Parsons' competitiveness shines in spring ball taken in University Park, Pa.

Micah Parsons (11) sings the alma mater after the Blue-White game. - AUDREY SNYDER / DKPS

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Beaver Stadium video boards flashed with photos of all the freshmen as the incoming class lined the visiting sideline and was introduced to the crowd.

Micah Parsons, the Will linebacker who worked with the first-team defense this spring, received a loud ovation from the crowd when his name was called.

Sporting No. 11, Parsons was one of six January enrollees who suited up for the spring game. Parsons was flanked by a linebacking corps of Jarvis Miller and Jan Johnson. Don't read too much into that, as Penn State's linebacking corps is anything but a given at this point, and several projected starters on both sides of the ball -- including Cam Brown and Koa Farmer -- didn't play in the spring game.

"He's extremely competitive and wants to be great," defensive coordinator Brent Pry said of Parsons. "The drive to reach his potential and not just individually. He's got big vision and I think the hard work and the year-round commitment to it, I'm excited to see the direction that he's going. He's a work in progress but he's fun to coach and he gives us everything he's got."

Parsons came out of the tunnel ahead of the scrimmage with his arms raised high and seemed to be a hit with the crowd. It's just 15 practices, but that will certainly put him ahead of the curve come this summer, James Franklin said.

While Parsons' fundamentals and techniques slip when he gets tired, Pry said, they'll look for him to continue working all summer and see where he lines up come Fall. That same theory holds true for the rest of the linebacking corps where Johnson is still competing for extended playing time and Jake Cooper will look to get healthy this summer. It's looking more and more like Parsons will take on a significant role this season.

"He's got a great skill set, don't get me wrong, but that competitiveness, you can't coach that," Pry said.

PUT ME IN, COACH

Mac Hippenhammer, Brandon Polk and KJ Hamler were Penn State's starting wideouts. Granted they've purposely limited senior DeAndre Thompkins this spring and fellow starter Juwan Johnson was on the sideline with his left foot in a walking boot.

Trace McSorley's first touchdown pass went to Hippenhammer, the redshirt freshman who hauled in the 5-yard strike. While Hippenhammer is also on the baseball team, he worked out a timeshare with the football program this offseason and certainly looks to be part of the plan this fall.

"He crushed it in the classroom, did better than I even anticipated," Franklin said of Hippenhammer's timeshare. During spring ball Hippenhammer was not with the baseball team but now he will go back to Medlar Field for the rest of the spring. "They're very pleased with him and Mac's been excited about it."

Hamler, the darling of spring ball, took a reverse from Mark Allen that set up the Blue team's second touchdown of the afternoon. While Hamler later fumbled after making a wide-open catch from McSorley, Cam Sullivan-Brown held on after taking a big-time hit and thus showcased more depth in this receiving corps.

WHY SO MUCH McSORLEY? 

Trace McSorley completed 10 of 14 passes for 107 with one touchdown. Tommy Stevens, who had his right foot in a boot all spring, was out of the boot and walking under his own power. However, Stevens didn't participate in the Blue-White game.

Sean Clifford, a redshirt freshman, was the backup to McSorley on the Blue team while Jake Zembiec completed 6-of-12 passes for 39 yards for the White squad. Clifford entered at the end of the second quarter with the first team offensive line in front of him and Zembeic took off for a rush of 31 yards that was a highlight for the White team.

Why did McSorley stay in until nearly the end of the first half when typically the starters don't play much in the spring game? Part of it was because Stevens was "limited" for the game. The other reason Franklin gave was because they wanted to be able to evaluate the entire offense and McSorley allowed them to do that.

"Our guys do a really good job of understanding how to practice and how to stay away from the quarterback," Franklin said. "If Tommy was available Tommy would've gotten a bunch of reps and obviously if Clifford didn't tweak his hamstring you would've saw very little of Trace."

CHANGING THE GUARD

It looks like it's still Michal Menet's job to lose at right guard. That's the only spot where Penn State doesn't return a starter along the offensive line and Menet repped with a starting offensive line that included Ryan Bates at left tackle, Steven Gonzalez at left guard, Connor McGovern at center, Menet at right guard and Chasz Wright at right tackle. That's the same first-team group Penn State used in practice this spring.

"We think he has the ability to play all three inside position," Franklin said of Menet. "He may have a really bright future at the center position as well with his quickness. He creates some flexibility which is what we're trying to create throughout the program."

McGovern, a junior, is in his second year as the starting center so perhaps they'd toy with moving him back to guard down the road if they needed to.

Will Fries, who was thrust into action last year when Bates was injured, repped with the second team at left tackle while redshirt freshman Des Holmes worked with the reserves at right tackle. Redshirt freshman CJ Thorpe capped his spring as the right guard for the White team. When Gonzalez left the game for a few plays it was Zach Simpson who spelled the starter on the first team.

WHO ARE THE RETURNERS?

Brandon Polk and Johnathan Thomas were both back deep for the opening kickoff while Journey Brown was the returner for the White squad. Running back Mark Allen got a shot as a punt returner while DeAndre Thompkins, who returned punts last season, didn't see the field for the final practice of the spring.

Kicker Carson Landis handled the kickoffs, field goals and even punted. In the fall, look for Blake Gillikin to handle kickoffs and of course punting too. Gillikin didn't get any work in during the 15th practice of spring. Penn State's snapper for Landis was Kyle Vasey and the holder was Michael Shuster.

SLASH AND DASH

Mark Allen was praised this spring for being the team's top running back just in terms of pass protection alone and Allen certainly looked lively. Granted it was going against the reserve defensive line, but by all accounts he's going to be that change of pace guy behind Miles Sanders. Allen carried the ball five times for 30 yards in the first half, including a long run of 19 yards.

Allen scored a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter and was cutting back and forth and all over the place. Sanders finished the first half with three carries for six yards.

ROUND OF APPLAUSE

Penn State honored their spring ball award winners at the half, a public recognition for those who have impressed the staff behind the scenes. Miles Sanders, Johnathan Thomas, John Reid and Juwan Johnson were the award winners, but the loudest ovation of the afternoon came for someone else at the half.

Saquon Barkley was back in Beaver Stadium one last time before one NFL team makes his childhood dream come true Thursday night in Dallas. Barkley was honored along with the other senior members of the Fiesta Bowl team and he was also awarded the Silver Football by athletic director Sandy Barbour.

WORTH NOTING: Juwan Johnson, Shane Simmons, Jake Cooper, Tommy Stevens and Jon Holland are among those who didn't suit up for the spring game. All had missed parts or all of spring practices ahead of Saturday.

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