Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
projected as the conference's top two re- turning quarterbacks. If I had to choose, I'd say McSorley's performance was the best by a Big Ten quarterback last sea- son, and I believe he has the potential to be the league's top QB this fall. In addition to Barkley and McSorley, the Lions return tight end Mike Gesicki, who totaled 48 catches for 679 yards and 8ve touchdowns as a junior. Gesicki will enter the 2017 season as the top return- ing tight end in the Big Ten and one of the top 8ve tight ends in the country. His 679 receiving yards last year set a Penn State single-season record for tight ends. Even more impressive, he didn't drop a single pass the entire sea- son. At 6-foot-6, 252 pounds, he is a unique player in Penn State's pass of- fense. Not only does he create mis- matches in the secondary, he also has the ability to stretch the 8eld vertically. His average of 14.2 yards per catch last season clearly illustrates that fact. At wide receiver, despite Godwin's de- cision to leave early, Penn State is still considered to have one of the best groups of returning wideouts in the Big Ten, and perhaps the best group. There is no question that Godwin will be missed a:er catching 153 passes for 2,404 yards during the past three sea- sons, but Penn State returns nine of last year's 10 leading pass-catchers, players who totaled more than 70 percent of the team's receptions. One wide receiver who has the poten- tial to 8ll Godwin's shoes is senior Saeed Blacknall. Despite missing four games with an injury last season and also sit- ting out the Rose Bowl due to a suspen- sion, Blacknall totaled 15 catches for 347 yards (23.1 yards per catch), with three touchdown receptions. In addition to Blacknall, the Lions re- turn wideouts Irvin Charles, DaeSean Hamilton, Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins and Brandon Polk. Then there's the o9ensive line. In the years that followed the imposition of sanctions against Penn State in 2012, the team frequently struggled up front. Last season was the 8rst since Franklin's ar- rival in which the Lions had enough depth to withstand an injury or two without seriously hindering the o9ense. This coming year should be even bet- ter. For the 8rst time since the NCAA sanctions were imposed, the team could have as many as three o9ensive linemen with All-Big Ten potential. Before his injury against Iowa, Brendan Mahon was one of the top tackles in the Big Ten. If he's healthy this fall, he certainly will vie for All-Conference honors. Both Ryan Bates and Connor McGov- ern received Big Ten All-Freshman recognition last season. Many people believe that Bates and McGovern will be the top returning guards in the Big Ten this fall (assuming they remain at those positions) and they have the potential to become All-Big Ten performers before their careers are over. If redshirt freshman Michal Menet is able to adequately replace Brian Gaia at center, Penn State could not only have its best o9ensive line since the sanctions were handed down, but quite possibly its best line of the past seven or eight years. Finally, there is one additional reason why I believe Penn State's 2017 o9ense will be the team's best since 1994. It is my belief that Joe Moorhead is one of the top three o9ensive coordinators in the Football Bowl Subdivision. In his 8rst 14 games at PSU, deploying basically the same personnel on o9ense that the team had in 2015 with the exception of McSor- ley at quarterback in place of Christian Hackenberg, Moorhead transformed the team's o9ense. The Lions had averaged only 23.2 points per game in 2015 to rank 101st in the FBS, but they surged to be- come one of the nation's most potent of- fenses last year, ranking 21st in the country in scoring with an average of 37.6 yards per game over the course of their 14-game season. Moorhead said at the Rose Bowl that the Nittany Lions hadn't yet reached their peak. "In the very near future, this Penn State o9ense will produce some very special things," he said. I agree. This unit may not top the Lions' 1994 o9ense, but it certainly ap- pears to have the potential to rank as one of the school's all-time best. ■