STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – We’ve made it to mid-July and, believe it or not, Penn State’s highly-anticipated sequel to last year’s Big Ten title run kicks off in just 50 days.
Expectations for this team can’t be much higher than they are right now where Saquon Barkley is a Heisman hopeful, Trace McSorley and the Lions' explosive offense look to lead the way yet again while the defense is reloading up front and has a healthy and deep linebacking corps.
With 50 days until PSU-Akron in Beaver Stadium, here are 50 things to ponder about James Franklin’s Nittany Lions. It’s in quick, bullet-point form to make for easy beach reading.
OFFENSE
• The remarkable remake of tight end Mike Gesicki was on full display last year, but chances are even more balls than the 48 he caught a season ago come his way this time around. Penn State’s best matchup mismatch is likely this one and the NFL prospect caught at least one pass in every game last year. No other Lion had a reception in every game (Chris Godwin was held without a catch against Maryland). How long will Gesicki’s streak go?
Consider this: Arguably the two top tight ends in college football this year will be Gesicki and former Nittany Lion Adam Breneman. Breneman, who is playing is final season at UMass as part of a wild comeback after giving up football and then being healthy enough to return to the sport, still goes back and forth with his former teammate and roommate about who will post the best stats this season. It's a far cry from where the two then roommates were in 2015, with Gesicki getting bashed on social media for struggling to catch the ball while Breneman couldn't stay healthy enough to be a factor. That was a learning and bonding experience for both friends.
"We stay in touch and I'd say we really root for each other. It's going to be fun going through the post-season process with him this year and I know he's going to have a great year," Breneman told me. "We talk multiple times per week. We're always busting on each other and we have a friendly competition going. I always remind him that I had more catches, yards and touchdowns last year and he always reminds me that he went to the Rose Bowl. Give and take there a little bit, right?"
• Penn State has four scholarship quarterbacks in the meeting room. I can’t recall the last time the Lions had a meeting room this packed. That’s a great problem for Joe Moorhead to have and that's why the Lions' need for a quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class while important, isn't crippling. Chances are they will secure a pledge, but this room is too loaded as is and in all likelihood they could have this same group next season, too.
• It’s easy to forget that the team’s left tackle, Ryan Bates (redshirt sophomore), and center, Connor McGovern (sophomore), are both still so young. At this point last year neither had even started a game. Both were highly-touted prospects, but perhaps Matt Limegrover doesn’t get enough credit for taking a rough offensive line, simplifying what was asked of it as opposed to Herb Hand’s philosophy of cross training them at multiple positions, and getting it to perform at this level.
Starting the Rose Bowl with McGovern, Steven Gonzalez, Chasz Wright, Bates and Brian Gaia is a combo that nobody could’ve predicted last August. It’s still mind blowing how this line adjusted to multiple injuries even six months after the fact.
• How much does offensive tackle Andrew Nelson have left in the tank?
At this point, with two knee injuries and just 14 starts since the 2014 season, one has to wonder what the senior’s role will be. Franklin said during a coaches caravan stop in Harrisburg in the spring that Nelson will have a role on the team and then praised him for all his intangibles.
The head coach never mentioned any more of what potential role Nelson could have, which, reading between the lines here, leads me to believe he likely is still working his way back into playing shape. With Wright and Bates playing a lot down the stretch and Bates locked in at left tackle and Brendan Mahon healthy and likely moving back to guard, Nelson’s path back to the field is much deeper than when he was hurt.
Mahon's return, after leaving the Nov. 5 game against Iowa with an injury and then being admitted to Hershey Medical Center a couple days later for undisclosed reasons, is arguably the biggest of all on offense. Mahon played left and right tackle last year and also has valuable experience along the interior.
• Saquon Barkley, with 2,572 rushing yards the past two seasons, is 1,360 yards away from tying Penn State’s rushing record, which was set by Evan Royster (2007-2010). The single-season record is 2,037, set by Larry Johnson Jr. in 2002. Given the balance with this offense, I’m not so sure the single-season record is feasible, but surely Barkley would trade that record for a shot in the College Football Playoff.
