Blue White Illustrated

and he has added 40 pounds, tipping the scales at 270. He squats a team-high 635 pounds, benches 390 pounds and could be at about 285 pounds for the start of the 2016 season. "I'm very proud of Kevin," defensive coordinator Brent Pry said following the Blue-White Game. "He's got a bright future here. He was raw coming out of high school, but we knew we had a talented, big athlete who was explo- sive. "He plays very low. Part of it is his stature. But also he is a great leverage player. We saw that at defensive end, and when you've got a guy who under- stands leverage, he can play inside. He puts his hands in the right place. He gets pad under pad. "He's explosive with his lower body. He's getting up underneath people and moving people." By the time Hill was a junior, he stood 6-1, 292 pounds. By the end of his senior year, he was a second-team All-Big Ten performer. I believe Givens can reach those physical measurements by the time he's a junior, especially if he's at 285 pounds this fall. Physically, Givens reminds me a lot of Hill. If he goes on to enjoy the kind of college career that Hill put together, it would give Penn State's defense a huge li:. On o9ense, my breakout player is Blacknall. He made tremendous strides in January and February, weighing 212 pounds when the team wrapped up its winter workouts while running a 4.39- second hand-timed 40-yard time – sec- ond-fastest on the team. Hamilton was impressed with Black- nall's performance in spring practice. "He knows a big year is expected of him. He's supposed to know," Hamilton said. "He knows what is expected of him and what's on his shoulders. I've seen the improvement from him. He's made big strides, and he's trying to be the best player he can be every day." In addition to re8ning his physical gi:s, Blacknall said he understands the game much better than he did a year ago. "Last year I could say sometimes I didn't understand that," Blacknall said. "I was just out there trying to play foot- ball." It's not surprising that Blacknall ended up being the leading receiver in the Blue-White Game, 8nishing with 8ve catches for 45 yards with a 22-yard touchdown reception. He may have had only eight catches as a sophomore, but he made the most of his opportunities to handle the football, gaining 248 yards for an impressive average of 31 yards per catch. It was by far the best per-catch average on the team. Givens will likely challenge redshirt sophomore Antoine White for the start- ing three-technique defensive tackle position next to Cothren, and Blacknall should go into the upcoming season as the Nittany Lions' third starting wide receiver along with Hamilton at the slot receiver position and Godwin split out with Blacknall in three-receiver sets. All three have the opportunity to make a big impact this fall. Finally, it would have been easy for me to select Trace McSorley as my breakout player on offense. His per- formance in the Blue-White Game was outstanding, as he hit 18 of his first 19 passes and finished the game with 23 completions in 27 attempts for 281 yards and four touchdowns. But coming off of that performance, McSorley is everyone's selection as the team's breakout player. If he fulfills the prom- ise he displayed in the spring game, his rise to prominence will come as a sur- prise to no one. However, if Penn State hopes to have a shot at challenging Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State for one of the top three spots in the Big Ten's East Divi- sion, McSorley isn't the only player who will need to have a breakout perform- ance this fall. That's why I chose Givens and Black- nall, and why I'm also looking to see whether Mike Gesicki, Ryan Bates, Tor- rence Brown and Juwan Johnson will be able to take big steps forward this fall. Their development is going to be crucial as Penn State looks ahead to the many challenges that await. ■

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