Blue White Illustrated

C O A C H S P E A K QUARTERBACKS Trace McSorley played longer than expected, complet- ing 13 of 21 passes, but Tommy Stevens was the one who stole the show, as he finished the day 17 for 24 with 216 yards and three touchdowns. However, be- hind those two, it's still unclear what Penn State will do, as Jake Zembiec failed to impress, completing just 2 of 8 attempts. GRADEB RUNNING BACKSBoth Mark Allen and Andre Robinson continue to prove that they're strong backups to Saquon Barkley. Allen totaled 63 yards rushing on just 10 carries, while Robinson racked up 34 yards on seven carries. He also had three receptions, one of which went for a score in the third quarter. GRADEB RECEIVERS As expected, the Blue squad had much more success than the White, as Jonathan Holland, DeAndre Thomp- kins, Juwan Johnson and DaeSean Hamilton all had at least five recep- tions. Holland ran some decent routes for a tight end, while Thompkins con- tinues to prove that he can be a big-play threat. Johnson also showed why he was consistently praised by the staff this spring. GRADEB OFFENSIVE LINEMEN Penn State's starters allowed only one sack, but the second unit wasn't quite as successful, as they were charged for five sacks. At times, it looked as if both units needed to get more of a push, but it's also im- portant to remember that a few regulars weren't playing. GRADEB DEFENSIVE LINE Shareef Miller contin- ues to emerge as one of Penn State's top pass rushers, finishing the game with four tackles and two sacks. Torrence Brown and Curtis Cothran also recorded a sack apiece. GRADEB LINEBACKERSCam Brown was all over the field, recording seven tackles for the White squad. Jarvis Miller also had a solid debut at the position. Penn State knows what it will get from Jason Cabinda and Manny Bowen, so if it's able to add some depth at this posi- tion, that could prove to be crucial this fall. GRADEB DEFENSIVE BACKS Ayron Monroe and T.J. Johnson both had interceptions. Freshman Lamont Wade also got in the mix a bit, recording one pass deflection. However, the receivers on both teams had opportunities for big plays, so there's a bit to work on in the second- ary. But overall, they also showed that there's some depth to work with come the fall. GRADEB COACHINGAs is always the case in the spring, James Franklin and his staff didn't show much. However, they did land two commitments from four-star prospects before the game. That de- serves some love. GRADEA CROWD Penn State announced an esti- mated crowd of 71,000. That's slightly under what Franklin was hoping for, but it was still a solid showing from the Nittany Lion faithful, although a ton of people decided to just stay at their tail- gates. GRADEB A P R I L 2 2 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 8 G A M E G R A D E S B Y R Y A N S N Y D E R JONATHAN HOLLAND A couple weeks ago you said, "For us to get where we want to go, we've got to practice at a level that we've never seen before." Could you expand on that a bit? How close are you to that, and what do you have to do to get there?  I think what's difficult for people is to ask them to do something that they've never done before and ask them to do something that they've never seen before. I think one of the things you look at is you look at these programs that have been winning at a really, really high level for a long pe- riod of time. That becomes a part of their culture: how they practice and how they train and how they eat and how they sleep and what they drink – all those things we call a champi- onship lifestyle. It's ingrained in everything they do, and what hap- pens is that the seniors and the jun- iors teach the sophomores and the freshmen, and when the new class comes in it just becomes part of what you do. We are headed in that direc- tion, but I would not say we're there yet. I think we still have some things leB in the tank. Tim Shaw came and spoke to our team yesterday, and it may be one of the greatest, most powerful speeches I've ever heard. As a father, my daughters will see this – we video- taped it – and as a coach it's the mes- sage you want your team to hear. Really, his message was about that the disease that he's fighting (ALS) was a giB that he's been given – that he's been given a giB of perspective and the perspective is that you live life the way you're supposed to play the game of football – as if every play could be your last and you should live that way. It was an unbelievable message to our team, and that to me is what we need to do in life, in the classroom. It challenged me to be a better father. When I'm with my wife and my kids, it pushes me to be a better father. I think it's a great mes- sage, just to be present and be the best that you can possibly be in Patrick Mansell

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