Does the Penn State football team need to perform better?
They believe so.
But they don’t particularly care to hear it from your mouth.
Coach Franklin made it clear he will not divulge specific game strategies, or even who’s expected to suit up for the games each week. And his players have got that message.
The message of going 1-0 has been reaffirmed day in and day out by coaches and players. And to their credit, they’ve done so for four consecutive weeks and sit on the positive side of the Big Ten standings after all teams played one conference game.
But, the passing game has taken the grunt of criticism thus far, exceeding 300 yards just once this season, and an receiving group expected to make an impact, has struggled to distance themselves from the one another.
The lone exception: Chris Godwin.
The sophomore wide receiver has been the only consistent weapon for Christian Hackenberg this season,averaging 15 yards per his 23 catches plus a touchdown. Godwin’s 349 yards are more than his fellow receivers, DaeSean Hamilton, Geno Lewis and Saeed Blacknall have all season. But if you ask him, the only difference between him and his comrades is time and opportunity.
“Its just been my time at the beginning of the year,” he said. “Anybody can make the plays that I’m making at any time; it’s just a matter of who gets the opportunity.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with a deeper connection, the whole receiving corp, we have a great connection and chemistry with Hack as a whole; It’s just a matter of who’s going to produce and the play calls,” he added.
Among those hoping to jumpstart the offense is sophomore tight end Mike Gesicki. He celebrated his 20th birthday last Saturday with a touchdown in the 20-14 win versus Army. He became the fifth different receiver to score a passing touchdown.
“It was a surreal feeling,” Gesicki said. “Something obviously i’ve been waiting on for a long time.”
He noted that offensive coordinator John Donovan—not “more involved” head coach Franklin—called up the play and the team finally got the look they were looking for.
Donavan has been under fire by critics since the season opener but Gesicki went to bat to defend Donovan, who is also the tight end coach.
“He’s taken me from where i was to where i am now and i can’t thank him enough,” Gesicki said.
“Coach Donovan puts in an unbelievable amount of time watching film … it’s unbelievable how much dedication and work he puts in to help our offense.”
A common gripe among the players has been the weather conditions they’ve endured through the season. Rain has been unkind during the Nittany Lions’ five-game homestead, pouring down in three of the four played so far. But the forecast is looking promising for this week’s homecoming game versus Indiana.
“If it rains, it rains, If we get a dry game, i think it would help out a lot of things,” Gesicki said. “Now that we’re use to it, if we get a dry game its gong to be a totally different world.”
Indiana is coming off an impressive game versus No. 1 Ohio State last week in which they showed they can compete with any team in the conference, so rain or sun, Penn State will need to execute on all facets to keep to go 1-0 this week.
“I’m definitely hoping for a dry game,” Godwin said. “We always talk about controlling the controllables, so regardless of what the whether is we have to go out there and perform.”