We’ll see come January if Barkley’s name will end up at the top of these steps downtown at the Student Bookstore:
With 1,496 yards last season and 1,076 as a freshman, Barkley’s record chase should be fun to watch.
• While we’re on the topic of Barkley, one thing that I get asked from readers and college football fans is what is Barkley really like? Given the nature of college athletics, we’ll never truly know these athletes extremely well. We see them in snippets here and there, talk to people who know them best and through all those interactions try to paint the most complete and accurate picture of who they are. We’ll never know for sure, but here’s what I can tell from getting to interact with Barkley for a few years.
I’ve never had a negative interaction with the guy. Even when he was a recruit he was polite, respectful and thoughtful. When you ask him a question, he won’t just spew clichés, but rather takes his time and thinks it through. That’s certainly appreciated by us media folks. Hundreds of interviews later for him and he still does that. For all the attention that’s been thrown his way in the past couple years, and deservedly so, at least with what I’ve observed he’s remained the same person. The ‘likeability’ factor will only continue to grow as Barkley gains more and more national hype this preseason.
And, for a throwback of sorts, here’s one of the first interviews I did with Barkley out at The Opening in 2014. He was impressive and polite from the get-go. How's this response from that interview when asked to describe his style of play?
"I can run the ball, good vision. A lot of people don't think I have good cutback ability, I beg to differ," he told me in 2014. "I can make you miss, run you over, I have pretty good hands because I work with my teammates a lot. I can be a receiver, you can put me in the slot and I'm a competitor. I love the sport."
Yeah, nobody is questioning that cutback ability now.
• They're certainly not questioning Barkley's strength, either.
Penn State Strong! Barkley 405lbs Power Clean pic.twitter.com/1LnAEYqy73
— Iron Lions (@IronLions1) June 29, 2017
In March, strength coach Dwight Galt said Barkley proved his point after becoming an "ultra cleaner" -- the designation given to those who power clean 350-plus pounds. At the time, Penn State cut Barkley off after he hit 390 pounds, which tied him with former Lion defensive lineman Anthony Zettel. But, after another summer strength and conditioning session Barkley upped the mark again, proving another point, this one again loud and clear that he's got power and strength that NFL teams will dream of.
This month Sports Illustrated named Barkley the top workout warrior in college football, beating out Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and 38 others.
• For those who get angry about why the Lions won’t ever go under center – even when taking a knee – that too won’t change this year and it makes perfect sense to keep it as is. They don’t practice going under center at all during the week so why try to do it in a game?
Last season, Moorhead shared a horror story from his coaching tenure at Fordham where they took the spread offense and tried to take the victory formation from under center. The defensive line submarined Fordham's offensive line, jarring the ball loose and recovering it. Bucknell drove down the field to attempt the game-winning field goal, which to Moorhead's relief was blocked. From that day forward Moorhead said he’d never put his players in that position again with a team that spends no time practicing under center.
• Let’s please, please, please forget the fullbacks. Penn State will continue to not recruit fullbacks, also because they don’t get enough use in the spread offense. If needed, look for a defensive tackle or a tight end to take on that role. That’s as close as this team will get to having a traditional fullback. I swear.
But hey, some fans still don’t buy it it. There was this humorous exchange between receivers coach Josh Gattis and a fan on Twitter:
• Who knows if offensive tackle Sterling Jenkins will ever materialize as a starter? Billed as a project coming out of Baldwin High School, there’s no indication that Jenkins could crack the two-deep at this point given all the moving parts. Then again, Limegrover, the offensive line coach, openly said he wasn’t sure if they’d ever get anything out of Wright based off his initial looks at Wright last year. That proved to be a huge surprise to everyone involved as Wright started the final five games last season and now gives Penn State a solid starting option at right tackle. Never say never, but so far Jenkins' four-star ranking seems a little much.
• Trace McSorley was ranked by Sports Illustrated as the 41st best player in college football and was the top-ranked Big Ten QB. What I’m curious to see this season – and I think it could be pretty noticeable early in the season – is how much more freedom McSorley has with controlling this offense in Year 2.
