Blue White Illustrated

F or the 5rst time in years, Penn State will be very close to the NCAA man- dated 85-scholarship limit. That might seem like cause for celebration, and in many respects it is. But normalcy has not entirely returned. The Nittany Lion team that coach James Franklin and his sta7 put on the 5eld this fall is likely to be the least experienced, most under- classman-dominated team they have 5elded since arriving at Penn State in January 2014. The Lions will have between 58 and 60 scholarship players with freshman or sophomore eligibility this fall. Given the disproportionate in6uence that young players will have on the success of this year's team, it is critical that some of those players enjoy breakout seasons. Earlier this summer, I began scouring the roster in hope of identifying a hand- ful of potential breakout players on this year's team. The one young player who jumped out at me as I looked over the depth chart was linebacker Manny Bowen. A sophomore in 2016, Bowen was thrust into action last season and has since put himself in position to play a key role this fall. Although there are a number of potential candidates for the title, Bowen is my choice as the team's defensive breakout player. There are also a number of more-ex- perienced players who appear poised for big years. They include my choices as the team's o7ensive breakout players: junior wide receiver Saeed Blacknall and junior tight end Mike Gesicki. The way things have worked out, both Blacknall and Gesicki probably would have been better o7 redshirting as true freshmen in 2014. Over the past two seasons, Blacknall has been able to corral only 19 passes for 360 yards with just two touchdown catches. Last season he had by far the best yards-per-catch average on the team (31.0) but 5nished with only eight receptions for 248 yards and just one TD catch. The good news here for Penn State is that Blacknall is coming o7 of the best spring practice session of his Penn State career and entered preseason camp in the best physical condition he's been in since arriving on campus. Blacknall is listed at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds and reportedly is one of the 10 fastest players on the team with 4.5- second 40-yard speed. But it's been more than just his physical maturation that has convinced Franklin and Penn State wide receivers coach Josh Gattis that Blacknall is on the verge of having a breakthrough season. Blacknall said his goal this past spring was to "always take steps forward and not take steps backward and just con- tinue to learn mentally and physically in this game. For me in year three… it's like everything is just starting to come to- gether. The mental aspect and every- thing is really all well put together right now." Blacknall always had the physical skills to play the game at a high level, but it wasn't until this past spring that he re- ally felt he understood the concepts that he needed to know in order to reach his potential. For the Manalapan, N.J., na- tive, it was a matter of "just learning concepts, not only knowing what you have on certain plays but trying to 5gure out what other people have around you then just learning the whole concept and why the play that has been called or whatever the system is, why you called them, why they're put in place. Just un- derstanding everything as a whole. I feel as I learn to do that, I can understand why if I run this route it will open up the backside route, and that's why our of- fense will be successful." It seems that coordinator Joe Moor- head's new o7ense has turned Blacknall into a real student of the game. In the Blue-White Game this past April, he to- taled 5ve catches for 45 yards. His 22- yard touchdown reception in the second quarter for the victorious Blue team was one of the best catches of the day. Both Franklin and Gattis have said they are convinced that the young wide- out has the potential to enjoy a breakout season this fall. Franklin said Blacknall "has played a lot of football but hasn't really had his breakout. I think that's going to change now based on his [per- formance in] spring practice. All indica- tions are that that's going to happen." The second player on o7ense who I believe can have a breakout season this fall is Gesicki. That might come as a sur- prise to some readers. Gesicki had been considered one of the top tight ends in the country in the Class of 2014, but he didn't come close to reaching his full potential during his freshman and soph- omore seasons, totaling 24 receptions for 239 yards and catching only one touchdown pass. Last season Gesicki was Penn State's sixth-leading receiver with 13 catches for 125 yards. Given those disappointing numbers, all the dropped passes and missed blocks, one might wonder why Franklin has talked so optimistically about Gesicki's future. But Frankin loves his approach to the game and understands the factors that caused him to struggle in his 5rst two seasons at Penn State. "He went from elementary school, middle school, to high school facing re- ally no adversity," Franklin told BWI in July. "He comes from an unbelievable These Nittany Lion players appear poised for breakout seasons in 2016 PHIL'S CORNER

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