Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/663838
past two seasons, and in their absence, a number of new faces are being introduced this spring. At coordinator, Joe Moorhead is heading up the installation of a system that he brought with him from Fordham. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Trace McSorley is battling redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens and January enrollee Jake Zembiec to take the helm. Competition among the offensive linemen is already paying divi- dends, and the wideouts and running backs have emerged as the unit's main- stays. The fact that so many changes are being implemented at once might cause con- sternation among Penn State's fan base, but Godwin isn't concerned; he's excited. "Extremely excited," he said. "It's some- thing different. Whenever you get a dif- ferent challenge, it's always exciting be- cause you realize you have so much to learn, but when you start to learn it and start to pick things up, you start to rec- ognize how things work and it gets you really excited. Now that I know this, what more can I learn? It makes you wonder how far we can actually go with this." Godwin views the offense's potential as limitless, going so far as to say he doesn't anticipate losing any games. His teammates have the same mindset, the warm glow of possibility coinciding with the rising temperatures of the spring. Part of their optimism is premised on an idea that some might find surprising: that the differences between the past two seasons and the one to come are not as drastic as they're some- times made out to be. "It definitely is different," he said. "But different doesn't necessarily mean that they're good or bad. It's just not the same. We've seen the players and new faces that are going to step in and play big roles for us this year. We've watched them come in and grow with us. We've all grown together. "And so yes, it's a new face to everybody else, but to us these are the same guys that they've been. We've watched them grow, we've watched them improve, so when it's their time to step in and con- tribute, we fully believe in them and their abilities to perform." Time is the critical, ever-dwindling final component that will determine the group's future successes or failures. Confident that the pieces are already in place, Godwin maintains that the spring and summer will be crucial periods that he won't allow to be wasted. "We have to make sure that when fall camp comes, it's not really us learning anymore," he said. "It's us picking up where we left off in the spring and taking it forward." Admittedly not among the team's most naturally vocal leaders, Godwin has em- braced his veteran status nonetheless. Committed to ushering in the smoothest transition he can provide for players and CATCH OF THE DAY Godwin made one of the biggest catches of his career against Army last season, helping the Nittany Lion offense revive with a diving 49- yard grab that set up the winning touchdown. He finished his soph- omore season with a team-best 69 catches for 1,101 yards and five touchdowns. Photo by Steve Manuel