McSorley told me in the spring at the Maxwell Awards that he spoke with a few of Moorhead’s former Fordham players who told him to get ready to have even more fun in this offense his second time around. They told him Moorhead loosens the reigns knowing his quarterback understands the offense inside and out.
McSorley was critical of his footwork at times, saying it didn’t always mesh with the route they were running and said at times he was “too jumpy” in the pocket. The turnovers tell the tale with any quarterback and that’s the biggest knock against this quarterback, who took the conference and college football by storm last season.
• What will Penn State’s Heisman campaign look like? In my seven, going on eight, seasons on the beat, they haven’t had anyone in the running for the award, so who knows what type of promotional hoopla they concoct, if any.
It’s safe to say that oddly phrased ‘No Talent Required’ tweet from the team’s official account that gained national attention more than a year ago (and no, I still have no clue who OK’d that one for social media) won’t be getting resurfaced for the campaign. A local restaurant had Kanye/Saquon 2020 signs popping up all over town and that was just back when Barkley was just a freshman who had yet to eclipse 1,000 yards:
One of these things is not like the other. Safe to say freshman RB Saquon Barkley is a hit in State College. pic.twitter.com/nRt4Yrtw8R
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) October 30, 2015
In all likelihood I think PSU goes ultra conservative with a campaign. I say this because with Barkley and McSorley both talked about as Heisman contenders they can’t support one guy more than the other. If one is still in the race by late October and another isn't, I can't see them publicly acknowledging that.
• As for Barkley’s early-season numbers, who knows what they look like through the first three games (Akron, Pitt, Georgia State)? Penn State likely will showcase their backups for several carries in these contests in an effort to keep Barkley fresh, and that’s fine. In fact, that’s smart. The Heisman isn’t won with those padded stats anyway. If Barkley carves up Michigan and Ohio State – and the Lions are undefeated in doing so – then he just might be in New York City come December.
One thing Franklin has always seemed to have a good pulse on is Barkley's touches. With the exception of Barkley's first college game and the one carry he received in that game against Temple, Penn State hasn't been shy about spelling Barkley and the back also hasn't been shy about tapping out so one of the other backs can go in.
• No scheduled trips to Indianapolis this year – besides the big potential one in December at Lucas Oil Stadium -- means I won’t hear entertaining high school football stories from waiters and waitresses about Tommy Stevens. It seemed like wherever I went last year someone had a story about how great of a high school quarterback Stevens was and they too want to see what he can do at Penn State. Safe to say there are a lot of eyes and interest on QB 2.
• Will Stevens and McSorley be on the field at the same time much like the play against Iowa last year? Perhaps.
“We did that a little bit last year and will probably do it a little bit more,” Franklin said during a spring coaches caravan stop in Williamsport.
Now, just how much more that happens is an interesting storyline to follow. There’s no need to disrupt the flow of the entire offense and arguably the top quarterback in the Big Ten. But, giving defenses one more thing to think about, particularly around the goal line, certainly has value.
• Franklin’s mantra of “Insert team name here, Insert team name here, Insert team name here, Insert team name here” should be ramping up soon with Big Ten media days starting on July 24. Focusing on the first opponent, which is Akron, will remain the theme.
Last season some fans seemed to take this the wrong way, particularly when he was asked in the offseason about playing Pitt and dismissed it. But, being around Franklin for a few years and seeing how he operates, this is just how he is wired. Maybe he knew that PSU plans to honor last year’s Big Ten title team during this year’s game against Pitt and maybe he didn’t. He knows everything that's going on in the program, but when it comes to in-game promotions, I think he’s spending his time thinking about lots of other things.
• Pro Football Focus pointed out that Barkley’s 27 rushes of 15-plus yards last season are the most among returning running backs in the in the FBS. It’s very possible that with an even stronger offensive line and arguably just as many weapons on the outside, he could top that mark this season.
