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Penn State to unveil new fast-paced offense

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Saeed Blacknall felt he was well prepared for Penn State's first spring practice session in full pads, eager to join his teammates in trying out a fresh no-huddle, high-tempo offense installed by new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Saeed Blacknall felt he was well prepared for Penn State's first spring practice session in full pads, eager to join his teammates in trying out a fresh no-huddle, high-tempo offense installed by new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead.

"That's when we really got introduced to the tempo and being able to run your route and run the offense," Blacknall, a junior wide receiver, said earlier this week. "But after the sixth or seventh rep, we were exhausted and trying to get acclimated with the new tempo because last year we used to huddle a lot.

"So this year it's a lot faster, back to back to back. The only thing I could remember was, 'Wow, this is going to be some ride.' "

The new offense will be showcased Saturday at Penn State's annual intrasquad Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium marking the end of the third spring practice of James Franklin's tenure as head coach. The new offense designed by Moorhead, the former head coach at Fordham, is designed to give the Nittany Lions more options and keep opposing defenses on their heels.

Of course, it remains to be seen just how much of the offense Franklin will reveal. The game is being shown on tape delay on the Big Ten Network, meaning every one of Penn State's opponents, particularly the early ones, will have something to look at.

Blacknall and the rest of the wide receivers feel that the new offense will benefit them, and it could be a new beginning for Blacknall. He caught just eight passes last season, with five of his completions going for 46, 45, 38, 25 and 59 yards.

"I was waiting for my moment and if my moment did come, I'd try everything in my power to take advantage of it," he said. "Going into this year, the best thing about having a new offense is that it's new for everybody. We're basically on the same level learning a whole new system and erasing everything we knew about the old system."

The Penn State receivers will be catching passes from two quarterbacks striving to be the successor to three-year starter Christian Hackenberg. Third-year sophomore Trace McSorley saw his first game action in last season's TaxSlayer Bowl and threw two touchdown passes. Redshirt freshman Tommy Stevens has a live arm and much potential.

Franklin said he will resume the quarterback competition in August when training camp begins.

As for the Blue-White Game, Franklin said injuries have made the Nittany Lions thin at certain positions and that he's just hoping to get through the game without any additional injuries. Each quarter will be 12 minutes in length with a running clock. The only stoppages will take possession changes and penalty calls. A timeout will be called on the first change after the six-minute mark.

Franklin said the game is a good way to evaluate how his new players will handle and perform in a huge stadium in front of a crowd. The Blue-White Game drew 68,000 last year.

"Just walking into that stadium, some guys step their game up and play at a higher level," he said. "Some guys being in that venue on that stage don't handle it as well. So I think that's important, and it's important to see how guys are going to react in that stadium before our first game next year."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq