Blue White Illustrated

| W hen Penn State's plane touched down in State College following the Tax- Slayer Bowl in January, tight end Mike Gesicki pressed the reset button. He was coming off a disappointing soph- omore season in which, despite starting eight games and playing in 12, he finished with only 13 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. And making matters worse, he suffered some particularly dispiriting drops through the course of the season, becoming a story unto himself, one of unrealized potential and head-scratching results. But with the help of new Nittany Lion offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, Gesicki shut it down and started fresh. "I'm not really concerned with last year anymore because Coach Moorhead has been preaching to us that he's not con- cerned with the past. He's just worried about the present and the future," Gesicki said. "I'm not really thinking about the struggles and all that kind of stuff that everybody wants to continue to talk about. I'm really just focused on continuing to get better. "I think that absolutely I've matured and I would not change a thing that I went through last year because I think that I've become a better person because of it. I think I've become a better athlete because of it. And I think I've become a much better football player because of it. So if I could go back and change anything, I wouldn't change one thing because I'm happy with who I am and what kind of football player I am right now." Whether or not the new start pays div- idends when the Nittany Lions take to the turf in September remains to be seen. But the numbers he posted during winter workouts indicate that he has embraced the challenge. Gesicki was among the team leaders in several areas, testing out among the top five in the vertical leap (36.5 inches), broad jump (10 feet, 10 inch- es) and power clean (365 pounds). When spring practice got under way, coach James Franklin cited the tight ends in general and Gesicki in particular as players who are poised to take a leap for- ward this season. "It's a good group to work with," Franklin said. "You've got some experienced guys with Mike Gesicki who has played some football and I know is really motivated to have a strong year this year." He got off to a good start in the Blue- White Game, catching three passes for 30 yards. Gesicki made some plays last year, too, but not enough to meet his expectations. In order to improve his productivity, he said he has learned to work harder and more efficiently this off-season. Said Gesicki, "I think that it humbled me ex- tremely. I think that it's made me work. I thought I worked hard before and I thought I was doing things above and beyond. … And now I've kind of continued to take that and take it so many levels above what I was doing." Gesicki has paid par- ticular attention to his blocking. He said he un- derstands and has em- braced the dual respon- sibilities of the tight end position in this new sys- tem, noting that it's a 50- 50 split between the run and pass game. He said he feels as though he has matured through the entire process. He's figured out who is for and against him, has put Twitter and the world of social media aside and no longer pays attention to what's being said to or about him. Instead, he's simply focused on what he considers to be an exciting future. "If I'm being completely honest, I'm not really worried about the past anymore. I'm not thinking about the past anymore. I'm just excited for the future, excited for this new offense and excited for this team to continue to move forward," he said. "I'm going to continue to improve my game day in and day out. And I think these next two years under Coach Moor- head in this offense will be very exciting and very fun to play in. And really I'm just excited for practice [and] to continue to get better." ■ THINKING AHEAD Mike Gesicki is focused on making the most of his junior season LENDING A HAND Gesicki was one of the Nittany Lions' top performers dur- ing winter work- outs, ranking among the team leaders in several strength and con- ditioning tests. Photo by Steve Manuel

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