Blue White Illustrated

A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 The offense will have to make major improvements if Penn State is to finish among the top three teams in the Big Ten's East Division this fall. Last season, the Nittany Lions fin- ished last in the conference in scoring (20.6 points per game) and rushing of- fense (101.9 yards per game) and were 13th in total offense (335.3 ypg). This year, between 55 and 58 players will have either freshman or sopho- more eligibility. So if Penn State wants to improve upon the meager offensive statistics it produced in 2014, many of those first- and second-year players will have to quickly become impact players. In the most recent print edition of Blue White Illustrated, I took a detailed look at the rising stars on Penn State's defense. In this edition of BWI Xpress, I'm going to take a look at a few players from Penn State's classes of 2013 and 2014 who have stepped up in spring practice and who appear poised to make a major impact on the offense this fall. These are the offensive players to whom BWI subscribers should pay attention on Saturday in the Blue-White Game. CHRIS GODWIN WR, So., 6-2, 206 Godwin wrapped up his freshman sea- son with what many considered a breakout performance against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl. He fin- ished the game with seven catches for 190 yards, including a 72-yard touch- down reception. For the season, he fin- ished with 25 catches for 321 yards and that one TD. Reports coming out of spring practice indicate Godwin has taken his perform- ance to another level. He was one of five players on Penn State's spring roster to run a sub-4.5-second 40-yard time, and it appears he has beaten out red- shirt junior Geno Lewis for the starting wide receiver position opposite Dae- Sean Hamilton. When you consider that Lewis had 55 catches for 751 yards last fall, you start to develop a clear under- standing of how well Godwin has per- formed in spring practice. DaeSEAN HAMILTON WR, R-So., 6-1, 205 Hamilton should end up being Chris- tian Hackenberg's No. 1 target at wide receiver this fall. Despite having a trou- bling hamstring injury for the second half of the 2014 season, he finished last fall with 82 catches for 899 yards. It was a strong debut season, but there's more work to be done. He finished with just two touchdown catches, and only eight of his receptions were for 25 yards or more. This is an area where Hamilton ex- pects a major improvement this up- coming fall. "Now I want to be able to stretch the field vertically and be an all-around threat," Hamilton said. "We have high expectations now for that type of performance this fall. With the type of performance we had against Boston College, consistency's the main thing and also taking our game to the next level. As long as we set the bar high and miss small, we're going to have a great turnout next year." That's really an accurate statement on Hamilton's part, especially if sopho- more Saeed Blacknall and redshirt freshman DeAndre Thompkins also take big steps forward at wide receiver. MIKE GESICKI TE, So., 6-6, 255 The most talked-about tight end this spring is most likely Adam Breneman, who is coming off of the knee injury that forced him to sit out last fall, but James Franklin and his staff are playing it safe, and the redshirt sophomore most likely won't play in the Blue- White Game. With Breneman probably out of ac- tion, Penn State fans will want to pay attention to Gesicki. The rising sopho- more has added 18 pounds in the off- season but has still retained his tremendous athleticism. During testing at the end of winter workouts, he posted a 38½-inch vertical leap and ran a sub- 4.65 40-yard time. Franklin is looking for his tight ends to step up as blockers this season. At 255 pounds, Gesicki has the size to get the job done. BRENDAN MAHON G, R-So., 6-4, 316 Along the offensive line, everyone's attention this spring has been focused on the battle at left tackle between juco transfer Paris Palmer and red- shirt freshman Chance Sorrell. But of the team's returning linemen, Mahon has made the biggest strides this spring. He's added 24 pounds, and as center Angelo Mangiro has said, "Mahon's light switch has gone on." Right now, Mahon projects as Penn State's starting left guard ahead of redshirt junior Derek Dowrey and senior Albert Hall. DeANDRE THOMPKINS WR, R-Fr., 5-11, 185 The 2014 season was a big disap- pointment for Thompkins. He had en- rolled in January in the hope of making an immediate contribution, but he ended up taking a redshirt aCer an up- and-down performance in preseason practice. Things now appear to be looking up. He's added some weight during his red- shirt year but still has sub-4.5 40-yard These five offensive players bear watching in the spring game PHIL'S CORNER

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