Here’s the rundown of how far those 27 explosive rushes went: 28, 29, 55, 33, 23, 25, 17, 20, 25, 45, 19, 27, 37, 20, 17, 22, 81, 57, 21, 18, 18, 22, 18, 16, 24, 79 and 17.
• For your viewing pleasure, I hereby present my explosive gains spreadsheet from last season:
I say Barkley catching more passes out of the backfield and the matchup nightmare that is Gesicki both see their numbers go up a bit this season. Oh, and Juwan Johnson. Definitely Juwan Johnson.
• Receiver DeAndre Thompkins’ whopping 16.3 yards per reception was No. 4 in the Big Ten and 70th in the nation. Thompkins had 27 catches for 440 yards last year and of the returning Nittany Lions with at least 15 catches, who has the most yards per reception? That would be Saeed Blacknall, with 23.1 yards per reception, tops on the team. Blacknall, however, only had 15 receptions.
• Seriously, has there ever been more hype surrounding a receiver who caught two passes the year before? That’s where Penn State is at with Johnson, who hasn’t logged a catch in a game since a 43 yarder against Michigan State, which was just the second of his career.
But, all the hype seems to be warranted after the spring he had and his track record of being a standout high school receiver who has the size and now strength to go with it.
"Honestly, I don't pay much attention to [the attention], but obviously, it's mentioned to me, it's sent to my phone," Johnson told me this week. "My friends, it's just my friends [who send links to articles]. I just have to go out and do what I do best and do what I need to do for the team and for everyone around me. For this whole program. I just have to keep doing what I need to do to get better and better each and every day. That's all."
This offense can spread the ball around and to try and come up with a ballpark figure for catches and yards this season for Johnson seems silly at this point. He can be explosive and should have plenty of opportunities. Trying to limit any growing pains that pop up along the way will be part of this season, too. After all, he’s only a redshirt sophomore.
• What’s the top camp position battle for the offense? Really, there’s more intrigue with the reserve positions, I think, than with the starters. There aren’t many unknowns, if any, on offense with the first group. So, my curiosity is what this second-team offensive line looks like, particularly how highly-touted redshirt freshman Michal Menet is looking and likewise with lineman Will Fries.
• This is a team that didn’t leave spring ball sure of who their No. 3 quarterback was. Ideally they won’t need to see that guy on the field this year unless something goes terribly wrong, but with Jake Zembiec and Billy Fessler out there, plus the addition of freshman Sean Clifford, who arrived with the rest of the class in late June, they have plenty of challengers to backup McSorley and Stevens.
• If the season started today, what would Penn State’s starting offensive line look like? I’d go with this: LT: Ryan Bates, LG Brendan Mahon, C Connor McGovern, RG Steven Gonzalez, RT Chasz Wright.
So, where does that leave Nelson? Just how ready he is when camp starts, or even when the season begins, remains up in the air. One has to wonder if he regains all that he likely lost through the multiple injuries and while Penn State has more depth now than it has in the past, Nelson, if healthy, could be a nice re-addition to the line.
• A player I’m curious to see more of is tight end Nick Bowers. Now, Bowers, at this point, hasn’t played in a game since high school, after redshirting as a freshman and then missing all of last season with an injury. He was limited in spring ball, but should he finally be healthy when August rolls around, the Lions could have some two tight end looks with Gesicki and Bowers. Jonathan Holland, who had a solid spring and said he matured in the offseason, could play a lesser role should the athletic Bowers be ready to go.
• One would be hard pressed to find a deeper position group on this entire team than what Penn State has at running back. In September, we should see plenty of Andre Robinson, Mark Allen and Miles Sanders, the latter of whom has long shed that sling that kept him out of part of spring ball and the Blue-White Game.
The interesting thing is that all three of the backs behind Barkley are so different that it has to be problematic for opposing defenses. There’s the do-it all guy in Barkley, the power runner in Robinson, the extremely fast and shifty Allen and then Sanders, who has the speed and elusiveness, but like all young backs how will he hold up in pass protection? He'll need to improve there from Year 1 to Year 2.
