Blue White Illustrated

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 ere it not for his team-issued Penn State sweatsuit and an ice wrap, Brandon Smith might look like any other civilian in Beaver Sta- dium's postgame media room. A fifth-year senior linebacker who came to University Park as a preferred walk-on before earning a scholarship, Smith sports a patchy goatee and wears his hair combed straight forward. His de- meanor is quiet, but when it comes to the Nittany Lions and their inner workings, he can be counted on to offer a thoughtful perspective. So when asked recently to lend some insight into how Penn State's maturity has shaped its success, Smith was game to put it into context. "We've got a lot of guys who are just selfless people. We've got a lot of guys who are bonding and willing to sacri- fice," he said. "When you have that, and with so many talented people willing to take on a different role or a harder role, it's impressive to see what can happen." Following Penn State's recent 56-0 thrashing of Georgia State to round out its nonconference season, examples of Smith's assertions could be found at seemingly every position on the field. At the forefront, the extraordinary performance of running back Saquon Barkley set the pace. One of the nation's leaders in all-pur- pose yardage, Barkley piled up produc- tion on traditional carries out of the backfield, pass receptions that allowed him to maneuver in open space, and even kickoff returns. The Heisman Tro- phy hopeful had already built an impres- sive highlight reel. But furthering his resume on an evening in which he aver- aged 14.5 yards each time he touched the ball was apparently not on his mind. Asked if Barkley still has the ability to amaze with his penchant for big plays, head coach James Franklin steered the postgame conversation to an attribute not recorded on any stat sheet. "The thing that makes Saquon Barkley special is that there was no one more excited on our sideline, coming up to me and Joe Moorhead, wanting to get [walk-on] Nick Eury on the field. That was what he was excited about, getting Eury a carry tonight," Franklin said. "He is a special guy in a lot of different ways. I stopped being surprised or amazed a while ago with him." The selfless personality of this particu- lar group of Nittany Lions extends be- yond Barkley. It shows up during games, in practices and even away from the field. In fact, the effectiveness of Penn State's offense under Moorhead depends on it. Moorhead's system is designed to at- tack the weaknesses that opponents present when they are preoccupied with taking someone out of the game, whether it's Barkley, Trace McSorley, Mike Gesicki or the wideouts. As a re- sult, stat-stuffing contributions are no longer a guarantee at any position. The performance of the passing game during Penn State's nonconference sea- son illustrated that concept completely. With Gesicki and Barkley serving as Mc- Sorley's primary targets, wideouts Dae- Sean Hamilton, Juwan Johnson, DeAndre Thompkins, Saeed Blacknall and Bran- don Polk combined for only 28 catches in the team's first three games. And yet those players still made major contribu- tions via other avenues, such as down- field blocking. Their dogged commitment to one of the game's less- glamorous but absolutely necessary jobs helped PSU produce a succession of big gains. During the nonconference season, a remarkable 75 percent of the Nittany Lions' yardage was on explosive plays. Defensive examples have been equally noteworthy. The Nittany Lions have tal- ent and depth on the line, among the linebackers and in the secondary – enough to allow coordinator Brent Pry and his assistants to substitute freely in an effort to build experience among the unit's younger contributors. Through three games, 46 players had recorded at least one tackle for the Lions this season, more than the total for all of last season. Similarly, the special teams groups had turned in several outstanding perform- ances through three games, as Penn State was ranked among the nation's best for punt- and kick-return defense. Those efforts demonstrated a commit- ment to team success this season. The combination of outsized talent and team-first selflessness that Penn State has developed is not all that com- mon, as Smith acknowledged following the Georgia State game. "I've never been a part of something where there are so many talented people on a team, [yet] no one has egos or any- thing like that," he said. "Ultimately, I think we have a lot of guys who have taken a pretty mature approach. It's just [all about] the next game. We want to do some impressive things this year, spe- cial things, and that includes winning the next game." Should the Lions continue that ap- proach, one focused on a step-by-step road to accomplishing their collective goals, Smith expects that the potential rewards could be just as unique as the formula that brought them to fruition. "We just have a standard and we have an expectation this week, and I think people are mature enough to see that and take that approach one week at a time, one day at a time," he said. "So we don't have any big heads on the team, we don't have any guys who are larger than life. Everyone is just doing their job, and it's been paying off." ■ Team players W

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