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some of the things Ohio State did last week, and we need to be prepared for them to settle down on a quarterback now. He's mobile, a Pennsylvania kid, from what I understand, from Pitts- burgh Central Catholic, one of the more interesting backgrounds. You don't typically see a starting quarterback in the Big Ten who is also a two-time state champion wrestler, if I'm correct on that. That's kind of a unique combina- tion. But I could just see them coming in and being really aggressive and taking some calculated risks. Your tight ends have caught 20 passes so far in seven games. How have you judged the way they've played overall, blocking and receiv- ing? And would you like to see more production from them in the passing game? I think we've been better. I think we're making strides toward having more complete tight ends than we did last year. We have missed some real opportu- nities, either with missed throws or with dropped balls. I think we can do better. Those guys have the ability to do it. So, yeah, I think they have improved since last year. They're more willing and able blockers, and I think with that, we've seen some opportunities for them, but we've got to consistently take advantage of those opportunities. Mike Gesicki came and saw me this week. We had a really good conversa- tion. I saw his dad and sisters before the game [against Ohio State]. There's no- body who wants it more than Mike Gesicki. He's very proud to be here at Penn State, really appreciative of the opportunity that he has, and he's got a lot of ability. He needs to go out and make plays. So I'm excited to see what Mike's going to do this week in practice. I kind of talked to him about experi- ences and things that I've been through in my life or things that I've studied about other athletes or people who have been through adversity, and if it's han- dled the right way, it's a tremendous opportunity for growth. I thought we had a really good conver- sation. I followed up with a text to him later [telling him] that I believe in him and I believe in our guys and I believe in our team, and I do. I'm excited for Mike. I'm excited for Mike's growth and his opportunity and to watch how he han- dles it this week. It won't surprise me whatsoever if he goes out and has a huge game for Hack and the offense on Sat- urday and makes a bunch of big plays. You inherited a veteran quarter- back, you're a year and a half in. Did you expect to have more of an offen- sive identity or production level, par- ticularly when you guys have gone on the road? Yes. I think, obviously, we're behind where we want to be, where they want to be, everything, there's no doubt about it. I think it goes back to some of the things we've already discussed. I said this to you guys before, some of our challenges are not quick fixes. I just read somebody saying the other day – I think it was Coach Fitz at Northwestern – talking about how impressed he's been with the fronts in this league, how the fronts have improved, the defensive line front and the offensive line, and those are things that we've discussed in the past. Some of those things aren't quick fixes. We're improving. We're improv- ing in those areas. But, yeah, would you love to be further along and have a much different identity at this point? There's no doubt. When a running back produces at a high level, as Saquon Barkley is doing, a lot of that has to do with the offensive line. But how much of it, with his performance over the past few weeks, has been the offensive line just getting the right push and this young man making something out of nothing? It's a combination of both. I think our offensive line is improving, [and] Saquon Barkley has some special quali- ties. I've said to you guys before that how you evaluate a running back is by [seeing if they are] making people miss and breaking tackles, and he has the ability to do that. So I think the combination of our of- fensive line improving and putting him in better situations to be successful, and then what he brings to the game with his skill set, those two [factors] have been helpful. I've also made the argu- ment that if you have, say, a special kickoff return guy, the guys block at a higher level. If you have a special punt returner, the guys know something spe- cial can happen. It's the same thing with the offensive line. I'd also make the argument that we were still able to run the ball when we didn't have Saquon and Akeel [Lynch]. So I think that speaks to the improve- ment that the offensive line is making, but Saquon has some traits that take it to a whole other level. O C T O B E R 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 15 PSUtixman@gmail.com www.PSUtixman.com Get your PSU Football Tickets at go t ti cke t s? k c i t t t e k man@g .PSUtixm www.PSUtixman.com at ootba Get yo k c i t t o gm .PSUtixman.com all ur s t s e k

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