Blue White Illustrated

N O V E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 There are others on the team who have caught more passes this season. A couple of his teammates have more receiving yards, and anyone else who regularly catches passes has at least as many touch- downs as he does, considering he only has scored once. So Juwan Johnson still has some ground to make up before he establishes himself as Penn State's No. 1 wide receiver, but he's on his way. It isn't likely to happen outright in 2017, but looking ahead to next year – as the Nittany Lions prepare to send off three everyday pass-catchers this Saturday on Senior Day – Johnson is on track to emerge as the top option. His most recent performance, this past weekend against Rutgers, suggests as much. He finished with five catches on six targets and amassed 78 total yards. It wasn't a season high – that came at Iowa when caught seven for 92 yards and his touch- down – but his outing vs. the Scarlet Knights gave him his most productive game since September. AAer being held to just two catches the week before in a loss to Michigan State, the sophomore from Glass- boro, N.J., was eager to return to form. "I wanted to bounce back, just to get back on my feet and kind of get in the rhythm of things and just try to be an asset to the team in some kind of way," Johnson said. "I was just trying to fill in some roles, trying to make some plays for the team." He's done that this season, as Penn State has worked to replace its leading receiver from last year's Big Ten title-winning team, Chris Godwin. It hasn't simply been a matter of one person stepping into God- win's role. Rather, it's been a by-committee approach. Four players – tight end Mike Gesicki (42), running back Saquon Barkley (40), and receivers DaeSean Hamilton (39) and Johnson (37) – are within five catches of each other's season totals. While Gesicki leads in receptions, he trails the other three in total yards. However, they've all amassed between 415 and 650 yards, so there's not a major difference between those sums ei- ther. If anyone can be said to be Trace McSor- ley's favorite target, it's Hamilton, who leads them all with 64.6 yards per game and seven touchdowns. Playing alongside Hamilton, if nothing else, is boosting John- son's self-assurance that he's nearly ready to handle a heavier load. "Ultimately, it's just confidence," John- son said. "You can't get confidence sitting on the sideline. That's confidence in route- running, confidence [against] press cover- age and just knowing the game as well. It's just learning from other people." Having learned those lessons, Johnson will almost certainly assume an even larger role next year as a junior. But he's not dwelling on the long-term future right now, and to his way of thinking, long-term means anything that lies beyond Satur- day's home finale. "We know Maryland is coming up, but we have to focus on Nebraska," he said. "We have to do film, figure out their weaknesses and win the game, ultimately. We have to take it one week at a time." T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M Johnson shows potential to assume bigger role Johnson is com- ing off one of his most productive games as a Nit- tany Lion. Against Rutgers last weekend, the redshirt sophomore wide receiver caught five pases for 78 yards. Photo by Steve Manuel After missing Penn State's game against Rutgers last Saturday, junior outside linebacker Manny Bowen will again be unavailable for the Nittany Lions this week against Nebraska. Asked Tuesday at his weekly news conference whether Bowen would be back in the lineup to face the Corn- huskers, head coach James Franklin was succinct. "No on Manny," he said. Bowen was suspended for what Franklin described on Saturday as a vio- lation of team rules. He was replaced by Brandon Smith in the starting lineup against the Scarlet Knights, and Smith is listed as the first-team Will outside linebacker on this week's depth chart. Prior to the Rutgers game, Bowen had made nine starts for the Lions. He re- mains their third-leading tackler with 51 stops, and he also has 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries. The Nittany Lions will have two more games left after facing Nebraska this weekend: a trip to Maryland next week to wrap up the regular season and a yet- to-be-determined bowl game. Asked whether Bowen would return to action in one or both of those games, Franklin was noncommittal. "Bowen is not avail- able right now," he said.–NATE BAUER Bowen to sit out game vs. Cornhuskers

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