Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> PLAYER OF THE GAME Two touch- downs are enough to warrant a player- of-the-game nod for redshirt freshman wideout Mac Hippenhammer. After hauling in a wide-open TD pass from Trace McSorley in the first quarter, Hippen- hammer built on his stat line with a beautiful 29- yard fade route for an- other TD from Sean Clifford late in the game. PLAY OF THE GAME Clifford's 29-yard fade to Hippenhammer was a perfect throw and catch, good for a touch- down, late in the fourth quarter. The strike gave the Blue squad a 21-10 lead. BEST PASS McSorley connected with K.J. Hamler deep down the sideline for what appeared to be a long gain in the second quarter, but the big play turned out to be the end of the possession. Al- though Hamler broke free behind the defense, safety Lamont Wade caught him from behind to pry the ball free and force a turnover. BEST RUN Hamler didn't quite get into the end zone, but his second quarter end-around offered a glimpse of the shifty speed the redshirt freshman re- ceiver brings to the table. BEST CATCH Although Penn State HIGHS & LOWS B Y N A T E B A U E R With as many as 15 games remaining in his career, depending on how things play out this fall, the fifth-year senior is already Penn State's career leader in pass efficiency (152.9), completion per- centage (61.8) and touchdown passes (59). He's 1,089 yards from surpassing his predecessor, Christian Hackenberg, as the Nittany Lions' all-time leading passer and already ranks first in school history in total offense with 8,268 yards. Another season like the last two will put him in the company of J.T. Bar- rett and Drew Brees, the two most pro- ductive offensive players in Big Ten history. For Penn State to play 15 games, it would need to win the Big Ten Champi- onship Game and reach the final of the College Football Playoff. That's a big ask, but it's not the impossibility that it might have seemed a few short years ago. And the Lions' inclusion on the rel- atively short list of potential champions – they were recently given 12-to-1 odds by the Westgate Las Vegas Sportsbook – is, to a large extent, a testament to Mc- Sorley's prowess. They've lost Saquon Barkley, Mike Gesicki and DaeSean Hamilton, but the hopes and expecta- tions haven't really changed all that much. Any skepticism the Lions do en- counter is immediately mined for what- ever motivational fuel it may contain. Said McSorley following the spring game, "I think that's the challenge, B L U E - W H I T E G A M E W R A P SPRING FORWARD John Reid and Juwan Johnson collect their spring awards from AD Sandy Barbour. The two were hon- ored for their commitment throughout the off-season. Photo by Bill Anderson

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