Blue White Illustrated

have drawn the biggest raves. Said Gat- tis, "They handled [their redshirt sea- sons] great. They are competitors, so they did want to go out and contribute [last fall]. Those two guys love the game of football. Juwan is always doing extra work. He's always in the weight room getting an extra li6 or going out with the quarterbacks." Charles and Johnson are big and fast and should create mismatches for op- posing secondaries this fall. Charles is listed at 6-4, 224 pounds, while Johnson is 6-4, 221. Both have reportedly run 4.5-second 40-yard times. With Moorhead's system in place, Barkley should have success running the ball down the throat of opposing de- fenses from a formation that features three wideouts and one tight end. That's the cornerstone of this o5ense. If run properly, it will prevent opponents from putting eight or nine players in the box and using single coverage to handle the receivers – a tactic that Michigan State, to cite one example, has used quite ef- fectively in recent years. I'm not prepared to endorse SB Na- tion's argument that spread o5enses like Moorhead's could spell doom for Michi- gan State over the next few seasons, but I de4nitely can see how Penn State could cause the Spartans serious matchup problems, forcing them to play no more than six players in the box. But for Penn State's o5ense to ful4ll its potential, it will have to make strides in three areas. First, junior tight end Mike Gesicki will need to become a very consistent blocker. Moorhead's o5ense will require him to line up at the H-back position and throw trap blocks on combination blocks. This is an absolutely critical role in Penn State's new-look o5ense, and at 6-6, 255 pounds, Gesicki has the size to do it well. In addition, he will need to become much more consistent catching the football. Gesicki's 4.65-second 40- yard speed is perfect for the seam routes that Moorhead likes to use to stretch the 4eld. It also bears mentioning that red- shirt freshmen Nick Bowers and Jonathan Holland and January enrollee Danny Dalton also have the size and athletic ability to 4ll both roles at tight end. The second area that Penn State needs to address is quarterback. I don't think I'm breaking any new ground by noting that the Lions need to get one of their three young quarterbacks – McSorley, Tommy Stevens or Jake Zembiec – ready to spearhead Moorhead's scheme in September. McSorley is the only quar- terback on the roster with any college game experience. Last fall he completed 20 of 40 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns, with most of his action coming in the TaxSlayer Bowl against Georgia. Moorhead's o5ense requires that the quarterback read the defense and make a quick decision at the line of scrimmage prior to the snap. He has to make those reads over and over again with minor variations depending on the type of defense he is facing. Without someone making the right decisions, the whole thing unravels, so the Lions need answers here, and the sooner the better. That brings us to the o5ensive line. Moorhead's o5ense uses an inside zone- based power running game. It's a zone blocking scheme that is easier to learn than some other schemes and should 4t Penn State's personnel, especially young linemen such as Ryan Bates, Steven Gonzalez, Noah Beh, Sterling Jenkins, Chance Sorrell and several others who could end up playing important roles as early as this fall. It should also simplify things for established o5ensive linemen Paris Palmer, Brendan Mahon, Derek Dowrey, Brian Gaia, Andrew Nelson and Wendy Laurent, and help them cut down on the mental mistakes and communi- cation problems that caused some of this unit's biggest problems the past two seasons. Readers can probably tell that I'm ex- cited about Moorhead's o5ense. I believe it's a scheme that can capitalize on the personnel that Penn State has recruited, particularly in the skill positions. But I'm also realistic enough to know that the improvement won't occur overnight. This transformation has to be taken one step at a time. ■

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