CARSON, Calif. — The men who make the Penn State offense go are sad that wide receiver Saaed Blacknall is gone for their Rose Bowl contest against USC on Monday.
But they didn’t hesitate to address the thorny issue on Thursday.
Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, quarterback Trace McSorley and wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton all weighed in on the suspension of Blacknall from the postseason classic.
In separate interviews following the team’s workout at the StubHub Cehter in suburban Los Angeles, their responses were uniform:
Next. Man. Up.
“We just come in with a next-man-up mentality,” said McSorley, whose two TD passes to Blacknall fueled Penn State’s 21-point comeback victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.
“Obviously Saeed is a tremendous player and it hurts not having him. But we have to have a next-man-up mentality. We have a lot of guys that are versatile across the board that can play multiple positions in our receiver corps. We have obviously some younger guys that can step up and make plays.
Blacknall, a junior wide receiver, and sophomore linebacker Manny Bowen were both suspended for undisclosed reasons for the contest between No. 5 Penn State (11-2) and No. 9 USC (9-3).
After suffering a hand injury earlier in the season, Blacknall appeared in nine games for the Nittany Lions in 2016, starting six. None was bigger the Big Ten title game against Wisconsin, when he posted career-highs in receptions (6), yards (155) and TD catches (2, from 40 and 70 yards). His 15 catches on the season went for 347 yards, a whopping 23.1 yards per catch.
Bowen appeared in all 13 games of the Nittany Lions’ games, starting 12 contests for an injury-ravaged linebacking corps. His 68 tackles rank fifth on the squad, while his 8.5 tackles for a loss are tied for second.
Both Blacknall and Bowen made the trip to California, but neither will suit up or play on Monday.
Likely to take Blacknall’s place in the lineup is redshirt sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Thompkins, who had six starts in 2016. He had 25 grabs for 432 yards and a TD, for an average reception of 17.2 yards – No. 4 in the Big Ten and No. 43 in the nation in yards per reception.
Here’s the what the leaders of the Nittany Lion offense had to say about the loss of Blacknall.
JOE MOORHEAD, offensive coordinator:
“Yeah, it’s unfortunate. But throughout the season, we’ve lost guys to injury, and particularly at the tackle position. Our thought process is to have a next-man-up mentality, and when someone that goes down, the person that replaces them is expected to do as good or better of a job.
“We’re very deep at receiver corps. It’s a position of strength for us. So the guys that fill in will come in and do an excellent job. Irv (Charles) and DeAndre can play both the inside and outside receiver position. DeAndre plays more the X than the Z. But between DeAndre, Irv (and) those guys, they will be able to fill in and do a good job.”
TRACE McSORLEY, quarterback:
“It’s just kind of the next-man-up mentality. We’ve got guys that have played in that position before, so just kind of getting back — getting that next-man-up mentality rolling, that’s been our main focus.
“Saaed might not be playing this game, but he’s here with the team and he’s doing everything as far as being here, being a leader still — talking with the young guys and making sure that the young guys that maybe have not gotten as many reps this year that they mentally know what’s going on, as well as being a teammate to everyone else.
“Obviously he’s here, he’s enjoying his time. It hurts, I know it’s hurting him that he’s not going to be able to play with us on Monday. It’s hurting him, but he’s doing everything he can to still be a leader on this team and still be there for the team.”
DaeSEAN HAMILTON, wide receiver:
“We just have the next-man-up mentality. Saeed had been injured a few of the games throughout the year also, so it’s not really anything different than we’ve been approached with and things like that. So, yeah, it sucks he’s not going to be out there. But we have a lot of guys that can step in for him and go out there and play for him.
“We have an assortment of guys. We’ve got DeAndre Thompkins. Irvin Charles will have a bigger role coming into the Rose Bowl game. Those two guys specifically. We expect them to go out there and have no drop-off and know exactly what they need to do. We have the utmost confidence in them.”
