Blue White Illustrated

QUARTERBACKS Trace McSorley wasted little time showing what he can do in Joe Moorhead's offense, complet- ing 18 of 19 attempts for 217 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Tommy Stevens didn't have nearly as much support from the second-team offensive line, but he showed that he too has what it takes to be successful in this offense. I think it's fair to say that McSorley walked away the winner, but the stats don't tell the story here. PSU fans have reason to be excited about both. GRADEA RUNNING BACKSMark Allen was im- pressive in the first half, racking up 49 yards on just eight carries. Not only did he do an excellent job of finding the open hole in Moorhead's zone-read, but he also fought for every yard. Saquon Barkely, who didn't play Satur- day, will be the main man this year and moving forward, but Allen looks as if he could be an excellent fit for Moorhead's zone-read. Andre Robin- son also played well behind the first-team offensive line. GRADEB RECEIVERSPenn State's core group of Saeed Black- nall, DaeSean Hamilton and Chris God- win looked excellent in the first half, racking up 160 yards on just 12 recep- tions. Both Godwin and Blacknall also contributed a touchdown each. The White squad showed its inexperience, but that's to be expected. GRADEB OFFENSIVE LINEThis is probably the toughest unit to grade. Penn State's first-team offensive line dominated all afternoon, while the White squad showed its inexperience. That said, I think you also have to credit a few indi- viduals on the Blue squad's defensive line for really getting after it today in an effort to prove something. Considering how easily the Blue squad moved the ball at times, I'll give them a B, but I think the jury is still out when it comes to how much this unit has truly im- proved. GRADEB DEFENSIVE LINEKevin Givens was a man on a mis- sion, racking up 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He also led the Blue squad in tackles with six. Antoine White showed signs of promise, but it's still pretty clear that depth could be an issue. The two junior college prospects need to be ready. GRADEB LINEBACKERSIt's all about depth at linebacker this year. Without Brandon Bell and Nyeem Wartman-White, the younger linebackers were able to earn some valuable playing time this spring. I thought Manny Bowen showed that he's progressed in the right direction, but this unit was picked apart at times in the passing game. GRADEC DEFENSIVE BACKSJohn Reid continues to show signs that he could be a special player, racking up three pass deflec- tions. Koa Farmer was also often in the mix, recording six tackles. McSorley and Stevens had a lot of success through the air, but it felt like a lot of those routes were mismatches against the linebackers. GRADEB COACHES Joe Moorhead's offense was a lot of fun to watch, while Brent Pry's first-team defense pitched a shutout. It's tough to grade the same staff against each other, but I thought that both the offense and the defense gave fans a few reasons to be excited this up- coming season. GRADEB CROWD I've seen more fans in the stands over the years, but I don't know if I've ever seen the parking lots as full as they were today. After a few rainy spring games in recent years, Nittany Lion fans took advantage of the beauti- ful weather. After the game, Franklin estimated that 65,000 people came through the gates. GRADEA A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 8 G A M E G R A D E S B Y R Y A N S N Y D E R SPRING FEVER Hamil- ton and his fellow first- teamers had a strong afternoon in the spring game, helping lift the Blue to a 37-0 victory. Photo by Steve Manuel

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