Blue White Illustrated

JAMES' GANG Jesse James lifts Penn State's struggling offense R Y A N   J O N E S | B L U E W H I T E c O N T R I B U T O R On a day when (arguably) Penn State's greatest tight end was in attendance, Jesse James reminded Nittany Lion fans why his name might one day be in the conversation for that figurative crown. The junior tight end had just two catches Saturday, but they were timely and invaluable: a bobbled 13-yard grab he hauled in before bulling into the end zone for a 14-3 lead late in the third quarter, and a 44-yard catch-and-run midway through the fourth that ended any threat of an Akron comeback. Two catches, two scores, and – on a hot, muggy day when offensive rhythm proved elusive – two huge plays that sealed a slog of a 21-3 win. Cooling off aAer the game in the Beaver Stadium pressroom, James said he hadn't had a chance this weekend to talk to Kyle Brady, the former All-American and longtime NFL tight end who was in town with a few dozen other members of the all-conquering 1994 squad. But he said they'd spoken a few times in the past and called Brady "a great leader, and a great role model." As role models go, there is no one better prepared than James to fol- low in Brady's footsteps. Like Brady, James is a hulking specimen – 6-foot-7, 271 officially – with athleti- cism and sure hands that make him a nearly impossible one-on-one matchup. That he didn't catch a pass in the first half can probably be chalked up to the Lions' broader offensive struggles Satur- day, when the running game sputtered, Christian Hackenberg forced a number of throws, and the Lions' young offensive line continued to work through growing pains. As the proven stud of a tight end group that carries a huge burden to pro- duce this season, James figured to be called on in the second half. He was happy to answer. "I think we have a good offense, and we all [handle] the pressure the same," he said aAer the first two-touchdown game of his career. "It's great that I could do that for the team, give us a little spark at the end of the game. But that was a group effort." Indeed, sure-handed, swiA-footed giant though he is, James can't do it alone. James Franklin put much of the credit for James' second TD on the late emergence of the Lions' running game, which racked up most of its 106 yards in the second half. "I think that's what you saw on the play near the end to Jesse," Franklin said. "We were finally able to es- tablish the running game and get it going, and then you go play-action and guys are wide open." James said he "felt great" this week aAer a hard hit seemed to leave him ham- pered in the season opener in Ireland – not surprisingly, given Franklin's stance on injuries, James wouldn't elaborate. In fairness, James himself isn't much of a talker; few Lions better fit the cliché of letting their play do the talking. In his case, for the sake of the Penn State of- fense, James' play will need to remain similarly loud all year. With his first snap, completion, inter- ception and victory as a college quarter- back added to his resume, Hackenberg said he's now simply looking forward to the next challenge. "I think it was a great team win," he said. "I think it helps us moving on with the season. It's definitely what our goal was, and we accomplished it, so we just have to continue to win each day." G A M E G R A D E S QUARTERBACKSChristian Hackenberg has thrown for more yards in back-to- back games than any QB in school his- tory. But he had a few ill-advised throws, two of which were picked off. GRADEB RUNNING BACKSThe rushing game once again was nearly nonexistent in the first half. But they turned it on in the second, thanks to a heavy dose of the wildcat package. GRADEB- RECEIVERSDaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis proved to be a dangerous duo again in week two, combining for 13 catches for 167 yards. GRADEA- OFFENSIVE LINEThe offense struggled to move the ball in the first half, mostly be- cause Penn State was losing the battle at the line of scrimmage. The O-line im- proved as the game went on, which helps this grade. GRADEC+ DEFENSIVE LINEMaybe there were a few runs they could've stopped, or maybe there were a couple more sacks they could've had, but Penn State's defensive linemen were mostly in control from the first snap to the last. GRADEA LINEBACKERSBeginning with Mike Hull's first half, in which he had eight tackles, a sack and a pass breakup, and ending with Brandon Bell's QB hurry to force a fourth-down incompletion in the red zone in the fourth quarter, the line- backers had a solid outing. GRADEA- DEFENSIVE BACKSKyle Pohl completed only 52 percent of his passes and failed to complete any passes over 25 yards. But Akron dropped a few passes that would've been long gains. GRADEB- SPECIAL TEAMSChris Gulla saved it for this unit. He earned a postgame shout- out from James Franklin after averaging 48.8 yards per punt. GRADEB+ COACHES The coaches tried some alter- native plays, including a throwback pass to Hackenberg, a wide receiver reverse and lots of wildcat runs. It didn't always work, but the staff had to try to spark something. GRADEA- CROWDFranklin had been pushing for a sellout, but the total attendance (97,354) fell well short. Nonetheless, it was an en- ergetic crowd that forced Akron to use a couple timeouts when it was close to the student section. GRADEB Steve Manuel S E P T E m B E R 6 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O m 6 JESSE JAMES

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