• If he’s eligible for my breakout offensive player of the year award I’m going with Blacknall, who is somehow already a senior. There’s a lot to like about the receiver (size, explosiveness, proven success in big games), but there certainly are question marks too (injury history, inconsistencies). The last game he played was the best of his career, with six catches for 155 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Ten title game. He had eight catches of 16-plus yards last season with grabs of 21, 35, 42, 19, 43, 16, 40 and 70 yards, proving that he can be that downfield threat, but he has to stay healthy to do so.
• You didn’t think I’d make it this far without a mention of offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead's future, did you? Should this offense hit the benchmarks it did last year or even come close to that again then in all likelihood Moorhead’s name will continue coming up for head coaching vacancies.
This isn’t a matter of Penn State not upping the pay for a coordinator or an assistant, it’s a matter of there are only so many head coaching opportunities and certainly the head spot is quite occupied here. If Moorhead wants to have that opportunity – and this roster likely will be re-tooled next offseason likely without Barkley, certainly without Gesicki, and probably still with McSorley, then so it goes.
That’s the nature of coaching and it’s not like Franklin is living under a rock, oblivious to schools that are interested in not just his OC, but also his DC, D-line coach and likely his WR coach too, just to name a few.
So, enjoy this ride with Barkley & Co. and don’t try to think too far down the line (but oh yeah, about that 2018 recruiting class….)
DEFENSE
• There’s no question Jason Cabinda is the starting middle linebacker, but what happens after the senior graduates? For the time being, Manny Bowen could be an intriguing option though freshman Ellis Brooks long term could be a great fit.
In fact, Brooks’ development this year, whether he takes a redshirt or not, will be one to look out for. In a recently released hype video about Penn State’s freshmen arriving to campus, part of the video showed defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent Pry speaking with Brooks about the history of Linebacker-U, adding that it's about players like Cabinda and Brooks.
• Speaking of Cabinda, where would this defense be if he didn’t flip from Syracuse to Penn State back in October of 2013? Sure, how Penn State recruited the position would’ve played out differently, but this was a three-star linebacker who was waiting on a Penn State offer and it wasn’t until the NCAA announced that PSU’s scholarships would be gradually restored that Bill O’Brien’s staff had the extra space to offer Cabinda. That move certainly worked out. Cabinda visited for the four-overtime thriller against Michigan, flipped his pledge to Penn State and the rest is history.
• Linebacker Cam Brown burned his redshirt last year and Jake Cooper and Bowen burned theirs the year before. Does that mean Brooks or any of the other linebackers in this class are in line to do so this season? I don’t think, but then again, I can’t think of a position that’s been hit harder by injuries than the linebacking corps was last season.
Cooper missed nine games due to injury, including the final six, and is coming back from a shoulder injury. Cooper and Brandon Smith will need to provide valuable depth for a starting trio that likely includes Cabinda, Koa Farmer and Bowen. Expect Brown to push for a starting job as well.
• There’s a lot of intrigue with Brown, the 6-5, 215-pound linebacker. I couldn’t help but think he was a receiver for a quick minute earlier this summer while he was working Penn State’s first camp. From a distance, his physique looked similar to that of Irv Charles, but after a closer look, it was indeed Brown. Anyone recall the last 6-foot-5 linebacker Penn State had?
• Any and all questions about this defense start and end with the front. That’s why I sat down in the spring to pick D-line coach Sean Spencer’s brain to try and see where this thing is headed.
There was a lot of production lost and, while the players stepping into the roles, particularly probable starting defensive ends Torrence Brown and Shareef Miller, have game experience, they will have a lot of eyes on them. Having those deep lineman rotations, almost employing different shifts, helps the younger players gain experience, but how they hold up and produce for an entire season with increased reps will be a focal point. Spencer calls some of these newer, lesser-known players his “reload guys.”
Here’s part of the rundown Spencer gave me when we chatted in April:
“Torrence Brown has played three years of college football and has been in some great games,” he said. “Shareef Miller, Ryan Buchholz, Kevin Givens and Rob Windsor all got valuable experience last year and now that dude’s not a redshirt freshman any more, that dude’s a redshirt sophomore with playing time and a year of being a scout team player going against really good offensive lines.”
