Blue White Illustrated

OTHER NEWS Mark Allen showed throughout spring practice that he's an exciting third-down back and a tremen- dous receiver coming out of the back- 9eld. In addition, redshirt freshman An- dre Robinson ran with power and pa- tience at the point of attack. With Miles Sanders set to arrive this month, Penn State should have one of the deeper back9elds in the Big Ten this fall. TAKEAWAY This is the 9rst time since the NCAA handed down its sanctions in 2012 that Penn State has had four prime-time running backs on its roster. WIDE RECEIVER SPRING STORYLINE One could argue that the emergence of Juwan Johnson and Irvin Charles was the big story here this spring. But while they both appear to have very bright futures, I was most interested in watching Saeed Blacknall's development. He's 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash in the spring, ranking second on the team behind Barkley. Last season Blacknall had only eight catches for 248 yards, but his average of 31 yards per catch was the team's best. He furthered his development in spring practice by quickly absorbing Moor- head's o:ensive system. His priority, he explained, was "just learning concepts – not only knowing what you have [to do] on certain plays but trying to 9gure out what other people around you [are do- ing] and then just learning the concept and why that play has been called… just understanding everything as a whole." OTHER NEWS All seven of the wide receivers who are expected to contribute this fall made some strides in spring practice. That was particularly true of DeAndre Thompkins and Brandon Polk. Thompkins had two catches for 47 yards in the Blue-White Game, including a 35- yard TD reception, while Polk had two catches for 39 yards. Both players have home run potential. TAKEAWAY Michigan probably has the best starting receiver corps in the Big Ten, with Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson and tight end Jake Butt all returning. But Godwin, Hamilton, Blacknall, Thomp- kins, Polk, Johnson and Charles give Penn State the conference's top overall wideout group. TIGHT END SPRING STORYLINE Mike Gesicki's continuing maturation was the most noteworthy development at tight end. He has always had the physical size and athletic ability to be a real force, but he hasn't displayed the necessary consis- tency, either as a blocker or receiver. I believe one of the reasons Gesicki struggled in his 9rst two seasons at Penn State was that he didn't 9t the o:ensive system the Nittany Lions were running. I suspect that this mismatch may have taken a toll on his outlook and con- tributed to the concentration lapses he su:ered. That could change this fall, be- cause I believe Gesicki is well suited to Moorhead's o:ense. In fact, I'm con- vinced that Gesicki will be one of the most improved players on Penn State's o:ense this fall. OTHER NEWS Former walk-on Tom Pancoast and January enrollee Danny Dalton had strong performances this spring, while redshirt freshman Nick Bowers established himself as the team's best blocking tight end. I don't believe that Dalton, who had two catches for 23 yards in the spring game, will redshirt this fall. TAKEAWAY Gesicki needs to reach his full potential, because this will be the youngest and least experienced position group on Penn State's o:ense. OFFENSIVE LINE SPRING STORYLINE There were two major stories to come out of spring practice: Andrew Nelson's move from right to le; tackle and Ryan Bates' strong showing, which vaulted him to the 9rst-team unit at le; guard. Nelson, healthy again a;er an injury- plagued sophomore season, appears to be a natural at le; tackle. And Bates, a redshirt freshman who is listed at 6-4, 305 pounds, just might be the team's best pure o:ensive lineman. OTHER NEWS I liked Brian Gaia's move to center and was encouraged by the maturation of Brendan Mahon at right guard. The position battle between Palmer and Noah Beh at right tackle was interesting, too, and will bear watching in preseason practice. TAKEAWAY For the 9rst time in four years, Penn State has competition at all 9ve positions on the o:ensive line. The Lions had 15 scholarship linemen on their spring roster, and that fact alone should result in improvement this fall. DEFENSIVE LINE SPRING STORYLINE The big news on the defensive front in April was the emergence of redshirt freshman Kevin Givens at the three-technique tackle po- sition. With Zettel and Johnson having departed and Parker Cothren missing contact work in spring practice because of an undisclosed upper-body injury, Givens' emergence gave the Nittany Li- ons a major boost this spring. "I think Kevin's been a little bit of a surprise for all of us," Pry said. "We are certainly excited about him. He was a very raw player coming out of high school, [but] he has a tremendous work ethic, he really understands the game, he understands leverage and blocking schemes and just a lot of things that come at him naturally. He's a mature guy. He moved inside to three-technique and… had a nice spring." Givens' work ethic really showed in winter workouts, during which he post- ed a team-high squat of 635 pounds and bench pressed 410 pounds. He is listed at 6-1, 270 pounds, but Franklin said he believes Givens can get up to 285 by the start of the season. OTHER NEWS There has been a major misconception circulating about the de- fensive line throughout the o:-season. A lot of people seem to think that depth is going to be a problem at defensive tackle. But that doesn't appear to be the case at all. There will be seven candi- dates for the three-technique spot when preseason practice begins in August: Givens, redshirt junior Curtis Cothran, junior Tyrell Chavis, redshirt sopho- more Antoine White, sophomore Brenon

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