Penn State Football: Mac Hippenhammer Shines in Blue-White Game
By Joe Ciminera
Mac Hippenhammer’s strong performance in the Blue-White game makes an already puzzling wide receiver picture even more complex.
Wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer turned many of the 71,000 heads at Beaver Stadium last weekend as he hauled in four catches and two touchdowns at the annual Blue-White Game.
Starting wideouts Juwan Johnson and DeAndre Thompkins both sat out the game, and Hippenhammer made the most of his opportunity.
His first TD was a 5-yard pass from Trace McSorley, and his second a 29-yarder from Sean Clifford.
Hippenhammer was one of the most talked about players after the game, and for good reason. He played better than his redshirt freshman counterpart K.J. Hamler, which came as a bit of surprise. He looked like someone who could work their way into Ricky Rahne’s rotation.
He will most certainly need to continue his strong play during training camp to earn some playing time.
How the wide receivers will line up remains to be seen, but Johnson, Thompkins and Brandon Polk will play the majority of the snaps. The aforementioned speedster K.J. Hamler is too dangerous to keep off the field. Stud recruit Justin Shorter isn’t on campus yet, but he possesses the build and skill of the next great Penn State receiver.
Hippenhammer is viewed only as a slot receiver due to his five-foot-11, 178-pound frame and middle of the road speed. That could be a benefit to him, as it is unclear exactly who will be lining up in the slot for State at the beginning of the season. Again, it will most likely be Polk or Thompkins to start.
Penn State is still very uncertain at tight end, and be it Jonathan Holland, Danny Dalton or Nick Bowers, it will be a major drop off from Mike Geskicki.
Saquon Barkley was probably Penn States best receiver last season, so losing him also means losing his pass-catching ability.
Due to that, the Nittany Lions may be lining up four wide receivers more often than last season, which would benefit Hippenhammer.
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Hippenhammer’s game may just be fools gold and something to latch on to during the long spring, but it’s encouraging to see that Penn State may have more receiving depth than originally thought.
Another interesting note about Hippenhammer, he is now suiting up for the Penn State baseball squad. Remember that kid in gym class who just dominated every sport? That’s Mac Hippenhammer.