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sophomore season at Penn State after having surgery on his opposite knee, I'm convinced he would have had a breakout year. Some might even call his 2013 freshman season a sort of mini- breakout. He had 15 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns, but it was his performance against Wisconsin in the final game of that season that caught everyone's attention. In that game, Breneman had three catches for 78 yards, including a 68-yard touch- down reception. Breneman says he is nearly back to full health, but he was held out of contact work in spring practice. He's added 12 pounds of muscle and now stands 6-4, 252 pounds, yet he still has the ability to stretch the 9eld vertically. Gesicki, meanwhile, has matured into Penn State's biggest tight end while maintaining his athleticism. He's 6-6, 255 pounds, but he still can cover 40 yards in 4.65 seconds. In testing before the start of spring practice, he posted a 38½-inch vertical leap. Physically, Gesicki reminds me of former Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless, who was taken by Green Bay in the 2010 NFL Dra;. Not to be overlooked is Mahon. Having added 24 pounds, he's having a very good o:-season and has received praise from his fellow linemen, including sen- ior center Angelo Mangiro. "That's my guy," Mangiro said. "He's made huge strides. He's done a really good job with his hand placement, mov- ing his feet, staying in front of guys bet- ter and displacing guys. I'm very excited for him and for our unit." On defense, while I could be proven wrong, I don't believe Barnes and C.J. Olaniyan will be missed as much as everyone thought right a;er the Pin- stripe Bowl. That's because several de- fensive ends have emerged in spring practice. Senior Carl Nassib, redshirt sophomore Curtis Cothran, redshirt junior Evan Schwan and redshirt fresh- man Torrence Brown and Sickels all re- portedly looked good this spring. Of those players, Sickels is the one who has really piqued my interest. He has physically matured and appears to be just as motivated as Zettel was last year to cash in on his opportunity. As was the case with Zettel during the 2013 season, Sickels performed well in a limited role last year. He played in all 13 games, but in only six games did he see action at defensive end. Even so, his 11 total tackles in- cluded seven solo stops, two sacks and three tackles for loss. This year, the starting weak-side de- fensive end position is Sickels' job to lose. He was highly rated when he ar- rived on campus two years ago. Rivals.com rated him the fourth-best weak-side defensive end nationally in the Class of 2013. I now feel Sickels is prepared to perform at that high level. When Penn State's Class of 2014 signed its letters of intent, I named Ha- ley as one of its most underrated mem- bers. I believe his performance as a true freshman last fall justi9ed that projec- tion. Haley played in all 13 games and made his 9rst career start in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College. He 9n- ished the season with 18 total tackles, returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown against Indiana and excelled on special teams, returning kicko:s and serving as a gunner on the punt-cover- age team. With Lucas now at strong safety, Ha- ley will take over at the 9eld cornerback position. In my mind, he is one of the best pure athletes on Penn State's entire team. He is the Nittany Lions' fastest player with a recorded 40-yard time of 4.32 seconds. I'm not expecting Breneman, Gesicki or Mahon to match Hamilton's breakout season on o:ense, nor do I anticipate that Sickels and Haley will match what Zettel accomplished with his breakout season last fall. But if they perform as well as I expect them to, I can't help but think they will play a major role in transforming Penn State into a signi9- cant player in the Big Ten East Division this fall. It's early, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a 9-3 9nish for the Nit- tany Lions. ■

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