Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
standpoint and have an understanding of schemes [that players didn't have] prior to this individual and seven-on- seven stuff. BWI Tommy Stevens and Trace Mc- Sorley seem to have a kind of gamer mentality in addition to their athleti- cism. MOORHEAD Absolutely. I haven't been able to see as much of Jake [Zem- biec], but you can tell that it's not just the physical ability component with them – the ability to make the throws, the ability to make plays with their feet whether by design or by play-calling. It's a difficult characteristic to define, but both of them seem to have that "it" factor where guys on the team gravitate toward them and want to play for them. BWI What are you looking to see from those guys heading into preseason camp? MOORHEAD I think it would be more of a broad-strokes evaluation where we're looking at their physical develop- ment and how they work within the scheme: run-game footwork, pass drops, their ability to make the throws and then certainly their understanding of the scheme. I think that's the biggest thing in their development. We're continually going over film try- ing to correct the mistakes they made in the spring and [looking at] how to cor- rect them, listing the things they did well and how to continue to improve upon those things. So I'd say it's really two-fold: It's physical development in terms of their on-the-field skills and how those skills pertain to their success, and then the mental part of it and the understanding of the scheme. BWI Do you have an idea about who's picking it up and who's not, or is that something that could evolve? MOORHEAD I think all of them have picked it up well. Trace may be a little quicker than Tommy, but I wouldn't say any of them, including Jake, who's done a lot from a mental standpoint, are struggling to learn the sys- tem well. We've addressed with them all the things they've done well and what can they do a little bit bet- ter. BWI For these kids, is your system hard to pick up? MOORHEAD I would say no. The conceptual teach- ing of it is very streamlined. One thing builds upon the next, and I think it's some- thing these guys have com- mitted themselves to doing. I don't think there's a lot of verbosity. There aren't any lengthy calls, everything's a one- or two-word call at the line of scrimmage. For the most part, the only people who are hearing words are the offensive line- men and that's because the quarterback P R E V I E W SHOW OF ARMS Moorhead watches walk-on QB Billy Fessler warm up prior to the Blue- White Game. The Lions' first-year of- fensive coordinator said he was pleased with the progress of all his quarterbacks this spring. Photo by Steve Manuel