Blue White Illustrated

PHIL'S CORNER Was PSU's success in '12 a surprise? Not really, and there could be more to come hen more than a dozen players decided to transfer from Penn State last summer after the NCAA announced its sanctions, the national sports media seemed to have the tombstone carved and a spot in the graveyard picked out for the football program. Pundits made it seem as if there was no talent left on the Nittany Lions' roster heading into the 2012 season. They were dead wrong. To see just how wrong, check out the awards Bill O'Brien and many of his players received after the conclusion of the 2012 season. No fewer than six Penn State players received first-team All-Big Ten recognition. On the offensive side of the ledger, Allen Robinson was named a first-team AllBig Ten selection by both the conference coaches and the media, and he also was the recipient of the RichterHoward Wide Receiver the Year award. All-Big Ten honoree Michael Mauti ended up being named the Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, and Kyle Carter, Matt Stankiewitch, John Urschel and Jordan Hill were first-team All-Big Ten selections, too. After those selections and honors were announced, it should not have surprised anyone that O'Brien was named the Big Ten's Coach of the Year over Ohio State's Urban Meyer. O'Brien did a marvelous job both before and after the announcement of the NCAA penalties. It does not diminish O'Brien's achievement to note that Penn State was a pretty talented football team W going into the season, even with the pundits predicting disaster. If you take a position-by-position look at Penn State's roster on both offense and defense, it doesn't take long to realize that many people underestimated the talent level that remained after the transfer of Silas Redd, Anthony Fera, Justin Brown and a host of other players. Let's begin with the quarterbacks. Matt McGloin entered the 2012 season with what some would call a checkered past at quarterback. His 2011 performance did not lead many to believe the quarterback position was in solid hands. As a junior, McGloin completed just 125 of 231 passes for 1,571 yards. He threw eight touchdown passes but also had five interceptions. No one, including myself, could have foreseen McGloin's 2012 performance. He ended up completing 270 of 446 passes for 3,266 yards, 24 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He completed nearly 61.5 percent of his passes and ended up being by far the leading passer in the Big Ten. When it was all said and done, McGloin finished his Penn State career first all-time in passing touchdowns (46), second in passing yardage (6,390), second in completions (513) and second all-time in attempts (894). A reporter said to O'Brien at his Nov. 20 news conference that McGloin had indicated he was planning on pursuing a professional career. The coach's response should not have surprised anyone. "Is that a shock or what?" O'Brien said. "My advice [to McGloin] is to play football as long as they let you play football. "Personally, I'll do whatever I can to help him. I think he's a great kid. I think he's a competitive kid. I love coaching him. I love watching him play. I hope he gets that opportunity." The success stories on offense didn't end with McGloin. I believe Penn State will enter the 2013 season with the best group of tight ends in the country. Between Carter, Matt Lehman, Jesse James, Garry Gilliam and Paul Jones, Penn State's tight ends caught 83 passes for 1,097 yards and 10 touchdowns and averaged 13.2 yards per catch in 2012. They were second in the country in receptions, second in receiving yardage, and only Stanford matched their 10 touchdown receptions. The good news for Penn State is that except for Jones, a converted quarterback who didn't make much of an impact before leaving the team at midseason, all of those tight ends will be back for the 2013 season. Carter and James both earned freshman All-America laurels. CBSSports.com and The Sporting News selected Carter as a freshman AllAmerican. James was named an honorable mention freshman All-America selection by CollegeFootballNews.com. Carter also ended up being the only freshman named to the John Mackey midseason watch list. The Mackey Award is given to the top tight end in the Football Bowl Subdivision each year. At wide receiver, Robinson became only the second player in Penn State football history to produce a 1,000yard receiving season. Even without a bowl game to enhance his totals, he finished with 77 catches for 1,018 yards and 11 touchdowns. With Robinson leading the way and Brandon Moseby-Felder, Alex Kenney, Trevor Williams and Matt Zanellato contributing as well, Penn State's wide receiver corps finished with 137 catches for 1,743 yards and 12 touchdowns. Next season, Penn State will add to that group redshirt fresh-

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