web1_breathe.jpg

Breathe Free advocates new smoking restrictions in public places

web1_Wilkes-University_MCCC-Agreement.jpg

Wilkes University inks community college deal in Arizona

<p>Mike Gesicki boarded the team plane in Jacksonville after January&#8217;s TaxSlayer Bowl. By the end of the flight, he had already mentally wiped the slate clean.</p><p>&#8220;When we landed back in State College, I was completely moving forward,&#8221; the Penn State tight end said Tuesday. &#8220;If I&#8217;m being completely honest, I&#8217;m not thinking about the past any more. I&#8217;m excited for the future, I&#8217;m excited for this offense. I&#8217;m excited to move forward and improve my game.&#8221;</p><p>And the Nittany Lions may need him more than ever in 2016.</p><p>Kyle Carter graduated. Adam Breneman&#8217;s career was cut short by knee injuries. And now Brent Wilkerson&#8217;s future with the program is uncertain after the senior was charged with indecent assault and suspended indefinitely.</p><p>That leaves Gesicki as the only tight end on the roster who has taken a snap in college. Behind him are a pair of redshirt freshmen &#8212; Nick Bowers and Jonathan Holland &#8212; true freshman Danny Dalton and walk-on Tom Pancoast.</p><p>Gesicki certainly has the pedigree to be a standout tight end. At 6-foot-6, the New Jersey native had his pick of colleges coming out of high school, choosing the Lions over Ohio State.</p><p>But an anticipated breakout in 2015 didn&#8217;t happen. Gesicki started eight games but was plagued by drops and inconsistency. He finished his sophomore season with just 13 catches for 125 yards, essentially the same totals he had as a true freshman despite seeing significantly more reps.</p><p>&#8220;Am I happy with those numbers? Absolutely not,&#8221; Gesicki said. &#8220;Would I be happy with those numbers in the future? Absolutely not. As for why they were what they were &#8212; from watching games, it&#8217;s obvious I left plays out on the field.</p><p>&#8220;It humbled me. Extremely. &#8230; I thought I worked hard before. I thought I was doing things above and beyond. Now I&#8217;ve kind of continued to take that levels above what I thought I was doing.&#8221;</p><p>Typically outgoing and vocal, Gesicki shied away from social media &#8212; &#8220;I don&#8217;t even know what Twitter looks like anymore,&#8221; he said &#8212; and tried to block any outside distractions this offseason.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t pay attention to what people have to say, read what people have to write,&#8221; Gesicki said. &#8220;At the end of the day, none of that stuff is important.&#8221;</p><p>There&#8217;s a long way to go before the start of the season, but teammates have noticed a difference as spring practice winds down toward April 16&#8217;s Blue-White Game.</p><p>Junior wideout Chris Godwin arrived at Penn State in the same class as Gesicki and has a good sense of his friend&#8217;s mindset.</p><p>&#8220;From my perspective, he seems a lot more relaxed,&#8221; Gesicki said. &#8220;He definitely seems to have put his troubles behind him and he&#8217;s ready to move forward. It&#8217;s shown in his performance. He&#8217;s grown as a receiver, as a blocker and a leader as well.&#8221;</p><p>In the scheme run by new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, the tight end likely won&#8217;t be featured as prominently as it was in, say, Bill O&#8217;Brien&#8217;s offense. Last season, the Lions also ran plenty of two-tight-end sets, but that was primarily so Wilkerson could serve as an extra blocker for the beleaguered offensive line.</p><p>But as it stands now, Gesicki is in line for a major role when the season opens on Sept. 3 against Kent State.</p><p>He&#8217;s eager to show how he&#8217;s improved from last year.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;If you go through an experience like that and don&#8217;t become better for it, that&#8217;s your fault,&#8221; Gesicki said. &#8220;I think about everything I went through. Did I make plays? Absolutely. Did I leave some on the field? Yeah, but I&#8217;m not concerned with last year. I&#8217;m not thinking abut the struggles and all that stuff that everyone wants to continue to focus on.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;But I would not change a thing I went through because I think I&#8217;m a better person because of it and a better athlete because of it. I wouldn&#8217;t change one thing.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_gesicki-mug.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Gesicki </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_gesicki-mug.jpeg</photo0><caption0>Gesicki </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_gesicki-prayer.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mike Gesicki is Penn State&#8217;s lone tight end with experience on the team&#8217;s spring roster and has plenty to prove heading into the 2016 season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_gesicki-prayer.jpg</photo1><caption1>Mike Gesicki is Penn State&#8217;s lone tight end with experience on the team&#8217;s spring roster and has plenty to prove heading into the 2016 season. </caption1><photoCredit1>Gene J. Puskar | AP photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

‘Humbled’ Mike Gesicki ready to start anew for Penn State