Blue White Illustrated

tempt at self-ful>lling prophecy. "There are so many positive things falling into place for Penn State right now," he said at media day in August. "We've got momentum, and we have to capitalize on that momentum. You think about last year, and there were so many unknowns sitting in this press confer- ence talking to you guys. We weren't able to go to a bowl game last year when the season started. We got that opportunity back. We weren't able to have a full 85 scholarships. ... We have the opportunity now to get as close to 85 as we can. "We go and play in a bowl game and we play well. We retain our entire sta@. We go out and battle in recruiting and do some good things there. We have a great o@- season in terms of academics, community service and development. So yeah, there are just a lot of positive things." Franklin also cited the Big Ten's rising fortunes in the wake of Ohio State's na- tional championship. The conference went 6-5 in bowl games, and one of the teams that missed out on the postseason – Michigan – made the splashiest coaching hire of the o@-season in land- ing Jim Harbaugh. Some might view the East Division's growing strength as an- other potential impediment, but Franklin sees it as part of a broader narrative. "There are just a lot of positive things falling into place for us right now," he said. "Season ticket [sales] are going un- believably well. We had a huge spike last year. I think we're going to get another spike this year. You walk around, whether it's in the community or in the state or the surrounding states, and there's a buzz about Penn State football right now. … There's a buzz that there hasn't been in a certain amount of time." Translating something as intangible as "buzz" into victories and champi- onships is not going to be easy. It never is. But Franklin isn't selling an impossi- ble dream, and the evidence of Penn State's potential is right there in the his- tory books. History may not repeat it- self, but, as Mark Twain once observed, it does rhyme. As far as the Nittany Li- ons are concerned, that'll do nicely. ■ K I C K O F F I S S U E O F F E N S E S P E C I A L T E A M S P R E S E A S O N D E P T H C H A R T D E F E N S E KICKER 99 Joe Julius (5-10, 261, R-Fr.) 95 Tyler Davis (5-11, 186, R-Fr.) PUNTER 92 Daniel Pasquariello (6-0, 204, So.) 37 Chris Gulla (6-1, 199, R-So.) 93 Robby Liebel (6-2, 194, R-Fr.) HOLDER 93 Robby Liebel (6-2, 194, R-Fr.) KICKOFF RETURNER 7 Koa Farmer (6-1, 222, R-Fr.) 24 Nick Scott (5-11, 198, R-Fr.) 26 Saquon Barkley (5-11, 215, Fr.) PUNT RETURNER 8 Mark Allen (5-7, 181, R-Fr.) 3 DeAndre Thompkins (5-11, 185, R-Fr.) QUARTERBACK 14 Christian Hackenberg (6-4, 228, Jr.) 9 Trace McSorley (6-0, 200, R-Fr.) 4 Tommy Stevens (6-4, 211, Fr.) RUNNING BACK 22 Akeel Lynch (5-11, 220, R-Jr.) 8 Mark Allen (5-7, 181, R-Fr.) 24 Nick Scott (5-11, 198, R-Fr.) WIDE RECEIVER 12 Chris Godwin (6-1, 208, So.) 7 Geno Lewis (6-1, 205, R-Jr.) 3 DeAndre Thompkins (5-11, 185, R-Fr.) WIDE RECEIVER 5 DaeSean Hamilton (6-1, 206, R-So.) 13 Saeed Blacknall (6-3, 211, So.) TIGHT END - Y 88 Mike Gesicki (6-6, 252, So.) 81 Adam Breneman (6-4, 245, R-So.) TIGHT END - F 87 Kyle Carter (6-3, 247, Sr.) 11 Brent Wilkerson (6-3, 247, R-Jr.) LEFT TACKLE 73 Paris Palmer (6-7, 297, Jr.) 58 Chance Sorrell (6-5, 287, R-Fr.) LEFT GUARD 70 Brendan Mahon (6-4, 318, R-So.) 71 Albert Hall (6-4, 298, R-Jr.) CENTER 66 Angelo Mangiro (6-3, 321, R-Sr.) 55 Wendy Laurent (6-2, 288, R-Jr.) RIGHT GUARD 72 Brian Gaia (6-3, 298, R-Jr.) 53 Derek Dowrey (6-3, 321, R-Jr.) RIGHT TACKLE 59 Andrew Nelson (6-6, 290, R-So.) 60 Noah Beh (6-6, 284, R-Fr.) END 95 Carl Nassib (6-7, 272, R-Sr.) 52 Curtis Cothran (6-5, 261, R-So.) 94 Evan Schwan (6-6, 256, R-Jr.) TACKLE 98 Anthony Zettel (6-4, 284, Sr.) 41 Parker Cothren (6-4, 298, R-So.) TACKLE 99 Austin Johnson (6-4, 323, R-Jr.) 91 Tarow Barney (6-1, 306, Sr.) END 90 Garrett Sickels (6-4, 258, R-So.) 19 Torrence Brown (6-3, 250, R-Fr.) OUTSIDE LINEBACKER 40 Jason Cabinda (6-1, 245, So.) 42 Troy Reeder (6-1, 241, R-Fr.) INSIDE LINEBACKER 5 Nyeem Wartman-White (6-1, 243, R-Jr.) 8 Gary Wooten (6-2, 237, R-Jr.) 38 Ben Kline (6-2, 230, R-Sr.) OUTSIDE LINEBACKER 11 Brandon Bell (6-1, 231, Jr.) 25 Von Walker (5-11, 219, Jr.) 7 Koa Farmer (6-1, 222, R-Fr.) CORNERBACK 10 Trevor Williams (6-0, 200, Sr.) 4 Daquan Worley (5-9, 180, R-Fr.) FREE SAFETY 2 Marcus Allen (6-2, 209, So.) 28 Troy Apke (6-1, 198, So.) STRONG SAFETY 9 Jordan Lucas (6-0, 199, Sr.) 6 Malik Golden (6-0, 205, R-Jr.) CORNERBACK 15 Grant Haley (5-9, 189, So.) 1 Christian Campbell (6-1, 186, So.) 21 Amani Oruwariye (6-1, 205, R-Fr.) OR OR OR OR OR OR OR

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