This is certainly one area where Penn State's deeper, more improved offensive line is having an impact. During the sanction era, the then back-up linemen, some of whom were highly-touted players like defensive end Garrett Sickels, were certainly impacted by the quality of their practice opponents on the other side. That's one impact of the sanctions that often flew under the radar.
• Defensive end Shane Simmons will be an intriguing player to watch this year as he comes off his redshirt season. The four-star high school prospect, who trained under LaVar Arrington, will push for a starting spot, but again it doesn’t matter much who starts and who comes off the bench with a line that rotates as much as this one does. I found this note interesting on why Spencer told me Simmons took the redshirt last year.
“If I couldn’t guarantee—and that’s where coach Franklin does a good job – I couldn’t guarantee that Shane was going to take multiple reps during a game – then we redshirt him,” Spencer said. “Now, he’s got another year under his belt and he’s in the system and now he’s ready to go. He’s another reload guy. Here we go again. Shareef was waiting in the wings and he’s a reload guys. Shane’s a talented kid and he’s unbelievably explosive, great at the point of attack and a very natural pass rusher, but there was a reason why he was one of the best players in the country coming out of high school. He’s got an opportunity and that’s all I can tell. There’s a lot of competition there.”
Simmons is listed at 6-3, 240 and after seeing him this summer there’s no doubt he looks the part.
• The geographical shakeup of Penn State’s first recruiting class under Franklin, the one that was put together in about a month, but continues coming up big, gives this defense more players than usual from the Deep South.
It’s just different seeing a Penn State roster, especially a likely starting unit on defense that will have DE Torrence Brown from Tuscaloosa, Ala., CB Christian Campbell from Phenix City, Ala., CB Grant Haley from Atlanta and DT Parker Cothren (an O’Brien pledge) from Huntsville, Ala. That’s certainly unusual for a Penn State roster, and add in Farmer, the California linebacker, and this roster doesn't fit the geographic build of the usual Nittany Lions. But, that first class certainly is a bit of an outlier given the coaching change and their relationships with these players from their Vanderbilt days.
• What's one number that has to change for this defense? Takeaways. Last season the defensive backs came up with just six picks and the defense as a whole only had 10 interceptions. It was stressed all spring as the defensive backs hit the JUGS machine after practice and, sure enough, when camp opens on July 31, it will be emphasized again. Turning a pass breakup into a pick is the goal here and with an offense as explosive as what Penn State has, creating more turnovers could propel this team to the next level. Again, though, they need a steady pass rush for this to happen.
• Christian Campbell will be the player tasked with taking on the starting role for corner John Reid, who sustained a knee injury in spring ball and is expected to sideline him for the season. It’s a chance for Campbell to bookend a college career where he saw the field as a true freshman and the next two years was banged up, contributed on special teams and in sub packages, made two starts last season but hadn’t been a difference maker. Franklin said the staff thought of Campbell as a third starter at corner and the head coach called this past spring Campbell’s best.
He’s a senior now and at 6-1, 194 he’s one of the team’s bigger corners, but look for teams to try and test him early to see if he’s vulnerable out on his island.
• One of the biggest impacts of Reid’s injury is the nickel package, where he’d also lineup. Someone has to fill that spot and that’s likely where freshman Lamont Wade becomes a factor. Early enrolling certainly has advantages and, with Wade on campus since January, plus the gains he made in the weight room and during spring ball, he could slip into this spot. Haley played it in the past and worked there in spring too, but this would be one way for Wade to contribute.
• Someway, somehow John Reid will find a way to impact this team. While it won’t be on the field, and yes, I anticipate he misses the entire season with what I reported back in the spring as an ACL injury, football means too much to him to not find a way to contribute.
Reid was the player, as soon as he arrived, who’d sit at recruiting camp after camp watching other players. His intense film study has already been well documented and last offseason he helped the wide receivers up their game by pointing out tendencies while he’d go back and forth with them after workouts. If there is a positive to this injury, it’s that Penn State now will have Reid back the following season, one that otherwise he potentially would’ve passed up for the NFL.
