Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Quarterback Tommy Stevens left no doubt about his development since his arrival at Penn State, earning game MVP honors for his 17 completions on 24 attempts. Notch- ing 216 yards and three scores, he gives the Nittany Lions another capable starter at the quarterback position. PLAY OF THE GAME Stevens con- nected with Andre Robinson on a screen pass at the end of the third quar- ter in the red zone, and Robinson did the rest. Plunging through three tackle attempts up the sideline, the backup running back scored the game's first touchdown. BEST PASS Stevens put one right on the money downfield late in the third quarter, hooking up with DeAndre Thompkins down the right sideline. The completion went for 50 yards. WORST PASS Robinson looks like carrying the ball is his game. His third- quarter halfback option pass was easily intercepted when he threw the ball into double coverage. BEST RUN Mark Allen's 15-yard burst to open the second half was a rare high- light for the Lions carrying the ball. BEST CATCH For as good as Stevens' throw was on the 50-yarder, Thomp- kins' reception was just as nice. On out- stretched arms and fingertips, the junior wideout hauled in the pass to ce- ment the game's biggest play. WORST DROP Penn State's secondary mishandled a few opportunities, in- stantly bringing to mind James Franklin's assertion earlier in spring practice that the defense needs to be more opportunistic. BEST SACK Shareef Miller looked like he was trying to pull up, but a push in the back propelled him directly into the blind side of quarterback Billy Fessler in the third quarter. We'll count it as a def- inite sack. BEST EFFORT Brandon Polk's fourth- quarter touchdown reception wasn't the most graceful, but by sticking with the pass in the middle of the field, he man- aged to complete the 31-yard scoring play. BEST KICK Tyler Davis put his Blue side on the board first, sending through a 42-yard attempt (with some help from the left upright) with 2:36 left in the first quarter. The boot gave the Blue a 3-0 lead after a nine-play possession span- ning 39 yards. BEST DECISION Going for some game-ending points proved to be a ben- eficial exercise for the Nittany Lions, as they wrapped up the game with a touch- down pass from Stevens to Juwan John- son in the middle of the field. MOST TELLING MOMENT After the game, Franklin was emotional in describ- ing a talk that Tim Shaw had given to the team the night before. Shaw, a former standout Nittany Lion linebacker who is battling ALS, talked to players and coaches about being present, and being the best they can be in everything. His message resonated deeply with the Lions' coach. ■ P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> 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 secondary. But overall, they also showed that there's some depth to work with come the fall. GRADE B COACHING As is always the case in the spring game, James Franklin and his staff didn't show a whole lot. How- ever, they did land two verbal commit- ments from four-star prospects before the game began. That deserves some love. GRADE A CROWD Penn State announced an es- timated crowd of 71,000. That's slightly under what Franklin was hoping for, but it was still a solid showing from the Nit- tany Lion faithful, although a ton of people decided to just stay at their tail- gates. GRADE B H I G H S & L O W S B Y N A T E B A U E R MOMENT TO SHINE Allen breaks free for extra yardage in the Blue-White Game. With Saquon Barkley sitting out, Allen, a redshirt junior, started for the Blue squad and fin- ished as the game's leading rusher with 63 yards on only 10 car- ries. Photo by Patrick Mansell

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