Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
LAST WORD 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 t's been more than two years since the conversation took place. Interviewing then-assistant coach John Donovan, I sat in his office for the typical preseason Q&A, of which you've likely already read a few in this very magazine. Our conversation mostly re- volved around the ups and downs of his first season as the offensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions, the offensive line and its struggles, Christian Hackenberg and the future of the program. Not surprisingly, there was plenty of optimism about the steps that were being taken to improve an offense that finished 111th in the country in yards per game and 110th in scoring in 2014. This was a group that had suffered its share of indignities, falling 29-6 at home to Northwestern and scoring fewer than 20 points in seven games that year, so virtually anything could pass as an improvement. Still, Donovan struggled to hide the painful realities of Penn State's roster de- ficiencies in the aftermath of the NCAA's sanctions against the program. So even in a largely positive interview, flashing red lights of warning were plentiful. Those warnings ultimately proved to be prophetic. The Nittany Lions did im- prove in 2015, but only slightly. Finish- ing 105th in total offense and 101st in scoring, they once again did their best to find ways to win but fell short of achieving the type of dramatic im- provement that Penn State fans had been hoping to see. One thing about that interview con- tinues to resonate with me, though. While Donovan wasn't necessarily bullish on Penn State's 2015 prospects, his eyes lit up at the possibilities that would exist for the Nittany Lion offense in 2016 and especially 2017. As he saw it, the team needed to get through one more year of struggles, after which its outstanding recruiting efforts would start to bear fruit. The reasoning was sound. In February 2015, the Lions had signed the No. 15 class in the country, a group that in- cluded Irvin Charles, Juwan Johnson, Brandon Polk, Tommy Stevens, Andre Robinson and Saquon Barkley, among others. The previous class had brought Chris Godwin, Saeed Blacknall, Trace McSorley, Chasz Wright and Mike Gesicki. And the 2016 class was shaping up nicely, with Miles Sanders, Connor McGovern and Michal Menet having al- ready verbally committed to Penn State. Clearly, appreciable improvements in talent and depth were on the horizon. In the wake of sanctions aimed at dooming the Nittany Lions to a years- or perhaps even decades-long rebuilding process, no immediate elixir could fix the team's immediate challenges. What it needed was time and patience – enough to allow its talented young players to de- velop into experienced contributors. In some ways, that conversation shaped my assessment of Penn State's outlook heading into the 2016 season, even though Donovan and Hackenberg were both gone. No matter who won the McSorley/Stevens battle, no matter how extensively Joe Moorhead overhauled the scheme, Penn State was going to have better players, and more of them, along the offensive line, at wideout and tight end, and in the backfield. What they would need, in my mind, was the experience of the 2016 season to really prepare themselves for a 2017 campaign that was shaping up to be an opportu- nity for explosive success on offense. When it came time to make predic- tions for the 2016 preseason magazine, I was squarely in the middle of a pack of 7-5 prognostications. I wrote that "the toss-ups will determine the season's final tally, even if improvements are made in all three phases of the Lions' operation. PSU is still a year away from being a truly healthy program..." Looking back, the toss-ups truly did have a disproportionate influence on the direction of Penn State's season. The first of those games was a 42-39 loss at Pitt in which only the second- half clock prevented the completion of a remarkable comeback. Three weeks later, the Nittany Lions pulled out a 29- 26 overtime victory against Minnesota, and they followed it with a 24-21 upset of then-No. 2 Ohio State. Those games allowed the team to learn and grow. By the time they reached the Big Ten Championship Game in December, the Lions had developed the composure and resourcefulness they needed to fight back from a 21-point second-quarter deficit against Wisconsin, a game they ultimately won, 38-31. With the 2017 season now just around the corner, I'm holding to that original line of thinking, maybe to even my own surprise. Barkley and McSorley are de- serving of their Heisman aspirations, Gesicki is one of the nation's top tight ends, Blacknall is poised for his break- out, the offensive line has talent and ex- perience, and maybe most important, capable backups are abundant at every position group. The steps taken by Penn State's defense and special teams allow the same to be said of those units, too. This year, I'm the outlier on the Blue White Illustrated staff, including ever- optimistic publisher Phil Grosz. The possibility of an 11-1 regular season for this group of Nittany Lions, with every opportunity to reach another New Year's Six bowl, seems completely rea- sonable these days. It just took two years to get to there. ■ The future is now I