Penn State's Mike Gesicki out to build on breakout season
The tight end emerged as a junior, making 48 catches. Now he and the Lions are aiming higher.
The improvement of Penn State's Mike Gesicki from his first two seasons to last year was dramatic, and the tight end is prepared to take another quantum leap as a senior to help the Nittany Lions try to surpass their special Big Ten championship season.
The 6-foot-6 Gesicki caught 48 passes - exactly double the output of his first two years - for 679 yards and five touchdowns last year. After briefly considering whether he wanted to test the NFL waters, he decided that a fourth season in Happy Valley would serve him better, and perhaps help his team take the next step to the College Football Playoff.
"We've got a bunch of guys back that are now veteran guys," he said Tuesday in a conference call with reporters. "We're an older team, so we've got a chance for some success that we've been shooting for, for a few years now. Seeing that opportunity, I didn't want to let that pass by.
"Then individually, I felt that there was some room for improvement in my game as well. There's definitely some big steps forward that I can make this year to improve my game and make myself a better player as well."
With quarterback Trace McSorley hurling passes to him, Gesicki had some highlight moments during the 2016 season, such as a one-handed grab against Temple that went for 52 yards and a pair of leaping touchdown catches in back-to-back weeks - 45 yards against Michigan State and 33 yards in the Big Ten title game against Wisconsin.
A product of Southern Regional High School in Ocean County, N.J., Gesicki went to Penn State as a four-star recruit who also excelled in basketball and volleyball. He fell short of the expectations placed on him when he arrived on campus, catching 24 passes for 239 yards with several drops in his first two seasons, but he blew those stats out of the water last year.
Gesicki credits his position coach, Ricky Rahne, for his improvement and looks forward to working with him again to become as well-rounded a tight end as possible.
"I think I've gotten to a point where I can be successful in my blocking, but I want to be dominant in that aspect," he said. "I want to continue to improve my run-after-the- catch ability. I think I can continue to improve on breaking tackles. So I think there's little things that you can continue to improve on."
Gesicki worked hard in the offseason weight program to improve his strength and keep a consistent weight. He began last season at 252 pounds but watched his weight fluctuate between that and 240, so strength coach Dwight Galt gave him specific drills to work on. He said he now weighs 258 and feels good.
Gesicki will play in a high-powered offense that's in its second season under offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Knowing the offense and carrying over the confidence from last year's success give Penn State momentum for the fall.
"It's not like fake confidence when you hear people talk like, 'We're going to win this,' but the actual, real confidence comes from your track record and what you're capable of doing," he said. "Obviously, last year we played at a high level, but to be able to carry that over to spring ball and continuing to play at a high level, the level of confidence is a huge one.
"And with the brotherhood on our team, everybody being willing to sacrifice, being together, I think that all plays into the big picture of championship teams."
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