Blue White Illustrated

S ometimes, recruiting is a pretty simple process. A team identifies a need, finds a few prospects who fit that need and sets out to sign the guy at the top of its list. That was the case when Penn State be- gan pursuing Christian Hackenberg a few years ago. Bill O'Brien, the Nittany Lions' coach at the time, knew he was going to need a quarterback in 2013. He loved Hackenberg's potential, and so he went out and signed the five-star prospect. Problem solved. But other times, recruiting is a bit more complicated. That was the case with Mike Gesicki. A 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end from Man- ahawkin, N.J., Gesicki was highly regard- ed, but he happened to play one of the few positions at which Penn State had a surplus of talent. Did it make sense for the Nittany Lions to try and sign another tight end? Or should they back away, no matter how good he might look in blue and white? For a while, O'Brien himself wasn't sure. "When he first started recruiting me, Coach O'Brien would mention all the time their scholarship situation, mention how they didn't have too many spots for someone like me," Gesicki said. "He showed me their recruiting board, showed me what they really needed, like line- backers and offensive linemen and every- thing. He always made it clear that he really wanted me, but [he also said] that tight end just wasn't an emphasis at all with the depth they already have at that position. "But then, randomly, Coach O'Brien hit me up one day and told me about how he was constantly sitting in the film room, just trying to find a reason not to offer me. He said he would sit there and play my film again and again, trying to find reasons to move on, but he simply couldn't. That's when he offered." One factor that helped O'Brien make his decision was Gesicki's leadership qual- ities. He's been honing them in a variety of sports throughout his athletic career at Southern Regional High School. "Something I really pride myself on is being a leader, being the guy who others look up to. No matter what sport I'm play- ing, I'm going to make sure I lead my teammates the best way I can. And I think I've been successful at that so far. I've won a lot of championships in different sports. For example, in volleyball, we could have won three state titles. We were really close. We were in the state final my fresh- man, sophomore and junior years. We fi- nally won it my junior year. "We made it to the state semifinals this year in basketball, upsetting the No. 2 team in the state. I was able to break my school record in points, scoring 1,867 ca- reer points, so I had some great years in basketball, too." Gesicki's nominations for both the Mc- Donald's All-American Game (basketball) and the U.S. Army All-American Game (football) offer an indication of the kind of athlete Penn State is getting. He's the only athlete in the nation to earn both honors this year. While he's flattered to be recognized in both sports, Gesicki knows he has yet to reach his full potential. In order to do that, he's been reaching out to his future teammates, including some of the players against whom he'll soon be competing for playing time. "I'm real close with Hack already. We probably talk once or twice a week still. With Adam [Breneman], Jesse [James] and Kyle [Carter], we're all pretty close already, too. I was just up there a couple weeks back and caught up with them, sat in on a couple of their meetings," Gesicki said. "They're all really good guys, they've been so good at helping me with every- thing so far. They've done so much for me already, I really appreciate how helpful they've all been, whether it's getting me prepared specifically for tight end or get- ting prepared for the pressures that come along with everything. I owe a lot to those guys already and I'm looking for- ward to learning more from them in the future." ■ LEADING MAN Nittany Lions like Mike Gesicki's tangible and intangible qualities | THE GESICKI FILE S T A T I S T I C S Finished his senior season with 33 receptions for 530 yards and four touch- downs. H O N O R S Rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, as well as the 10th-best tight end na- tionally and the fifth-best prospect in New Jersey.

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