Blue White Illustrated

passing attack that had been relatively tame throughout the first six games of the season showed a glimpse of last year's go-for-broke mentality when Mike Gesicki high-pointed a lob from McSorley for a 35-yard gain. Barkley scored his second rushing touchdown of the season on the very next play to put Penn State up 14-0. WORST DROPBarkley has been ex- tremely reliable in the passing game throughout his Penn State career. But when McSorley tried to find him on one of the wheel routes Joe Moorhead loves to run, the ball bounced right off his hands, negating what would have been a big gain and first down. The Nittany Lions turned the ball over on downs two plays later. BEST SACKAfter Barkley blew the roof off of Beaver Stadium with a long touchdown run on Penn State's second play from scrimmage, the Nittany Lion defense needed a three-and-out to sus- tain the momentum. On third down, John O'Korn tried to step up in a col- lapsing pocket, but Curtis Cothran was right there waiting for him to end the Wolverines' first drive. BEST HITAs O'Korn dropped back to pass on third-and-6 late in the third quarter, his offensive line appeared to pick up a Penn State blitz. Manny Bowen eventually broke through, how- ever, and stood O'Korn up in the back- field. Jason Cabinda then finished him off with a punishing hit, and the Wolverines were forced to punt the ball away. BEST EFFORTAs Christian Campbell surged into the backfield on a corner blitz, he was picked up well by Michi- gan's running back. But that didn't stop him. Campbell did well to shed the block, and get to O'Korn, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Penn State's Robert Windsor to give the Nit- tany Lions the ball at Michigan's 46- yard line. BEST KICKPunting from his own end zone, Blake Gillikin managed to unleash a kick that carried all the way to the Michigan 38-yard line and landed out of bounds. When Michigan was faced with fourth-and-1 on its ensuing pos- session, Jim Harbaugh elected to punt, as the Wolverines were still in their own territory. WORST KICKAfter Michigan em- barked on an 11-play drive that culmi- nated in a touchdown run on fourth-and-goal, some of the momen- tum the Wolverines earned back was sapped when Quinn Nordin, a former Penn State commit, pushed the extra point attempt wide right. MOST TELLING MOMENTAfter two possessions, it was evident that the Nittany Lions had been playing their first six games with a vanilla version of their explosive offense. Joe Moorhead used a unique formation to send Barkley 69 yards to the house on Penn State's first drive. On the next, McSor- ley tossed one of those long bombs that the Nittany Lions had been shying away from lately to Gesicki, setting up the second Nittany Lion touchdown. O c T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 5 R E C R U I T I N G Penn State hosted more than 100 prospects Saturday evening for its biggest home game of the season against Big Ten East rival Michigan. While the majority of top remaining prospects in the Class of 2018 will take their official visits to Penn State next month or in December, the Nittany Lion coaching staff did host one of its top tar- gets, defensive tackle Tyreke Smith, for an unofficial visit. The nation's fiBh- ranked defensive end, Smith has already used two official visits to see Alabama and Southern California. A native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Smith will use his third official visit next week at Ohio State when the Buckeyes play host to the Nittany Lions. He's also expected to take an official visit to Ore- gon at the end of November before com- ing back to Penn State for his fiBh and final official visit Dec. 8-9. Penn State is believed to be the favorite to sign Smith. A commitment is expected to come at the Under Armour All-America Game Jan. 4. Saturday's guest list was made up pre- dominantly of Class of 2019 prospects, as the staff was expected to host more than 20 high school juniors who had al- ready earned a scholarship offer from head coach James Franklin. Two notable prospects who made the trip were defensive end Zach Harrison of Lewis Center, Ohio, and offensive lineman Devontae Dobbs of Belleville, Mich. A potential five-star prospect, Harri- son is the ninth-ranked prospect in the country and the second-ranked defen- sive end for 2019. Saturday's visit was his third to Penn State, as he previously made the trip back in March and then again for the Lasch Bash barbecue in July. Ohio State is believed to be the favorite to earn his signature, but if any team is going to knock off the Buckeyes, it's probably Penn State. Dobbs also has five-star potential, as he's ranked second overall at offensive tackle and No. 25 in the nation for 2019. With early offers from Alabama, Clem- son, Georgia, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State, just to name a few, Dobbs is al- ready one of the nation's most coveted offensive linemen. Saturday's visit was his first to Penn State. Other notable 2019 prospects in atten- dance included quarterback Garrett Shrader of Charlotte, linebacker Shane Lee of Baltimore, running back Devyn Ford of Stafford, Va., defensive back Myles Bell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and wide receivers Kendrell Scurry of Thompson Station, Tenn., and Dean En- gram of Washington, D.C. Lions play host to large contingent for White Out game vs. Michigan R Y A N S N Y D E R | S N Y D E R 4 2 0 8 8 @ G M A I L . c O M

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