Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/497887
I think overall we will be better than what we were last year. Hackenberg is the best QB and most pro-ready QB in football if he has a line. I don't know how, but the LT position must improve. Palmer seemed to get beat every play. We have excellent skill positions. I hope the rest of the line could run block, as it seemed they did a decent job today. Akeel Lynch is a very good steady back, who could go over a 1,000 yards easy. Geno Lewis might be the best possession WR in football. My two biggest con- cerns are the punting game and LT. I can't believe the entire off-season the coaching staff could not find a better punter, like they did in a kicker a la Joe Julius. gorki112 I thought the projected starting O- line did well except for Paris Palmer at LT. He should get better with more practice. Liked the use of the tight ends today. Mike Gesicki looks stronger and faster. Punting looks like it will still be a major issue. hohmadw I didn't think there was vast im- provement by the OL at all. They weren't facing our best defenders and still didn't look impressive. The fact that Hack ran so much is very concerning to me. In real life, that is a total disaster waiting to happen and not what we want to see. kjb32812 I think Chance Sorrel looked OK at LT, but both have a way to go. I don't think there will be much of a drop off on defense. psuted I was disappointed with the O-line. I really wanted to see more improve- ment but INMO they didn't look that great. I liked what I saw out of Julius and Davis. Punting was bad. Sorry, no other way to say it. It should be much better than that. BBrown Negative comments all day. We have one weak spot on the line, LT. D was great. This is a practice game, that's all. Hotshoe QUARTERBACKSChristian Hackenberg completed 13 of his 22 passes in the first half for 109 yards while facing heavy pressure and taking five would-be sacks. Then his first pass of the second half was intercepted by Bryant Harper. He made up for it on the following drive, connecting with Saeed Blacknall twice, once on a 2-yard slant for a touchdown. In his Beaver Stadium debut, freshman Tommy Stevens finished 3 for 11 for 19 yards, while walk-on Billy Fessler, who saw action for both teams, finished the day with five completions for 56 yards. GRADEB RUNNING BACKSAkeel Lynch scored the only touchdown of the first half, adding 50 yards on nine carries, but it was Nick Scott who stole the show in the second half, taking a handoff for a 51-yard TD, even though he was almost tackled by An- thony Zettel behind the line of scrimmage and he shook a Trevor Williams tackle as he was crossing the goal line. Scott, who was on the White team, led all backs with 77 yards on nine carries. GRADEB+ RECEIVERSGeno Lewis and Blacknall led both squads with six receptions apiece. A couple of Lewis' grabs came in traffic, but it was Blacknall who made the catch of the day, hauling in a 41-yard pass on a fade route along the right sideline. GRADEB+ OFFENSIVE LINEAside from the seal block by Angelo Mangiro that sprung Lynch for the opening TD, the line's performance was spotty and at times reminiscent of mo- ments from last season. Between both squads, the OL surrendered six sacks. GRADE C DEFENSIVE LINEThis unit – starters, backups and third-stringers included – cer- tainly made it difficult for the O-line and seemed to only gain momentum as the game moved along. Evan Schwan and Curtis Cothran both tallied two sacks apiece, while Torrence Brown and Tarow Barney added one each. GRADEA LINEBACKERSIt was an incredible effort by Von Walker when he broke up a pass near the end zone at the end of the first quarter, and Koa Farmer nearly intercepted a quick-hit pass in the fourth. Their battle for the second-string Sam linebacker position behind Brandon Bell is shaping up to be one of the best of the off-season. Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said Walker was the most improved player on the defense this spring. GRADEB+ DEFENSIVE BACKSGrant Haley, Malik Golden and Kyle Alston all came up with timely pass deflections, and Harper nabbed the game's only interception when he stepped in front of a Hackenberg pass early in the second half. GRADEA SPECIAL TEAMSJoey Julius and Tyler Davis displayed their strong legs in the pregame kicking competition, both converting from 55 yards. Once the clock started, however, Davis' opening kickoff rolled out of bounds for a penalty. Julius' three kickoffs went out the back of the end zone. Danny Pasquariello edged Robby Liebel in the punting competition, and during the game they averaged 43.7 and 36.8 yards per punt, respectively. GRADE B COACHESThe kicking competition prior to kickoff and the punting duel at halftime were interesting ideas and provided a look at a couple of important position battles for the upcoming season. GRADEB+ CROWDAn announced attendance of 68,000 was about 4,000 shy of tying last year's figure and about 30,000 shy of matching Ohio State's national record set earlier in the day. A solid showing, nonetheless, for a spring scrimmage on a sunny afternoon in State College. GRADEB+ A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 8 G A M E G R A D E S B Y T I M O W E N F R O M T H E W E B