Blue White Illustrated

young player and convinced me he is a team leader in the making. He looks ready to realize the potential Bill O'Brien said he possessed his freshman year – potential that nearly prompted O'Brien to put him on the 8eld as a true fresh- man. And as for Wright, his development was one of the team's most pleasant sur- prises this spring. He gives o9ensive line coach Herb Hand a legitimate backup at right guard behind redshirt junior Brian Gaia. With the recent arrival of graduate transfer center Kevin Reihner, Penn State will have 15 scholarship o9ensive linemen on its fall roster and appears to be two-deep at all 8ve positions up front coming out of spring practice. Maybe that didn't look to be the case in the Blue-White Game, but from the per- spective of defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, the line made the biggest im- provement of any position group on of- fense. "Both the o9ensive and defensive lines won some battles in spring practice," Shoop said. "Don't base your evaluation on the o9ensive line coming out of spring practice on its performance in the Blue-White Game." I realize the o9ensive line is far from being a 8nished product, and the devel- opment of juco transfer Paris Palmer might be the key to its performance this fall. But I believe Franklin and his sta9 have every reason to be con8dent that the necessary improvements are being made. I believe the coaches will be very disappointed if Penn State doesn't equal the performance it turned in against a quality Boston College defense that had six players selected in the NFL Dra:. Other areas on o9ense where under- classmen made big improvements in spring practice were at running back and all the skill positions on o9ense. "I know today Nick Scott made a cou- ple of big runs, and that's a positive," Franklin said a:er the Blue-White Game. "I'm really happy to see that. "But I think overall Mark Allen had a really strong spring. Johnathan Thomas is another guy we are really excited about, and I hope he'll be ready to go by camp. We've got some guys coming in as well who I think are going to be able to compete and create competitive envi- ronments in [fall] practice in Saquon Barkley and Andre Robinson, so we are excited about those guys, too." Plus, you can't forget about DaeSean Hamilton, Saeed Blacknall, DeAndre Thompkins, and Chris Godwin at wide receiver, Trace McSorley at quarterback and Gesicki at tight end. Godwin, OFFENSE 1. CHRIS GODWIN One week before the Blue-White Game, I was prepared to name Godwin my 2015 breakout player on o9ense. Everyone was throwing plaudits in his direction throughout spring practice. He's gotten bigger (6- foot-2, 206 pounds) and faster (sub- 4.5-second 40-yard speed) and came out of spring practice having beaten out redshirt junior Geno Lewis for one of the Nittany Lions' 8rst-team wide receiver spots. Last year's Pinstripe Bowl per- formance against Boston College, in which he caught seven passes for 140 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown reception, looks like it may have been a sign of things to come. 2. BRENDAN MAHON A redshirt sophomore, Mahon emerged from spring practice as the starter at the left guard position. He is as physi- cally mature as any offensive line- man I saw during winter workouts, having added 24 pounds in the off- season. The added muscle – he now stands 6-4, 316 pounds – helped him claim the Jim O'Hora Award, which goes to the Nittany Lions' most im- proved player on offense in spring prac- tice. 3. MIKE GESICKI This guy is simply a physical freak of nature. He's 6-6, 255 pounds, has a 38 ½-inch vertical leap and reportedly runs around a 4.65- to 4.7-second 40-yard time. A sophomore tight end, Gesicki boasts 8eld-stretch- ing speed yet also has the size to be a very solid blocker. DEFENSE 1. CURTIS COTHRAN We all know about the development of redshirt sophomore Garrett Sickels and 8:h- year senior Carl Nassib at defensive end, but it was Cothran who had the break- out performance in the Blue-White Game, 8nishing with 2.5 sacks and 8ve tackles overall. He has added 23 pounds, having bulked up to 258, and still is one of the best outside pass rushers on the team. 2. AMANI ORUWARIYE It might sur- prise some readers to see Oruwariye's name on this list so early in his career, but the redshirt freshman defensive back was very impressive in spring practice. At 6-1, 205 pounds, Oruwariye can play either free safety or the bound- ary cornerback position. He displayed his potential in the Bllue-White Game when Penn State used its 4-2-5 defen- sive setup. When Franklin was asked during a speaking engagement this spring about which redshirt freshmen Penn State fans should look for this coming fall, Oruwariye was right at the top of his list. 3. GRANT HALEY The move of Jordan Lucas to safety would not have been pos- sible without the development of Haley in spring practice. The sophomore cor- nerback is the most underrated member of Penn State's Class of 2014. He's the fastest member of the team with 4.32- second 40-yard speed and has turned into Penn State's best press man-to-man cover cornerback. – PHIL GROSZ These six young Lions will bear watching this fall

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