Penn State Sports Magazine
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2 0 1 6 P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L * Starting experience in 2015 KEY PERSONNEL TE: Nick Bow- ers, Danny Dalton, Mike Gesicki*, Jonathan Holland, Tom Pancoast; WR: Saeed Blacknall*, Irvin Charles, Dae'lun Darien, Gregg Garrity, Chris Godwin*, DaeSean Hamilton*, Juwan Johnson, Brandon Polk*, DeAndre Thompkins LOSSES TE: Kyle Carter*, Brent Wilkerson*; WR: Geno Lewis*, Matt Zanelatto RISING STAR Johnson and Charles figure to make an impact this fall, but Blacknall gets the nod here. He's by no means an un- known, having played in each of the past two seasons. But by all ac- counts, the rising junior took some big steps forward in spring practice and will likely play an expanded role as a field-stretching deep threat af- ter catching 19 passes for 360 yards during the first two years of his Penn State career. BIGGEST LOSS Lewis finished fourth on the team with 17 recep- tions for 196 yards and three touch- downs last season, but he was not as big a factor in the offense as he had been as a sophomore, starting only three games due to coach James Franklin's concerns about his incon- sistency. Eager to end his career on a high note, Lewis left for Oklahoma earlier this year and will be eligible to play right away as a graduate transfer. NUMBERS GAME Of the 10 wide- outs and tight ends who caught at least one pass for Penn State last sea- son, seven return this fall. Those sev- en players combined to make 145 re- ceptions for 2,148 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago. McSorley knows all about the kind of impact that Polk can have on an offense. One of the winningest players in the his- tory of Virginia high school football, Mc- Sorley led Briar Woods to four consecutive appearances in the state championship game, and Polk was once his secret weapon. Their partnership began prior to Mc- Sorley's junior season. Polk hadn't officially joined the team yet, but he was taking part in an informal seven-on-seven drill during the summer. "He was running a wheel route, and the corner was probably 10 yards off of him," McSorley recalled. "I tried to throw it as far as I could, just to see how fast he was, and he flew right by the corner and caught it for a touchdown like it was nothing. "He just kind of floats through the air when he's running. It looks so seamless and easy for him, but he's flying. I re- member the first couple of times throwing to him, I had to adjust how far in front of him I would have to put the ball, as opposed to our other receivers. It was just a different level of speed that he had." Relatively unknown beforehand, Polk saw limited action for the Falcons that fall as he learned the offense. It wasn't until the following year that he really burst onto the scene. That's when he and Mc- Sorley paired up to become one of the more prolific pass-catch batteries in Vir- ginia for the 2013 season. McSorley recalls a moment when Polk showed his top-end speed and big-play ability on a jet sweep – not too different from the opening play against Temple last fall. This time it was from deep inside enemy territory, and McSorley was still learning about just how fast Polk really was. "From my angle it looked like there was really nothing there," McSorley recalled. "We were on our own 6- or 7-yard line, something like that. We were just trying to get some space. He just took it, and it looked all clogged up, but the next thing you know, he was just a blur. He just kind of spurted through everyone and was gone. I was like, 'All right, we can work with that.' " It's all a memory, now, but one that might soon be revived at Penn State. Fol- lowers of Loudon County high school football are already abuzz over the prospect of a college reunion. "Our county is always looking for that, talking about us," Polk said. "They're say- ing they can't wait to see that again, two Briar Woods alums. Our town has a lot of pride in that kind of stuff." That connection began with their fathers, Ed Polk and Rick McSorley, who had struck up a friendship through their involvement in youth football leagues. Ed quickly be- came familiar with Trace, one of the older, more noticeable players on the field. But it wasn't until high school, after McSorley had led Briar Woods to two state cham- pionships, that Brandon and Trace first connected. Following junior high, Trace enrolled at Briar Woods. The next year, Polk went to a neighboring high school, one less known for its football team. "I played [against McSorley and Briar Woods] my freshman year and they killed us," Polk said. "Then for my sophomore year, my dad was like, if you're serious about football we need to look at different schools." McSorley is thankful he did, as the Polks ultimately settled on Briar Woods, a school about 15 minutes away that had won state titles the previous two years. He played sparingly as a 10th-grader during the Fal- cons' third state championship season. By his junior year, he had learned the sys- tem and was McSorley's favorite target. They won all but two of their games, and the average margin of victory in their 11 regular-season wins was more than 30 points. This fall they will both have sophomore eligibility, as McSorley redshirted his first season while Polk saw immediate action. They're ready for an encore – McSorley-Polk 2.0 – only this time the stage is a lot bigger, the audience much larger. There's also a new offense set to make its debut, one that's not terribly different SEE POLK PAGE 70