Penn State Football: Blue Wins 26-0 In Spring Scrimmage

The most noteworthy aspect of Penn State’s annual spring game was that it began and then one hour and 59 minutes later it ended. And all things considered that’s good news for a Nittany Lion team with top 10 aspirations and Heisman level talent heading into the offseason.

For the first quarter the game looked like the pinnacle of spring practice with star players absent and largely unproven players filling those marquee roles. However Trace McSorley reprised his spot at quarterback and received plenty of cheers as he took the field for the Blue team’s first drive. That was about the extent of his high points though as McSorley tossed one interception and went 13-21 for 114-yards in a half of play.

McSorley was fortunate, too, as at least one sure interception was dropped by Ayron Monroe before Monroe later redeemed himself. All told though the notable absences of most of Penn State’s offensive stars made McSorley’s options nothing if not new hands and faces to look for.

Nevertheless, two Tyler Davis field goals gave the Blue team a 6-0 halftime lead as the White squad managed essentially no offensive production between sacks and unproductive plays against Penn State’s top defensive unit.

In the second half it was backup star Tommy Stevens that stole the show going 17-24 for 216 yards and three touchdowns as he hit several targets in stride including DeAndre Thompkins for a 50-yard strike and Brandon Polk for a juggled 31-yard touchdown in his return from a season-ending injury in 2016.

On the ground Mark Allen carried the ball 10 times for 65 yards to lead all rushers.

Stevens would hit Juwan Johnson for a 15-yard score with four seconds to play to give the game its final 26-0 margin.

Defensively it was Cam Brown pacing both units with seven total tackles, along with strong outings from Jarvis Miller and Jason Vranic. Shareef Miller managed two sacks in a game with six total, although contact to the quarterback was touch and not tackle, a key distinction when it comes to the extremely mobile Stevens and McSorley.

Of the many players that did not see the field on Saturday the most notable where Saquon Barkley, Marcus Allen, Mike Gesicki and Jason Cabinda among others. Penn State coach James Franklin noted following the game that while all of those players and more had taken reps this spring, none had participated in contact drills.

The Nittany Lions now head to a post-spring picnic where they will receive their Big Ten title rings before the start of the summer. Penn State’s Coaches Caravan starts in York on May 8.