Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki smiled and simply watched as Christian Hackenberg completed pass after pass during his Pro Day workout in March. Each throw on point, nearly all of them caught by their intended targets.
By the time it was over Gesicki had worked his way closer to his former quarterback and was one of the first to congratulate him on a near perfect outing. The two embraced and grinning together, both working their way towards Hackenberg’s father who welcomed Gesicki with the same smile with which he welcomed his own son.
The two have always been an inseparable duo. In the spring they were connecting in practice to the point that it was a combination buzzing around the Lasch Building. It was nearly a forgone conclusion that Gesicki was a star in the making, filling the void left behind by NFL bound Jesse James. He had the athleticism and the chemistry with his quarterback.
So when Gesicki stumbled through the 2015 season it was perhaps the last thing anyone expected. Dropping wide open passes, bobbling balls that should have been caught. Everything just seemed harder than it needed to be for Gesicki, all of this woven around plays that reminded you why he generated so much excitement in the offseason. If Gesicki had simply been bad that would have been one thing, it was the flashes that made his struggles all the harder for fans to swallow. You knew he had it in him.
And it never really fell into place for Gesicki by the season’s end. He had moments, but it never came together. The 6-6, 250 pound junior rode into the offseason disappointed but no less motivated to turn the corner.
“Am I happy with those numbers? Absolutely not. Will I be happy with those numbers at any point in the future? Absolutely not. Why were those numbers the way they were? I think it was obvious from watching the games that I left some plays out on the field,” he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“If I’m completely honest, I’m not worried about the past anymore. I’m not thinking about the past anymore. I’m excited for the future, excited for this new offense and excited for the team to continue to mature. I’m going to continue to improve day-in and day-out, and I think these new two years under Coach Moorhead and this offense will be very exciting and very fun to play in.”
If it sounds just like talk, it isn’t. Each week the media is allowed to watch the final 10 minutes of spring practice before the team exits the field. And each week Gesicki walks across three different fields to the blocking dummies and works out even more. While players and coaches talk and answer questions, the methodical sound of Gesicki blocking and attacking can be heard in the background. Then he eventually walks away and joins his teammates.
“I think that absolutely I’ve matured, and I would not change a thing about what I went through last year,” he said. “I think I’ve become a better person because of it, I think I’ve become a better athlete because of it. I think I’ve became a much better football player because of it. If I could go back and change anything, I wouldn’t change one thing, because I’m happy with who I am and what kind of football player I am right now.”
Maybe it’s the bumpy road that gets Gesicki to where he wants to be. For better or worse he will be the primary tight end target in the early stages of the year, and for better or worse he will be asked to make big catches at big moments. How that unfolds is anyone’s guess, but there is too much size and too much talent packed into the New Jersey native to let a bad season trip up a promising career.
And if he can get things back on track, maybe it will be Hackenberg watching his former teammate put on a show when Pro Day comes around again.
And maybe that day will end with a smile too.
