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reason to believe the Nittany Lions are going to make major leaps from the depths of the college football landscape in the next couple of seasons with this guy at the helm. The guy in question: Joe Moorhead. While not much is known yet about his plans for Penn State's offense, I have lit- tle hesitation in claiming that the Nit- tany Lions are going to be compelling and dynamic in two years and that the biggest question won't be whether or not they'll finish in the top half of the country in total offense, but whether they will finish in the top 25. Coming off a campaign in which the Nittany Lions ranked 106th in the Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision in total offense, 105th in rushing offense and 101st in scor- ing offense, there's little doubt that Moorhead is going to have his work cut out for him. With or without quarterback Christian Hackenberg, the ongoing diffi- culties on the offensive line aren't likely to resolve themselves before the start of the 2016 season, but there are still plenty of valid reasons to expect at least marginal improvement next year and maybe some true steps forward by the time 2017 rolls around. All of which should prime Moorhead to be quite successful. To understand why, look no further than his list of ingredients. Within the past two recruiting classes, the Nittany Lions have landed their 2015 leading re- ceiver (Chris Godwin), a capable big- play counterpart (Saeed Blacknall), a pair of four-star practice-squad wide- outs (Juwan Johnson and Irvin Charles), a talented if stone-handed starting tight end (Mike Gesicki) and two additional tight ends with plenty of promise (Jonathan Holland and Nick Bowers). In addition, second-team All-Big Ten run- ning back Saquon Barkley has once-in- a-generation talent. Nick Scott and Mark Allen proved themselves worthy this season, and Johnathan Thomas and Andre Robinson have barely even been seen yet. All of these young players are only likely to improve, and I haven't even mentioned the most important part yet. If you include the Class of 2016 recruits who are expected to sign this coming February, the Nittany Lions will have brought in 11 three- and four-star offen- sive linemen the past three years. These things matter. They matter even more so, in fact, than the guy on the headset calling the plays. Rather than try to make the case my- self, I'll let Franklin do the heaviest lift- ing for me here. At various times through his two-year tenure at Penn State, he has made mention of how "smart" a coach can look when the right players make game-breaking plays. But during a midweek practice Q&A with re- porters, he also said this in response to a question about preparing for Illinois de- fensively: "There's a lot made of schemes and of- fensive or defensive systems. To be honest with you, almost everybody is running the same things. I think there's way too much put into that. The plays that we're run- ning are really the same plays I would say 70 percent of the people in the Big Ten and across the country are running. Same thing defensively. "It comes down to fundamentals, it comes down to execution, it comes down to experience. But it's not like each school is running a completely separate, different offense or defensive scheme." If programs are all doing more or less the same things, the factors that distin- guish top programs from lesser ones be- come a little more obvious. None of which is to suggest that coaches don't have an impact on the way a game will shake out or how a player develops. But coaches aren't magicians. Sometimes, a team's weaknesses are so glaring that no amount of coaching acumen can cover them up. The talent is starting to come into Penn State's program, though, and that talent is gradually going to become ex- perienced talent. The Nittany Lions will need time to develop the individual pieces into a coherent, complete whole, but their offense is well on its way to- ward becoming as much. And when it does, look out, regardless of who is calling the plays. ■ 111 E. Beaver Ave s State College, PA 16801 www.The-Phyrst.com 814.234.4406 137 Elmwood St. s State College, PA 16801 www.HappyValleyBeer.com Wood-fire Grill 12 Beers on Tap 200 Year Old Barn 821 Cricklewood Dr. s Toftrees, State College www.AmericanAleHouse.net 814.237.9701 s Piano Bar s Sommelier 814.238.1406 814.234.7700 s 1611 Atherton St. s State College 814.941.7788 s Plank Rd. Exit s Altoona www.ChampsSportsGrill.net s Best Game Bar s Large Groups Welcome c lc e W We s p u o r G e g r a L s a e B m a st G e B s S n S h 1 A 1 6 1 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 me co r a l l C S r G s rt o p S s p m a h C . www s t i x . E d k R n a l P s 8 8 7 7 1. 4 9 . 4 1 8 S s . t n S o t r e h t 1 A 1 6 1 s 0 0 7 7 4. 3 2 4. 1 8 t e n . l l i r na o o t l A e g e l l o C e at t S

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