Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> "If you want a picture, just ask. You don't have to be sneaky." If their team aspirations for the 2017 season are met, the photo-op requests are only likely to increase for Barkley and Mc- Sorley. A year ago, the Nittany Lions were em- boldened by veteran Nyeem Wartman- White's willingness to verbalize his lofty goals. Few people outside the program were citing Penn State as a potential title contender last summer, but the senior linebacker stated plainly that the team's intention was to win a Big Ten championship. The Lions went on to accom- plish that goal, and now the re- turning players are going a step further. A return trip to the Rose Bowl, this time to play in a College Foot- ball Playoff semifinal, is on the agenda. Boasting an offense that is loaded with proven talent on the line, at tight end and in the receiver corps and backfield, Penn State may have that kind of potential. "The sky is the limit, and everybody knows what game we want to make it to and what game we want to play in," Barkley said. "But the only way you can really succeed and get to that game is if we focus on [the season opener against] Akron." Step-by-step, Mc- Sorley and Barkley have resolved to do everything in their power to help the Nittany Lions ascend that mountain, keeping an eye on its height while un- derstanding the importance of the path necessary to get there. "It's just focusing on what we've got to do this year," McSorley said. "We have goals academically and athletically that I want to accomplish. I'm just trying to do whatever I need to do as the quarterback and as a player to bring this team to the heights we're talking about, to make sure that we're reaching our ceiling. After this year, we don't want to look back and say, 'Man, we had all this talent come back. We had all this promise.' We don't want to have any kind of regret. To make sure this team is reaching its full potential, that's where I'm at, and I'm focusing on those things." ■ AIMING HIGH McSor- ley and Barkley are hoping to point the Nittany Lions toward a berth in the College Football Playoff. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics