Blue White Illustrated

A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 2 been really competitive: completion per- centage, touchdown-interception ratio, moving the ball down the field. They've done a nice job," Franklin said. "And they both have movement, which has helped. I know it's caused the defense some headaches." Teammates have concurred. "I think the main thing that stands out about both of those guys is just they're good competitors," receiver Chris Godwin said. "Each and every day they're going to go out there and give it their all, give it 100 percent and do whatever they have to [in order] to get the job done. So far they've done a great job all spring. They've been competing and everything, making good throws and great decisions as well as [making plays] with their feet. They've been the guys who are leading the charge this whole spring." Added tight end Mike Gesicki, "I think that Trace is doing a tremendous job throwing the ball and understanding the concepts of the playbook and doing his job, and I think Tommy is right there with him doing the exact same thing. Tommy is doing a great job throwing the ball and he's doing a great job with his feet. They're both very similar football players. I would just say that the thing that's different between them is their size. Tommy is just obviously bigger than Trace, but they're both doing a tremen- dous job back there." Franklin said the coaching staff has helped speed the offense's development this spring by keeping the defensive ad- justments to a minimum. The idea has been to give the offensive players a chance to adapt to Moorhead's hurry-up scheme before being stress-tested by a more complicated defense. "The biggest thing is to lay a foundation for the system and their assignments and responsibilities and then build confi- dence," Franklin said. "I think both of those have happened. There's an excite- ment right now offensively. The line is playing better. We still have some things we have to get resolved. We're veteran now at wide receiver, where we've been young in the past. We're veteran at running back and we have some experience at tight end, so we've been pleased with that." The offensive line is, of course, the other big question mark on offense this spring. And although Franklin said he has seen some hopeful signs, it remains a work in progress. The Lions are still trying to develop a consistent first-team unit despite returning an abundance of players with starting experience. They have also been looking to find out whether some of their younger linemen are ready to do more than just push for backup roles this fall. In at least one of the team's practice sessions, for instance, redshirt freshman guard Ryan Bates was working with the first team in place of Brendan Mahon. Junior tackle Andrew Nelson said that Bates "is going to be a great player here," adding that "he'll def- initely be on the field this year for a lot of substantial playing time." Some of the inconsistency this spring is attributable to the experimentation the staff has been doing. One of those ex- periments involved flip-flopping first- team tackles Nelson and Paris Palmer. Palmer had missed a practice, and in his absence, the coaches switched Nelson from right to le@ tackle. When Palmer THE BLUE-WHITE GAME AT A GLANCE WHERE Beaver Stadium WHEN 2 p.m., April 16 TV/RADIO The Blue-White Game will be tape-delayed on the Big Ten Network, with its debut set for 7 p.m. Saturday, April 16. Scott Graham will handle play-by-play, with Matt Millen pro- viding color commentary and Brian Tripp serving as sideline reporter. The game will also air at midnight and 10 p.m. Sunday, April 17; 11:30 p.m. Monday, April 18; and 4 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19. The schedule is subject to change, check BTN.com. The game will also air on more than 30 Penn State Sports Network radio affiliates, with Steve Jones and Jack Ham doing the call. WEB BTN2Go will carry the game live. Visit btn2go.com for details. TV provider required. ADMISSION/PARKING There will be no admission or game day parking fee. The overnight RV lot opens at 8 a.m. Friday, April 15, and is $60, cash only. Cars accompanying an overnight RV will be charged $20, cash only. Beaver Stadium parking lots will open on game day at 8 a.m. Beaver Stadium gates A and B will open at 12:30 p.m. Team arrival for the Nittany Lions will be at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of Curtin and Porter roads. AUTOGRAPH SESSION The annual autograph session with the Nittany Lions will take place from 11:15 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. New this year, members of the team will be assigned to gates ac- cording to their position. The breakdown is as follows: Gate A – running backs/tight ends; Gate B – quarterbacks/defensive backs; Gate C – defensive linemen/linebackers; Gate E – wide re- ceivers/specialists; Gate F – offensive linemen. The players will be permitted to sign one item per person to give as many fans as possible an opportunity to meet the squad. OTHER EVENTS The Fan Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include numer- ous displays, vendors and interactive events for kids. It will be located on Curtin Road near Beaver Stadium, as it is during the season. … The Blue-White Family Fun Zone will take place from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. in Holuba Hall and is open to the public with free admission. The Fun Zone will feature game stations run by Penn State teams, inflatables, free face painting, interactive games, novelty stations and giveaways. … The 7th Annual Paterno Family Beaver Stadium Run/Family Fun Walk to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania is set for 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 17. Participants will finish at the 50-yard line in Beaver Stadium for the 3-mile run or 1- mile walk. For more information, visit specialolympicspa.org.

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