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 >> DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK W I D E R E C E I V E R S / T I G H T E N D S Mike Gesicki doesn't view his outstanding 2016 season as a return to form. To the senior tight end, it's simply an illustration of the player he's been all along ike Gesicki is intimately familiar with the story of Mike Gesicki. Short version: He was a supremely gifted high school athlete who excelled in football, basketball and volleyball and chose to play the first of those three sports at Penn State. He played a bit as a true freshman, and his undeniable potential, coupled with his glowing high school resume, raised expecta- tions. Then came a puzzling sophomore campaign marred by drops at critical moments. Determined to never again experience the same crushing lows, Gesicki went through an off-season of deep introspection and dedication to the game. His approach produced a remarkable turnaround in 2016, as he set a number of school records by coming down with seemingly every ball that was thrown in his vicinity. It had all the hallmarks of a feel-good comeback tale, and a lot of people relished it. But not everyone. The truth is, Mike Gesicki hates the story of Mike Gesicki. Approaching his final season with the Nittany Lions, the sen- ior tight end knew what was coming when he sat down to be in- terviewed for this feature story. Asked to guess the topic of conversation, he predicted that the story would be about the depths of the 2015 season and the resurgence that followed last year. It's what fans care about, he said without reservation, but he's already spent too much time and energy explaining a seg- ment of his career that he would prefer had never happened. "I was tired of 2015 right when 2015 ended," he said. "But that's what everybody wants to talk about. That's what everybody hears about. I've literally read maybe two articles since then and they said, 'Mike Gesicki had a great 2016 after he couldn't hang onto the ball in 2015.' "It seems like every single article starts with something like that or talks about something like that. And it seems like the only person that has been able to move on from that is me." Arriving at Penn State out of Southern Regional High in Manahawkin, N.J., Gesicki wasted no time making his mark. As a backup to Jesse James, Gesicki caught 11 passes for 114 yards while appearing in all but one game that season. The effort was notable enough to earn him a spot on the Big Ten Network's All-Freshman Team. And given the role of the tight end in Penn State's of- fense under the direction of then-coordinator John Donovan, Gesicki appeared poised for a breakout in 2015. From the outside, the reasoning had as much to do with the other members of the position group as it did with Gesicki himself. After ranking third on the team in receptions with 38 for 396 yards and a team-high three receiving touchdowns, James opted out of a final season of eligibility at Penn State, choosing instead to pursue a career in the NFL. Fellow tight end Adam Breneman had missed the entire 2014 sea- son with an injury, and although he appeared ready to return in 2015, those hopes were dashed during pre- season camp when it was announced that he would again be forced to sit out the season. Suddenly, the one and only viable pass-catching tight end on Penn State's roster was Gesicki. He was assured of a major role in the offense, and the hopes surrounding his sophomore year grew exponentially. | M