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Could 2016 be the Year that Penn State Returns?

Football announcers love to use the phrase ‘first off the bus’ to describe the impressive looking guy and how scary he would look to an opponent. They are talking about the guy with huge muscles that looks physically intimidating.

Penn State Quarterback Trace McSorley is not that guy. If the first guy off of the bus should be frightening, then McSorley should probably come off last. McSorley is about 6-0, 195 and about as intimidating as one of the team managers.

But, Trace McSorley is a winner.

In high school, he started 4 years at Quarterback for Briar Woods High School in Ashburn, Virginia. He led his team to a 55-5 record and 3 Virginia state championships. He accounted for over 12,000 total career yards and 150 Touchdowns.

Trace McSorley understands how to lead his team to victory.

But, first, he has to beat out redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens.

Stevens has more of that length that coaches love standing 6-4 and weighing 220 pounds supposedly. He looks much skinnier than that.

Initially, Stevens committed to Kevin Wilson and Indiana. But, he took a trip to Penn State and apparently fell in love with it and switched over. He was an early enrollee so this was his second set of Spring practices.

Both McSorley and Stevens are going to be more of that dual threat Quarterback that will work better in the Offense that  Penn State coach James Franklin wants to run.

Regardless of who trots out first in September of next season, the Penn State Nittany Lions could be better in 2016 Offensively because of more experience everywhere else.

Now that Ezekiel Elliott has moved on to the Dallas Cowboys, Saquon Barkley should be the top Running Back in the Big 10.

Barkley stands around 5-11, 225 and supposedly runs a sub 4.4 40 yard dash. He broke through the 1,000 yard rushing barrier as a true freshman and should only get better from this point on.

Joining the mix is highly recruited Miles Sanders from Pittsburgh. Wow, this guy is pure speed and dynamite. He is excitement waiting to happen any time he touches the football. He is plenty shifty as well as just plain fast. He can cut on a dime and be at full speed again in a brief second. The fact that he is willing to sign with Penn State knowing fully well about Saquon Barkley is surely a testament

to his confidence and ability.

He was the 3rd ranked Running Back in this past recruiting class, but I don’t think the 2 ahead of him are better. Not only is he an outstanding Running Back, he can light up an opponent from a Safety or a Cornerback position as well.

Miles Sanders is just good. It would be surprising if he is not playing in the first game of next season.

The Nittany Lions return every Wide Receiver from last season and they are good, especially Chris Godwin and DaeSean Hamilton.

Tight End Mike Gesicki developed hands of stone early last season and apparently lost confidence. Gesicki is an amazing athlete and he is 6-6, 255. It’s time for him to step up. Watch Gesicki’s high school basketball highlights on Youtube.com if you are not convinced he is athletic.

Penn State’s biggest problem over the past few years has been the Offensive Line. Judging from the Spring Game the problems are still there.
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But, it’s getting better and Penn State signed Michal Menet who was the 2nd ranked Offensive Guard in the country. Connor McGovern was one of the top rated Centers and he is making a push for early playing time.

Last year, the Nittany Lions signed Steven Gonzalez and Ryan Bates and they redshirted. These guys are looking good and along with Sterling Jenkins they will form the nucleus for a future very good Offensive Line.

In 2016, Andrew Nelson moves from Right Tackle to the Left Tackle spot. Brian Gaia moves to Center after starting at Guard. Gonzalez and Bates are fighting for the Left Guard position. At Right Guard they have a battle between Derek Dowry and Brendan Mahan. Paris Palmer moved from Left Tackle to Right Tackle and is competing with Noah Beh for starting rights.

Penn State coach James Franklin hired Matt Limegrover from Minnesota as his new head coach. If they get this unit playing well, the Nittany Lions could be really good on offense in 2016.

 

On the other side of the ball, Penn State lost 3 out of 4 Defensive Linemen.

Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel were great Tackles for the Nittany Lions and both were just drafted. Carl Nassib just started one year at Defensive End, but he led the nation in Quarterback sacks as a senior. He was also just drafted.

Garrett Sickels is the only returning starter.

Evan Schwan was hard to block in the Spring game, but that could be good or bad when considering the recent Offensive Line issues. Schwan is similar to Nassib in size at 6-6, 260.

Torrence Brown could be the starter at one End spot. The 6-3, 260 sophomore from Tuscaloosa, Alabama brings athleticism and quickness to the position.

All the Defensive Ends may be looking over their shoulders at true freshmen Shane Simmons from Hyattsville, Maryland and Daniel Joseph from Lake Forest, Illinois. These were 2 of the 4 star recruits added to the roster on signing day.

Parker Cothren and Antoine White will probably start at the vacant Defensive Tackle spots, but Johnson and Zettel won’t be easy to replace.

Despite the surprising transfer of Linebacker Troy Reeder, the Nittany Lions should still be in great shape at Linebacker.

Jason Cabinda, Brandon Bell and Nyeem Wartman-White all return at Linebacker. Cabinda led the team in tackles last season and Wartman-White was injured in the first game and should be back.

Grant Haley and  John Reid should start at the Cornerback positions. Marcus Allen will start at one Safety position and either Malik Golden or Koa Farmer should start at Strong Safety.

Other than the Defensive Line, the Penn State football team has a lot of talent returning and a lot of young guys eager to make names for themselves.

Penn State fans are getting a little impatient with James Franklin but that is a mistake. They have a tough schedule this season, but this could be the year that Penn State breaks out.

College football is just better with a good Penn State.