The Blue White game sees a lot of players hit the field, a lot of clunky play and more than a few reasons to not pay attention the entire time you’re in the stadium.
So in case you missed something, here are five things we noticed that are worth mentioning.
1. HackenRunner
With what appears to be a new drive to simply run the ball, Christian Hackenberg wasn’t afraid to just tuck it and run on Saturday. He ran the ball a total of eight times for 17 positive yards. While that may not seem like much, just over two yards a carry sure beats a sack.
Add in the fact that Hackenberg wasn’t running with a real urgency on Saturday and there isn’t any reason to think that average wouldn’t go up when he decides to lumber down the field. Hackenberg might not be a dual-threat quarterback, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t mobile.
2. Great Scott
Nick Scott’s 51-yard touchdown run was hard to miss, but he racked up eight more carries on the afternoon — behind a second team offensive line — gaining a total of 85 yards.
Akeel Lynch clearly has the No. 1 spot locked up for now, but there is no reason that Scott or Mark Allen or a banged up Johnathan Thomas can’t get into the mix in a meaningful way. Scott’s afternoon could turn out to be a fluke, but he showed flashes and that are worth remembering.
3. Kicking Deep
Sam Ficken would be the first to tell you that his biggest weakness was getting depth on his kickoffs. That wasn’t an issue for Joe Julius though who booted all four of his attempts deep into the end zone and frequently out of the back of it.
Starting your opponent on the 25 may not seem like much, but that makes every scoring drive a long one. No big returns to worry about isn’t something to overlook. Julius clearly has the leg to get the job done, and while he might not be needing to kick 55-yarders all season, booting kickoffs for touchbacks is a lot more likely and probably a lot more helpful.
4. Secondary Gold
Malik Golden’s seven tackle outing was a game high for a scrimmage that rarely sees anyone put up big figures. With that in mind it makes his performance even more impressive. It’s hard to tell how it will translate into the season, but Golden made the most of his chances.
Golden also had a pass breakup to go with his tackles making him a threat not only to end a play but to stop one before it ever even started.
5. Stop Looking At Me Schwan
Despite not being the first team defensive unit, the White squad put up the more impressive numbers for the day. Some of that has to do with seeing more action, but that doesn’t automatically equal success.
Evan Schwan picked up six tackles on the day and two sacks to boot. Penn State’s defensive end position is well stacked this season, and Schwan firmly put his name into the hat after Saturday. If nothing else it gives that position even more depth if and what injuries occur.
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