott and Jonathan Thomas, who will provide much-needed depth. At wide receiver, the big question as of this writing was whether Robinson was planning to return. If he does, the Lions will be in very good shape. Robinson set a Penn State single-season receiving record in 2013 with 97 catches for 1,432 yards. He had six touchdown catches and averaged 14.8 yards per catch. Even if Robinson doesn't come back, there's plenty of potential in the receiver corps. Against Wisconsin, Lewis displayed his big-play potential, making three catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Also on board are redshirt junior Matt Zanellato, redshirt sophomore Jonathan Warner, sophomore Richy Anderson and redshirt freshman DaeSean Hamilton, as well as a group of incoming freshman pass-catchers that might be the best in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions' 2014 recruiting class features such talented receiver prospects as Troy Apke, Chris Godwin and De'Andre Thompkins. A big bonus here is that Thompkins will be enrolling in January and will be available to take part in spring practice. He is an excellent punt and kickoff returner in addition to being a fine slot receiver. At tight end, it looks as though Penn State will once again have five healthy players at its disposal. The group is led by Jesse James, who was the Nittany Lions' third-leading receiver with 25 catches for 333 yards this past season. Also set to return are redshirt junior Kyle Carter, redshirt sophomore Brent Wilkerson and sophomore Adam Breneman. In addition, Penn State will welcome incoming freshman Mike Gesicki of Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, N.J. Gesicki is rated the No. 1 tight end prospect in the Northeast for the Class of 2014. But there still is one area on Penn State's offense that will enter the 2014 season as a question mark. That, of course, is the offensive line. The leading contenders to replace Howle, Urschel and the right tackle tandem of Gilliam and Adam Gress are all inexperienced underclassmen except for redshirt junior Angelo Mangiro. The projected starter at right tackle is redshirt freshman Andrew Nelson. Mangiro and redshirt freshman Brendan Mahon will compete for Urschel's spot at right guard, and Mangiro and redshirt sophomore Wendy Laurent are the leading contenders to replace Howle at center. Depth along the offensive line will also be a concern this spring, as there will be only eight scholarship linemen on the roster going into spring practice. In addition to the four players listed above, the Nittany Lions return two starters – redshirt junior left tackle Donovan Smith and senior left guard Miles Dieffenbach – as well as redshirt freshman Tanner Hartman and redshirt junior Anthony Alosi. Staying healthy and developing solid starters at center, right guard and right tackle will be the keys to success for Penn State next fall. All the other components that the team will need to put up big numbers in 2014 appear to be present. If the offensive line comes together the way this year's unit did, this could be the most dynamic offense the Nittany Lions have I fielded since the 2005 season.

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