• Did you know Wade made his rap debut this summer? If you missed it, he goes by Huncho and his video eclipsed 12,000 views on YouTube. Penn State, like many college programs, doesn’t let freshmen meet with the media, so this rap will probably be all we hear from Wade until at least next spring. Maybe there are more videos to come? Here’s to hoping his rap career goes better than that of former Penn State quarterback hopeful Kevin Newsome.
• The most important position battle on defense is at safety where Ayron Monroe, Nick Scott, Troy Apke and Garrett Taylor are all competing for the job opposite Marcus Allen. Monroe has the athleticism, but is he assignment sure? Scott switched positions and has the athletic ability to make a successful jump, but has he had enough live reps to succeed? Does Apke, who has the most game experience of the three, possess the big-play ability to be a difference maker? And, what’s Taylor’s range after the corner switched to safety in the winter?
Taylor, a highly-touted corner prospect came in with Reid, but a knee injury his senior year of high school slowed him down and now as a redshirt sophomore listed at 6-foot, 200 pounds he’s an interesting option.
It should be a strong competition and once camp breaks, I suspect it’ll be far from over since whoever starts Week 1 likely won’t have too big of a leash.
SPECIAL TEAMS
• Tyler Davis continues working on improving his kickoffs this summer, a role that Joey Julius previously held. Julius struggled at times last year with erratic kicks, but just think about what Julius means to the very important conversations that need to be had about athletes publicly dealing with mental illness and eating disorders.
It’s a position battle that likely won’t be talked about much, but think about the importance every game when the team goes to kick off if and the broadcaster or someone in the stands mentions Julius, his battle with a binge-eating disorder and depression and the value that could come of that from people watching on TV? That's way more important than sports.
Julius is supposed to be back with the team for camp, but per Twitter he continues sharing that he's in St. Louis, the place where he went to receive treatment and checked back into in the spring.
• Strange but true: Penn State hasn’t returned a kick for a touchdown since 2011 and hasn’t returned a punt for a touchdown since 2008. Every season preview-type story I've written the last few years has included this stat and I'll continue to do so until it changes.
This has to be the year, right? Some of this is just bad luck, while other times they opted for safe options who could secure the ball, but not explode with it. They have a lot of elusive players in the mix as returners -- and some promising young ones -- so at some point something has to give.
Wide receiver/kick returner Brandon Polk is back after missing most of last season with an injury and Sanders was also used back there as well. Polk was granted a redshirt after missing all but three games last season, making him a redshirt sophomore. The injured Reid averaged 7.5 yards per punt return last season, which was 39th in the NCAA and third in the Big Ten. What if Barkley, used occasionally as a spark in the return game, also breaks that streak?
• Davis’ 30 successful career field goals is No. 12 on Penn State’s all-time list and what a story the former walk-on turned out to be? Davis said in the spring he was put on scholarship last winter, meaning he kicked last season as a walk-on and certainly was more than worthy of the scholarship.
Davis will have a new snapper and holder this season, with Kyle Vasey likely serving as the long snapper while reserve quarterback Billy Fessler and punter Blake Gillikin worked as holders in spring ball. If you don’t hear much about these changes during camp that’s good news. Still, it’s a change and for a kicker who this summer is working on extending his range so Franklin won’t bypass a shot for a 50 yarder this time around, it’s something else to adjust to.
• Gillikin proved to be a difference maker last year as a true freshman and continuing to work on the location of his punts will go a long way in determining the success of this unit. He worked with his private coach this summer, traveling to Alabama to make more tweaks to his approach.
"He's probably seen me kick more than anybody else so obviously I'm more comfortable with his eyes being on me because I can only do so much by myself," Gillikin told me.
JUST A THOUGHT
• ESPN’s College GameDay hasn’t been to Happy Valley since 2009 when the Lions lost to Iowa in a sloppy, rainy evening that ended with Adrian Clayborn blocking a punt for a touchdown. Sure, they were in Columbus for the 2010 PSU-OSU game and of course in Indianapolis last December for the Big Ten title game, but will GameDay be in town this year?
