Blue White Illustrated

be 20 more people there than there are at practice. Because of our fans, because of the support here that we have, we're able to re-create some situations that everybody in the country isn't able to re-create, which allows us to do some evaluation. We saw some good things." Danny Pasquariello edged Robbie Liebel in the punting duel, while Joey Julius and recent transfer Tyler Davis split the field goal competition. Both Davis and Julius converted their first kick from 37 yards. When they moved back to 42, Julius missed his first try but converted the second. Davis made both. They reversed roles from 47, as Julius made both and Davis went 1 for 2. They both easily converted from 52 and then they each went 1 for 3 from 55. When they moved back to 59 for the final kick, both of their attempts fell just shy. "I would have liked to see those guys be a little more consistent, especially on the shorter-range kicks," head coach James Franklin said. "Once it got deeper, I know who they are in that circum- stance." Although the competition finished in a draw, it appears that Julius has the inside track on the starting place-kicker spot for 2015. If anything, it's Julius's resiliency, his ability to forget about the last kick and focus on the next one, that has separated him. As Huff said, his "mentality will allow him to bounce back from a mistake and not get too high off success." Huff warns, however, that there will undoubtedly be some "growing pains" as the Nittany Lions continue to develop their young specialists, but when it comes to Julius, he thinks he's off to a good start. "Is he going to be Sam Ficken and hit seven game-winners? Who knows," Huff said. "Will he be mentally ready to do that? Absolutely. If he keeps going in that direction moving into camp and he con- tinues to compete and get better, he'll be our guy." ■ PLAYERS OF THE GAME With both Chris Godwin and DeAndre Thomp- kins held out, Saeed Blacknall and Geno Lewis were left to pick up the slack. In what was an otherwise up- and-down afternoon for the Nittany Lions' offense, their combined 12 re- ceptions for 132 yards and a touch- down led the way. PLAY OF THE GAME His knee may or may not have been down by contact – it was unclear on replays – but Nick Scott's 51-yard second-half touchdown run was impressive nonetheless. And with no way to overturn it via replay, his effort was enough to make him the game's leading rusher with 77 yards on nine carries. BEST PASS Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg didn't have much time to stand in the pocket on this after- noon. But on a third-and-6 play at his own 29-yard line, the junior QB took advantage of an opportunity and aired out a perfectly placed ball down the right sideline to Blacknall for a 41-yard gain. BEST RUN Akeel Lynch helped make the most of the Blue squad's extended- by-penalty first drive, weaving 22 yards through traffic on a draw up the middle and into the end zone. The score gave his side an early 7-0 first- quarter lead. BEST CATCH Lewis displayed some impressive full extension on a third- and-short pass from Hackenberg. With the catch, Lewis was able to pick up a first down deep in Blue's own territory in the first quarter. BEST SACK Evan Schwan played for both sides and took full advantage, es- tablishing himself as a near-constant presence in his opponent's backfield. He created a lot of problems for Paris Palmer, but the juco left tackle wasn't the only one who struggled to contain Schwan. Facing the White's second- team offensive line, he ripped through a big hole toward Tommy Stevens just as the true freshman quarterback unloaded a deep pass down the sideline. He didn't get credit for that one, but he capital- ized with yet another opportunity late in the first half, his second. BEST HIT White running back Nick Scott was met almost immediately on his handoff from Billy Fessler. The greeter? None other than Blue defensive end Carl Nassib, coming from the oppo- site side of the field. BEST EFFORT Hackenberg may be best known for his skills as a drop-back passer, but he was game to try running for yardage. He routinely used rollouts and designed runs to get the ball up- field. BEST KICK Joey "Big Toe" Julius had a few during the spring game, but the most compelling kicks of the afternoon took place during the pregame field goal competition. Duking it out with Chris Gulla, Tyler Davis, Nick Boumerhi and Troy Stivason, Julius and Davis battled to a draw. Both of them made 55- yarders. WORST DECISION Intended for Matt Zanellato on the sideline, Hackenberg's first pass of the second half was under- thrown and picked off by cornerback Bryant Harper at the 36-yard line. The interception was Hackenberg's only one of the game. MOST TELLING MOMENT The Nit- tany Lions' first-team offensive line is still very much the work in progress that head coach James Franklin has been de- scribing since practice began in March. For as many nice passes as Hackenberg was able to complete, he was under duress seemingly just as often – against the Nittany Lions' second- and third- team defensive lines. ■ H I G H S & L O W S B Y N A T E B A U E R W R A P

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