Blue White Illustrated

PHIL'S CORNER Nittany Lions have reason for optimism heading into 2013 season national college football analysts came to the conclusion that the Nit- tany Lions had only enough talent to win four or five games this season. Without Silas Redd, Justin Brown, Anthony Fera and a handful of other players who chose to transfer or give up football, the prevailing opinion was that Penn State's roster had been decimated. It was easy to write off the views of A national pundits who didn't have their finger on the pulse of the pro- gram and were reacting only to the string of troubling headlines that dominated the summer months, but the truth was that their narrative wasn't all that far removed from the local narrative. Only a few Penn State beat writers believed the Nittany Li- ons were capable of finishing 7-5 or better this season. It seemed to amaze everyone, na- tionally and locally, when Penn State was able to put together a five-game winning streak by defeating Navy, Temple, Illinois, Northwestern and Iowa. There was talk that Bill O'Brien was worthy of national Coach of the Year consideration, and that chatter seemed entirely justified. One of the biggest reasons for the Nittany Lions' resurgence was the masterful job that O'Brien and his assistant coaches had done. I've stated at least a dozen times since the beginning of preseason prac- tice in early August that O'Brien is the only coach I would want leading Penn fter Penn State opened its season with consecutive losses to Ohio and Virginia, it seemed that most State at this challenging time in the program's history. His performance has exceeded my expectations, and I believe he has put together one of the three best assistant coaching staffs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. But O'Brien's coaching isn't the sole reason for Penn State's performance this year. Simply put, the Nittany Li- ons' roster was more talented than many people thought following the team's difficult off-season. The headliners were Jordan Hill, Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti, and they were joined by fellow seniors Matt McGloin, Sean Stanley, Pete Massaro, Stephon Morris, Matt Stankiewitch, Mike Farrell and Michael Zordich. As a whole, the Li- ons' senior class performed above and beyond most analysts' expecta- tions. But in the wake of this season's strong performance, a new storyline has emerged. To hear some of the na- tional pundits tell it, the 2012 season will be Penn State's last taste of suc- cess until 2018 when the NCAA sanc- tions come to a conclusion and once again the Nittany Lions will have a full 85-man scholarship roster. I disagree. It's my firm belief that Penn State could end up being just as surprising in the coming years as it was this year. I'm not projecting that Penn State will win the Big Ten Lead- ers Division in the next five years, and the NCAA's "free agency" man- date will create a lot of uncertainty throughout the upcoming off-season. But if most players return as expect- ed, there will be some impressive tal- ent on Penn State's roster next sea- son and beyond. On offense, 10 players who started games this year are slated to be back next fall: four starters on the offen- sive line, all of the team's top five wide receivers, all four of its leading tight ends and its top two running backs. In addition, the Lions will have the services of running back Akeel Lynch, who redshirted as a true freshman this past season. The only players of note who are lost to gradu- ation are McGloin, Farrell, Stankiewitch and Zordich. If a capable replacement can be found for McGloin – this is the biggest element of uncertainty for Penn State's offense – O'Brien may find himself with an offense capable of scoring 30-plus points per game. The reason for that is the level of talent coming back in 2013. Let's start at wide receiver. Going into the Nittany Lions' game against Indiana, sophomore Allen Robinson was the Big Ten's leading pass-catch- er. He had totaled 63 receptions for 786 yards and eight touchdowns, av- eraging 12.4 yards per catch. It's likely he will be named a first-team All-Big Ten selection at the end of the season. Right behind Robinson is redshirt junior Brandon Moseby-Felder. After catching only three passes in Penn State's first four games, Moseby- Felder totaled 23 catches for 353 yards in the team's first six Big Ten games. Going into the Indiana game, his average of 14.8 yards per catch was the best on the team. And there's help on the way. No one likes to see redshirt freshmen being counted on to produce big results be- fore they have even played in a game, but Penn State's coaching staff is clearly enthused about the potential that freshman Eugene Lewis showed in practice this season. At 6-foot-1, 202 pounds, Lewis combines the size of Justin Brown with the athletic skills of O.J. McDuffie. Receivers coach Stan Hixon said that going into preseason practice, the coaching staff "really had high expectations for him. And the more we saw of him, he real- ly didn't disappoint us."

• Cover