Penn State Football: A Tight End Turnaround?

Oct 10, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Mike Gesicki (88) makes a catch during the second quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O

This past weekend it was announced that former Fordham head coach Joe Moorhead will take the reigns as Penn State’s new offensive coordinator. One aspect of John Donovan’s firing and the Moorhead hire that has not been discussed at length is the potential impact it may have on the Nittany Lions’ underachieving tight ends. In addition to his role as offensive coordinator, Donovan was also the team’s tight end coach. Coach Franklin has not shared if Moorhead will also coach tight ends or if some shuffling of offensive position coaches will occur during the off-season.

Entering this season the Nittany Lions’ tight ends figured to be one of the deepest and most talented position groups not only on the team but in the entire Big Ten. Instead, an apparent injury sidelined Adam Breneman for the majority of the season, Mike Gesicki struggled mightily to catch the football and Kyle Carter was unable to return to the form of past seasons. As Penn State attempted to shore up their offensive line, junior Brent Wilkerson received significant playing time primarily as a blocker.

As a freshman, highly touted Breneman caught three touchdowns and looked poised for stardom before missing his sophomore season due to a knee injury. It wasn’t until the depth chart prior to the season-opening Temple game was released that we learned Breneman was seemingly still recovering from an injury and as a result played very sparingly throughout this season.

The injuries to Breneman cleared the depth chart for athletic sophomore Mike Gesicki to shine. Many envisioned him to be a Gronk-esque athlete, causing match-up headaches for opposing defenses and being a force in the red zone. Prior to the season some even predicted Gesicki to lead the team in touchdown receptions. Unfortunately, Gesicki struggled to transfer his off-the-field athleticism to the gridiron and was at best inconsistent, barely eclipsing his freshman statistics and finishing with 13 catches and one touchdown.

As Gesicki struggled the Lions looked to veteran Kyle Carter, who caught 36 passes and two touchdowns as a freshman in 2012. However, Carter’s numbers continued to decline from previous seasons and he finished the regular season with only 12 catches.

An expanded role for the tight ends in the Taxslayer Bowl?

With the firing of Donovan heading into the Taxslayer Bowl I will be interested if a new play-caller, interim-offensive coordinator Ricky Rhane, will result in an immediate resurgence for Penn State’s tight ends? It will be intriguing to see if Rahne adjusts the game plan accordingly to gain more production out of Breneman, Carter and Gesicki and make them a viable threat (or at least option) in the passing game.

In last year’s Pinstripe Bowl victory Penn State’s tight ends were the difference as they combined for six catches and nearly 60 yards, including Kyle Carter’s game winning touchdown catch in overtime. A repeat performance against Georgia in the Taxslayer Bowl would do wonders to help Penn State’s chances of the upset and improve Breneman and Gesicki’s confidence heading into the 2016 season.

Despite the limited practice prior to the fast approaching Taxslayer Bowl I would still expect the tight ends to have an expanded role in the offense, especially in the red zone where the Lions have struggled. To be successful against an elite Bulldog secondary (ranked No. 1 in passing yards allowed in the FBS) the Lions will need Rhane to deliver a creative and well-rounded game plan with quick and reliable outlet throws that can help keep Christian Hackenberg upright and the chains moving forward. Lastly, it will be interesting to see if the coaching change has a positive impact on the tight end’s mental and physical preparations, namely if Gesicki was able to shake his case of the drops and have the breakout game that his psyche needs.

The tight end’s 2015 season under Donovan was a letdown for various reasons; however, I am reluctant to write off their entire season just yet as the Taxslayer Bowl with interim-OC Rhane may provide an opportunity to show drastic improvement going into the off-season.

2016 – The year of the tight ends?

While it will not pay dividends until the 2016 season, with Moorhead calling the plays the production from Penn State’s tight ends should increase significantly. In Moorhead’s Fordham offenses the tight end played an integral role in the passing game. In 2014 All-American Dan Light finished his career as the top pass-catching tight end in school history with 177 receptions . This past season Fordham’s starting tight end led the team with 37 receptions, nearly 500 yards and seven touchdowns. A drastic improvement from the Nittany Lions tight end production in 2015 of under 300 yards and one touchdown.

Next year with Moorhead directing the offense all signs point towards Penn State’s talented tight ends having the opportunity to bounce back from a disappointing 2015 campaign and prove they are in fact one of the elite units in the Big Ten.