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Happy birthday Emma F. Sudnick!

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‘ThinkFirst!’ program presented at St. Jude’s

<p>It started with a text message after the Rose Bowl.</p><p>Connor McGovern got the word to head to Matt Limegrover&#8217;s office. Then he got the word that he was going to be anchoring Penn State&#8217;s offensive line.</p><p>McGovern, by the way, is still 19.</p><p>&#8220;We sat down and had a long conversation,&#8221; McGovern said Tuesday, recalling his meeting with his offensive line coach. &#8220;He asked me if I was comfortable moving back (to center). I was completely fine with it, and we moved from there.&#8221;</p><p>And so it appears that the Nittany Lions have their center for 2017 and beyond. The public will get its first look at McGovern in the middle at Saturday&#8217;s Blue-White Game as he continues the transition from right guard, where he started as a true freshman last fall.</p><p>Wyoming Valley Conference football fans, of course, have already seen what McGovern can do at center, a position he excelled at in his four years at Lake-Lehman.</p><p>But there&#8217;s one particularly big difference to manning the middle now. While playing in the Black Knights&#8217; run-heavy offense in high school, McGovern always had the quarterback right behind him.</p><p>Penn State didn&#8217;t run a single play with the quarterback under center in 2016. Even the kneeldowns and a spike to stop the clock came from the shotgun.</p><p>So McGovern has been practicing. In the neighborhood of 1,000 shotgun snaps before spring ball even began.</p><p>&#8220;I was pretty comfortable for that first practice,&#8221; McGovern said. &#8220;It&#8217;s coming along very well.</p><p>&#8220;I just feel really comfortable at center. I&#8217;m fine with any position, but I feel most comfortable there, probably because I&#8217;ve played it most of my life.&#8221;</p><p>Getting the snap down was the first thing. The biggest challenge may come in taking command of the line vocally, making the protection calls and ensuring that everyone has their assignments down.</p><p>No easy task for a teenager at the helm of what has become one of the country&#8217;s top offenses. But McGovern&#8217;s story so far at Penn State has been anything but ordinary.</p><p>He started nine games last season, the most by a true freshman offensive lineman for the Lions in at least 20 years. He became the first lineman in history win Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors and just the third to earn any weekly award in the conference.</p><p>As he improved down the stretch, so did the Lions, who hit their stride heading into November after upsetting Ohio State.</p><p>All of that experience began to prepare McGovern for the important vocal role he now inherits.</p><p>&#8220;It helped lot last year,&#8221; McGovern said. &#8220;Because coming in for those first couple games, I was quiet. A little nervous because I didn&#8217;t want to make the wrong call. But I&#8217;m more of a leader now.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m more confident, and I know everyone else is confident in me.&#8221;</p><p>That includes his position coach.</p><p>&#8220;One of the guys that&#8217;s really standing out is Connor McGovern at center, moving him over,&#8221; Limegrover said in a video interview posted by the team. &#8220;That&#8217;s always a challenge, having a guy that&#8217;s going from guard to center, especially a younger guy. He&#8217;s really taken a hold of that and is really becoming a leader out there.&#8221;</p><p>McGovern is trying to follow the lead of Brian Gaia, who made the move from guard to center himself last offseason and his best season as a fifth-year senior. McGovern said he &#8220;fed off of his confidence&#8221; from playing next to him for most of the year.</p><p>It remains to be seen exactly how the Lions will line up in the fall. With seniors Andrew Nelson and Brendan Mahon looking to return from season-ending injuries, there has been opportunity for guys like Steven Gonzalez, Chasz Wright and McGovern&#8217;s classmate Michal Menet to see plenty of reps this spring.</p><p>Regardless of who lines up where, Penn State&#8217;s offensive line is looking to adopt a more aggressive mindset for 2017. McGovern said multiple times that being more physical was a priority for everyone.</p><p>&#8220;We were physical at some points (last season), but definitely this year we want to finish blocks and get guys on the ground,&#8221; McGovern said. &#8220;Make the holes bigger. Give (quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley) easier reads. Just blowing guys off the ball.</p><p>&#8220;I think the offense has a very good shot at being special this year.&#8221;</p><p><strong>White Out set</strong></p><p>No kickoff times have been set for Penn State&#8217;s 2017 slate, but the annual White Out game has been chosen.</p><p>Penn State announced Tuesday that the Lions&#8217; Oct. 21 showdown with Jim Harbaugh and Michigan at Beaver Stadium will get the full all-white treatment from the crowd.</p><p>The White Out has typically come in prime time, though the 2015 edition came on an afternoon kick against the Wolverines.</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Lake-Lehman&#8217;s Connor McGovern has made the move from right guard to center for Penn State this offseason. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_mcgovern-iu2017418113325314-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Lake-Lehman&#8217;s Connor McGovern has made the move from right guard to center for Penn State this offseason. </caption0><photoCredit0>Joe Hermitt | AP file photo, PennLive.com </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Lake-Lehman grad handling transition well</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p>Blue-White Game</p><p>3 p.m., Saturday</p><p>TV: BTN</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Lake-Lehman’s Connor McGovern settling in as Penn State’s new center