Blue White Illustrated

A t this time a year ago, there was no question in my mind which Penn State o:ensive and defensive players were headed for breakout seasons in 2014. My selection on defense was red- shirt junior tackle Anthony Zettel, and my choice on o:ense was redshirt fresh- man wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton. As it turned out, both players delivered in a big way, exceeding even my opti- mistic projections for them last fall. Despite changing positions in the o:- season, moving from defensive end to the three-technique tackle spot, Zettel put together a 9rst-team All-Big Ten performance. He 9nished with 42 tack- les, 17 tackles for loss, eight sacks and three interceptions, one of which he re- turned 40 yards for a touchdown against Ohio State. It was quite an im- pressive showing, but it did not come entirely out of the blue. Although he had started only two games the year be- fore, he 9nished second on the team in sacks with four and third in tackles for loss with six. More than 35 percent of Zettel's 16 tackles in 2013 were for neg- ative yardage. That's a remarkable per- centage, and to me, it clearly indicated that he was going to have a breakout season as a junior. Hamilton, meanwhile, led the Big Ten in receptions with 82 for 899 yards, the second-highest single-season total in school history. He won second-team All-Big Ten honors from Phil Steele's College Football and Big Ten All-Fresh- man notice from BTN.com. Considering that he sat out his true freshman year with a wrist injury and that he was still recovering from surgery when spring practice arrived four months later, his performance last fall was even more re- markable than Zettel's. With Penn State's 2015 season about to get under way, it's once again time to ex- amine the depth chart and identify the next batch of potential breakout per- formers. At this point, there are no clear-cut choices as there were last Au- gust, but there are some logical candi- dates. On o:ense, the leading candidate is redshirt sophomore tight end Adam Breneman. A;er catching 15 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman in 2013, Breneman may have already had what some would con- sider a breakout season. He 9nished his freshman year with an electrifying per- formance against Wisconsin in the 9nal game of the season, catching three pass- es for 78 yards, including a 68-yard TD reception, in a 31-24 upset victory over the 14th-ranked Badgers. Coming o: that performance, Brene- man was thought to be on the brink of a big year in 2014, the kind of year that would justify his ranking as the No. 2 tight end in the country in the Class of 2013. But during the o:-season, he suf- fered his second knee injury in three years. He underwent surgery and was forced to take a redshirt. Heading into the 2015 season, Brene- man appears to have made a full recov- ery, and that could prove to be a big bonus for Penn State's o:ense. The con- sensus seems to be that Breneman is the most complete tight end on Penn State's roster. He's an excellent blocker, but he also has the ability to stretch the 9eld vertically as a pass receiver. At a solid 6- foot-4, 245 pounds, he looks to be capa- ble of 9lling any role that is required of him. Coach James Franklin said he expects Breneman to make a strong comeback this season. "I think he's in a much bet- ter place right now," Franklin said. "I think in the long run, [sitting out a year] is probably going to be a positive for him and a positive for the program." With a healthy Breneman ready for ac- tion, Penn State should enter the season with four solid tight ends. The others are sophomore Mike Gesicki, 9;h-year sen- ior Kyle Carter and redshirt junior Brent Wilkerson. "It's a great situation to be in, because now we're starting to put the pieces to the puzzle around [Christian] Hacken- berg," Franklin said. "[Hackenberg's] development can continue, and he can be the player that we all know he can be." Other o:ensive players who look to be capable of having breakout years on of- fense include Gesicki, sophomore re- ceiver Saeed Blacknall, redshirt sopho- more guard Brendan Mahon, redshirt sophomore o:ensive tackle Andrew Nelson, redshirt freshman running back Johnathan Thomas and even true fresh- man running back Saquon Barkley. Gesicki has added nearly 20 pounds since the conclusion of the 2014 season and now stands 6-6, 252. He has the size and athletic ability to 9ll every role at the tight end position. "It's all a mindset when it comes to blocking, so I just kind of bought into it," Gesicki said. "Like Coach Franklin al- ways says, you just have to buy into things. I bought into it, and it ended up working out. I feel like I've gotten better at blocking and understanding the game more." Mahon won the Red Worrell Award, which is given to the most improved player in spring practice on o:ense. He's added 24 pounds in the o:-season and checked in at 6-4, 318 at the start of preseason drills. These Penn State players are ready to have breakout seasons in 2015 PHIL'S CORNER

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