Blue White Illustrated

N O V E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 12 T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . c O M On the same day that Penn State se- cured a verbal commitment from the No. 1 tight end prospect in the Class of 2018, its current TE wrote his way into school record books. Junior Mike Gesicki hauled in a 45-yard touchdown halfway through the third quarter. The score gave PSU a two-pos- session lead over Michigan State, one that it did not relinquish as it won the Big Ten East championship in Beaver Sta- dium Saturday night with a 45-12 win over Michigan State. What that 45-yard reception also did was put Gesicki atop the chart for the most receiving yards in a season by a PSU tight end. He finished the day with two catches for 64 yards, giving him 610 on the year. The previous record was held by Mickey Shuler (600), and it had stood since 1977. Following the game, Gesicki was most elated about his team's chance to play for a Big Ten title next week in Indianapolis. "You don't want to take this moment for granted," he said. But he did take a minute to savor the news about surpassing the longstanding mark. "That's a huge honor," Gesicki said, "but I just want to thank my team- mates, my coaches and everybody who was there for me and gave me the oppor- tunity to be successful this season. It's a tribute to all of them. My name is obvi- ously going to go down on the record, but everybody else's names deserve to be there, too, because without them it's not happening." With 44 receptions on the year – a@er catching just 24 during his first two sea- sons – Gesicki also acknowledged how the new offense that Penn State installed this year has boosted his production. About six hours a@er Zack Kuntz an- nounced that he was choosing Penn State over scholarship offers from Ala- bama, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State, Gesicki stated that if he had to do it all over again, he would follow the exact same path. "If I was back in high school, I'm not looking anywhere else besides here," Gesicki said. "As a tight end, you get a great chance to make plays in the pass game. You get a chance to showcase your ability to block. This offense has the abil- ity to not only let one guy produce, or two guys produce. This offense has the ability to let several guys produce, and it's shown that all season long. As a play- maker, you just want to come here." A YEAR TO REMEMBER Mike Gesicki smashes PSU season record for most yards by a tight end Penn State picked up another big Class of 2018 commitment Saturday when four-star tight end Zack Kuntz of Camp Hill, Pa., made his decision offi- cial via Twitter. At 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, Kuntz has not only been rated the nation's No. 1 tight end prospect in his class, but he's also built an offer list that supports the claim, as Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State are just a few of the programs that ultimately offered. In recent months, it appeared as if there was a real chance that Kuntz would end up leaving the Keystone State for col- lege, but a@er talking about it more with his family, they realized that Penn State had everything he needed to suc- ceed on and off the field. "I wanted to commit a@er my junior season," Kuntz said. "I believe that by committing now, especially while they're on the rise, it could help sway some other big recruits to consider Penn State a little bit more and ulti- mately help build up the 2018 recruiting class. I've always loved Penn State and it's been like a second home to me. It just took me until recently to realize that going there would benefit me most in the future. I love the coaching staff and the school. It just seemed right for me." If the name sounds familiar to Nittany Lion fans, that's because Zack is the brother of former Penn State wide re- ceiver Christian Kuntz. Another brother, Brandon, walked on at Penn State before ultimately transferring to West Chester. Kuntz admitted that staying within driving distance so his family could attend games had a big im- pact on his decision. "It's an hour and half away from my front door, so I can almost guarantee I'll have a family member coming to my games every weekend," he said. "That's a big factor for me." Kuntz missed almost half of his junior season due to a toe injury, but he was able to play in Camp Hill's final four games. Now, he'll turn his attention to recruiting other prospects on Penn State's board, one of whom – 2018 line- backer Charlie Katshir of Mechanics- burg – lives right up the street. "We've been best friends for pretty much my entire life," Kuntz said in a previous interview. "We used to play to- gether back when we were still young. We won the Super Bowl together when we were in sixth grade. I've played sports with him my entire life." A member of the Rivals100, Kuntz is now the third prospect from the Harris- burg region to make a commitment to Penn State, joining defensive ends Damion Barber (2017) and Micah Par- sons (2018). He's also the second tight end prospect in Penn State's Class of 2018, joining Pat Freiermuth of North Andover, Mass. –RYAN SNYDER R E C R U I T I N G 2018 tight end commits to Nittany Lions

• Cover