Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/916653
V S . W A S H I N G T O N have laughed at me at that point in my life," he recalled recently. "They would have thought, 'You're not even close to that.' But I knew what I was capable of." He was right. In 2016, Gesicki turned out to be one of the key playmakers in a suddenly potent Penn State offense, be- coming the first Nittany Lion tight end since Kyle Carter to receive All-Big Ten recognition. And he kept it up this past fall, to the point that he is now Penn State's all-time leader in catches (123) and receiving yards (1,419) by a tight end. But he's not done proving himself. During Penn State's game against Rut- gers, BTN analyst Matt Millen called him out for what the former Nittany Lion great described as Gesicki's half- hearted blocking. While acknowledging his prowess as a receiver, Millen cited the tight end's blocking as one of the reasons behind the inconsistency of Penn State's running game. During his high school career, Gesicki was rarely called on to block, and he con- ceded that it's been a point of emphasis as he has matured into the position at the college level. "I'm more than willing to block," he said. "I think I've taken a bunch of steps forward in my blocking abilities. It's something I honestly take pride in. So I'm going to own everything I put on film. "Obviously, there are plays in every single game that I would like back, but it's going to take a lot more than a com- mentator ripping into me to shut me down. I've received many other hurtful and disrespectful comments, so hon- estly, the only critique that I'm worried about is coming from Coach [Ricky] Rahne." Franklin echoed Gesicki's self-assess- ment. "There's not a whole lot more he needs to prove as a receiver," the coach said. "It's as a blocker – that's the area where he needs to grow and has grown dramatically. [He needs] to show people that he can be an every-down tight end and be a major factor in the run game as well as the pass game. He's taken that very seriously and he's worked really hard on it." Gesicki's receiving skills were on full display in the second half of the regular season. In Penn State's final five games, he caught 27 passes for 273 yards. He had five touchdowns in the Lions' last three games, all offense-fueled victories. With only one more game remaining in his Penn State career, Gesicki looks back with pride on his body of work – not just on the touchdowns and accolades but on the quiet behind-the-scenes effort that made it all possible. "That's something that I'm very proud of, how I grew and developed and became the player I am," he said. "I owe a lot of credit to my coaches, my teammates and my family and friends for sticking with me and fighting out the other side. Being able to look back at my Penn State career, I'm proud of everything I've gone through." ■ MIKE GESICKI BY THE NUMBERS YEAR G REC YDS AVG LONG TD YDS/G 2014 12 11 114 10.4 30 0 9.5 2015 12 13 125 9.6 33 1 10.4 2016 14 48 679 14.1 53 5 48.5 2017 12 51 501 9.8 35 9 41.8 TOTAL 50 123 1,419 11.5 53 15 28.4