Blue White Illustrated

Calling to mind his approach in the trenches, Ryan Bates does not leave room for misinterpretation in his answers to media questions. So when he was surrounded by re- porters following Penn State's eighth practice session of the spring, the soph- omore offensive lineman made clear the goals of the unit as a whole. The Nittany Lions, he said, are aiming to "just be overall more physical than we were last season." "We want our offensive line to be known as the hogs up front," he contin- ued. "We want to be more physical than any other group on the field. That's probably the biggest goal." A work in progress dating to head coach James Franklin's arrival at Penn State in advance of the 2014 season, the Nittany Lions now have the depth, experience and size along the offensive line to achieve their stated goals. At 315 pounds this spring, Bates has an- chored the left side of the line at tackle, while fellow 315-pounder Connor Mc- Govern has moved to the center position and Chasz Wright has checked in at a ro- bust 343 pounds at right tackle. Manning the guard spots, true freshman Mike Mi- randa has earned significant reps at first team on the left side while Steven Gon- zalez is a reported 334 pounds and get- ting first-team reps on the right side. Across the board, it's a picture Franklin described vividly while discussing Mc- Govern's impact at center. "You look at him, he's like 315 pounds or so, and he still looks fairly skinny. You stand back there and look at the offensive line and his behind just looks different than everybody else's, but his movement and athleticism have been really good," Franklin said. "The thing right now going inside is, is he going to be verbal enough, is he going to call out the fronts and take control? Brian Gaia did an unbelievable job with that. The difference that we're hoping can help a little bit is, Brian Gaia was anywhere between 285 and 290, and you talk about now having a center who is 315 pounds, that we're hoping is going to be able to give us a little bit more phys- ical of a presence inside. "That's no knock on Brian. Brian was unbelievable here, but it gives us just a little bit more girth inside. Third-and-1, fourth-and-1, four-minute offense, low red zone, those types of things." Describing Gonzalez as one of the strongest players on the team on either side of the trenches, Bates also went on to talk about the ways that the group isn't just big and physical on the first team. With talent coming along for a second- team unit that continues to jell with its confidence and cohesion, Bates said the future is bright for the line moving for- ward. "With [Michal] Menet, McGovern, [Will] Fries and [Alex] Gellerstedt com- ing in, it gave us a lot of depth, people we could trust," he said. "It's only going to grow from here on out. We have four or five guys coming in the 2017 class. We have a lot of depth right now." A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 GETTING PHYSICAL Ryan Bates has high hopes for the Nittany Lions' offensive line this fall N A T E   B A U E R   | N B A U E R @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Bates has been practic- ing at left tackle this spring after playing both tackle and guard as a freshman. He said the Nittany Lions' goal this season is to be more physical. "We want our offensive line to be known as the hogs up front," he said. "We want to be more physical than any group on the field." Photo by Nate Bauer White Out declared for Michigan game Penn State announced Tuesday that its annual White Out game will be Oct. 21 against Michigan. The 2017 Penn State White Out T-shirt celebrates the "Avalanche of Sound" that emerges from Beaver Stadium in the fall. The shirt, which will be available in short and long sleeve, features a center chest graphic with a Nike Swoosh trademark on the left lapel. The Penn State White Out tee will be available for Penn State fans to purchase in June on shop.GoPSUsports.com and at the Penn State Bookstore. Game times and television arrange- ments for the 2017 season will be an- nounced at a later date.

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