Blue White Illustrated

O F F - S E A S O N R E P O R T being able to put that chip back on our shoulders as an offense." Having a confident veteran quarter- back running the show will go a long way toward helping a younger, less-ex- perienced offense develop some swag- ger. But how far along is that process? The Blue-White Game was no more re- vealing than any of its predecessors on that score, and it might actually have been less revealing due to the number of key players who either saw limited ac- tion or sat out entirely. Miles Sanders, the Lions' projected starter at running back, carried only three times for 6 yards. In addition, the team's top re- turning receiver, Juwan Johnson, watched from the sideline with a protec- tive boot on his left foot, and tight end Jonathan Holland was held out, too. There were also a few noteworthy ab- sences on defense, including cornerback John Reid, defensive tackle Robert Windsor and defensive end Ryan Buch- holz, all projected starters. Still, the point of the annual Blue- White exhibition is for both players and fans to have a good time, and with sunny skies above and 71,000 in the stadium – it was the fourth-highest attendance total in the country this spring – the Nittany Lions couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere in which to wrap up their off-season drills. Nobody seemed to be having a better time on game day than Franklin. Freed men's basketball coach Patrick Chambers' halftime punt return was good enough to get a nod here, we're giving it to wideout Cam Sullivan- Brown's nice leaping reception over the middle on the very first posses- sion of the afternoon. The play went for 24 yards and picked up a first down. WORST DROP That reserve corner- back Zech McPhearson was even in- volved in the play was somewhat remarkable in itself. Trailing Brandon Polk, McPhearson made an outstand- ing play to make up ground quickly on Polk, but the interception opportunity fell flat when the ball slipped through his hands and to the turf. BEST SACK Micah Parsons led both sides in tackles on Saturday, and his 1- yard sack of quarterback Michael Shuster in the third quarter was one of the highlights. BEST HIT Journey Brown finally got loose up the sideline in the third quar- ter, but linebacker Ellis Brooks made his hit count. Laying into Brown, Brooks picked up his third solo tackle of the afternoon. BEST KICK Carson Landis nailed his first field goal attempt of the day, knocking through a 34-yarder late in the third quarter. BEST DECISION Bringing Keegan- Michael Key back for another round impersonating head coach James Franklin proved to be one of many nice touches for those in attendance on a beautiful spring afternoon at Beaver Stadium. MOST TELLING MOMENT Which leads to the nicest of the nice touches at the game, when Penn State head coach James Franklin brought Brooke Fisher into the huddle, drew up a run to the left, and the Nittany Lions rallied around her for a 22-yard touchdown. For the first time since last season, the press box swayed with the pulsing music in the stadium as all of Beaver Stadium cheered her on. ■ SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 5:39 Blue Hippenhammer, Mac 5-yard pass from McSorley, Trace (Landis, Carson kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:21.........................................................................................................................7-0 2ND 7:43 Blue Allen, Mark 1-yard run (Landis, Carson kick) 14 plays, 70 yards, TOP 6:44.....................................................................................................................14-0 3RD 1:16 White Landis, Carson 34-yard field goal 11 plays, 21 yards, TOP 6:33........................................................................................................................14-3 4TH 6:16 White Arcangelo, Joe 3-yard pass from Zembiec, Jake (Landis, Carson kick) 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:42.....................................................................................................................14-10 1:44 Blue Hippenhammer, Mac 29-yard pass from Clifford, Sean (Landis, Carson kick) 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:00.................................................................................................................... 21-10

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