Should the Lions be undefeated headed into Week 8 against Michigan – and assuming the Wolverines don’t face plant before then -- one would have to think it’d be in the cards for a GameDay appearance. Other marquee games that week include Louisville at Florida State and USC at Notre Dame. The Trojans-Irish clash is set for a 7:30 p.m. kick on NBC so things are looking better and better for a WhiteOut under the lights with the GameDay crew in the house.
• What freshmen could see the field this year? Here’s my way too early guess: Wade. And, given the depth this team has that it lacked in previous years it’s feasible he could be the only one.
Other options could include some pop in the return game that maybe someone like Mac Hippenhammer or Journey Brown could provide, but there’s no guarantee that those skills translate quickly enough for them to see the field in college and that a redshirt would be burned at very deep positions just for a shot on special teams.
Offensive lineman Mike Miranda received positive reviews in the spring and Connor McGovern proved last year that special early enrollee offensive linemen can contribute as true freshmen. Still, that's a tall order and there’s more depth up front than in several previous years so unless there are a few injuries up front I can’t see Miranda burning his shirt.
Safety Jonathan Sutherland is an intriguing freshman and given the vacant spot opposite Marcus Allen don’t rule him out, but that’s also a lot to ask of a freshman. Still, typically the farther away from the ball the quicker it is for a freshman to make the jump to college ball.
• An announcement about Michigan hosting a movie night in mid-July at the Big House popped in my inbox and I’ve long wondered why PSU doesn’t show off their video boards for a summer night and invites families in for a movie.
Lambeau Field has done it too. Sell concessions, let fans and families see the stadium in a different way and assuming the whole Beaver Stadium winterization isn’t an issue this point of the year – which after the concert last weekend it isn't—see if it’s feasible. I can’t imagine it makes a lot of money, but it is an interesting idea nonetheless. If you see any photos of Jim Harbaugh eating popcorn while watching Beauty and the Beast in the Big House you’ve been warned.
• Where is the contract extension for Franklin? I thought for sure it’d be done shortly after the Rose Bowl. Then, perhaps last month during the mystery news conference I thought maybe that’s when they’d make a public acknowledgment of it (which turned out to be a news conference about the retro uniforms instead).
Heck, even recruit Solomon Enis, the son of Penn State legend Curtis Enis, thought Franklin inked a 5-year deal.
Sandy Barbour hasn’t been here long enough for me to understand exactly how she conducts business with extensions -- other than PSU's board continuing to not make assistant coaching extensions, or that of anything that's not football and men's or women's hoops public -- but one has to think there’s some sticking point with either side or else something would’ve been done by now. Or, what else do the powers that be need to see that they haven't already from Franklin after how last year went?
• Strange but true: Did you know Franklin’s quarterback, Trace McSorley, was named in part because of big-time agent/former NFL player Trace Armstrong? McSorley, whose first name is actually Richard III, got the name Trace when his parents feared he’d start to be called Rich or Little Ricky. So, Rick McSorley, Trace’s dad, was watching football on TV where Armstrong was playing and after careful consideration they decided to start calling their son Trace.
What’s more? Armstrong is actually Franklin’s agent. Small world, right? And, to top it off, linebacker Koa Farmer, who McSorley is close with, met Armstrong in an airport within the past year or two and told the agent that his quarterback is named after him.
• Why did the Blake Shelton concert, that happened July 8 in Beaver Stadium and was called the Happy Valley Jam, matter? For starters, it was the first-ever concert in the 107,000-seat venue. Penn State athletics needs to show that it can make money off of this massive Erector Set beyond football season.
And, there was alcohol sold in the stadium. Alcohol sales in the stadium are an interesting idea, whether Penn State wants to admit it or not. I highly doubt we see Penn State move toward alcohol sales during football games anytime in the near future – especially at a school that’s had more than it’s share of binge-drinking problems with students – but perhaps this was a small step toward that maybe one day happening down the road. There could be a lot of money to be had from alcohol sales, if Penn State wants to go that route.