It was a Homecoming game like no other.
On Saturday, the Nittany Lions handled Minnesota in front of a less-than-capacity crowd at Beaver Stadium. In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a look at one of the Nittany Lions’ forgotten men, look back at Minnesota and look ahead to Saturday’s showdown at the Big House.
Brett Brackett finally got a touchdown, but is he the forgotten man in the PSU
offense.
(Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Forgotten Man?
Talk about getting a monkey off your back.
After catching a pass in the season opener with Akron, junior wide receiver Brett Brackett went four games without catching a ball. He waited and wondered just when the opportunity would present itself again.
Against Eastern Illinois in Week 6, Brackett hoped he would get an opportunity to catch a pass or two. When the moment arrived, Brackett seized it. In the second quarter of what would be a 49-point rout of Eastern Illinois, quarterback Daryll Clark connected with Brackett for a 2-yard touchdown pass that helped Penn State push its lead to 17-0.
For Brackett, the score was something that he’d been waiting six weeks for.
“It was nice to get into the end zone,” Brackett said. “It was nice to catch a pass cleanly and score. It was definitely a nice play and a good confidence builder.”
Clark was hopeful that Brackett would score on the play.
“When we got down to the goal line and they called that play, the naked cat play that we run. Mickey is over the top to the back pylon and Brett is to the front,” Clark explained. “I knew they were calling that play trying to get Brett the football. I was like, OK, I hope they don’t blitz so Brett has to block somebody. He pops out and he did and I saw him wide open, so I just give it to him and let him get in. I’m like, thank you, because it’s been rough on him a little bit. He had a couple of drops. I think his first catch of the season was a fumble, so it’s been tough for him and I’ve been trying my best to get everyone the football.”
It was Brackett’s first touchdown since the Temple game in Week 4 of 2008. And it was his first catch for positive yards since the Rose Bowl, when he caught three passes for 21 yards.
Heading into the game with Eastern Illinois, Brackett was truly the forgotten man among the new cast of wideouts. Until he caught the TD pass against the Panthers, Brackett’s lone reception went for minus 7 yards. And while Clark wasn’t looking his way much over the next four weeks, Brackett wasn’t upset. In fact, he was anything but.
“I got my chances. Some of those chances I got earlier in the year, I didn’t capitalize on them. I dropped a ball here and there,” Brackett said matter-of-factly.
But Brackett can relate to Clark. Few remember that Brackett came to Penn State as a quarterback before being converted to wideout. He said that he and Clark have a special relationship because of that.
“I like to talk to him a lot about that, actually, when we’re coming off the field. What he saw. Where his read was,” Brackett said.
And although it hasn’t paid off just yet, Brackett is hopeful that the time picking Clark’s brain will pay dividends down the road.
“I have an understanding of what he’s seeing, what he’s doing. Having played quarterback, I have a good idea of what he’s thinking. Sometimes, I’ll just bounce questions off him just to get an idea of where he might throw the ball in certain situations,” Brackett said.
Unfortunately, for Brackett, getting into the red zone didn’t get him out of the red. He had minus 7 receiving yards and the TD went for 2 positive yards, so at the end of the day he was still minus 5 yards. Powell was asked if the other receivers chide him about being in the red.
“No we don’t (tease him),” Powell said. “That type of stuff, we don’t look at.”
Powell said that while Brackett has endured his share of struggles so far in 2009, he’s still a contributor to the offense.
“Brett’s a good receiver. He’s a big body. We use him in key situations. With his size, more with the run because he’s more physical and he’s a lot bigger,” Powell said. “Brett works just as hard as everyone else does and he gets the same looks in practice. He’s going to keep doing what he has to do and hopefully you’ll see more of him later on.”
Brackett doesn’t get the attention that Powell, Derek Moye or Graham Zug get on a weekly basis. But if that bothers him, he certainly doesn’t let on.
“I get put in there when I need to be put in there,” Brackett said. “Graham, Chaz and Derek are doing a tremendous job so far this year. You can’t fault them at all.”
With five games to go, Brackett is hopeful that he’ll get some more chances. If he capitalizes on those chances, he said, the rest will take care of itself.
“I’ll get chances,” Brackett said. “I just need to capitalize on them.”
If that happens, Brackett should be out of the red soon.
Looking Back: Minnesota
The Penn State defense stepped up in a big way on Saturday, pitching a shutout for the first time since it blanked Temple in 2007. And it was the first conference shutout since it whitewashed Purdue, 12-0, in 2006.
With Sean Lee back in the fold, the defense turned in a complete performance. The goal-line stand that preserved the shutout was extremely memorable and definitely highlight-film worthy. Cornerback A.J. Wallace played one of the best games of his collegiate career and appears headed for the NFL career that he covets.
Daryll Clark and the PSU offense clicked on all cylinders. Had it not been for a few drops and missed field goal by Collin Wagner, the score would have been much worse than 20-0.
It was the type of win that could propel the Nittany Lions to bigger and better things.
We’ll find out in five weeks.
The last trip to Ann Arbor was not pleasant for Anthony Morelli and the Nittany
Lions. (Photo courtesy of Blue White Illustrated).
Looking Ahead: Michigan
It’s the week that every Penn State fan dreads — it’s Michigan week.
The Nittany Lions head to the Big House to take on the rival Wolverines. On paper, the edge appears to go to the Nittany Lions. However, strange things happen in the Big House. Who could ever forget the two seconds that were put back on the clock in 2005? Or the fact that coach Joe Paterno changed the gameplan in 2007 that doomed the Lions in a 14-9 loss.
Starting QB Daryll Clark has lost just one Big Ten road game (Iowa in 2008). With the makeshift offensive line finally starting to jell, Evan Royster on top of his game and the wideouts stepping up, I look for the offense to have a big day.
Strange things happen in the Big House. But they won’t happen this season. It will be close, but the Lions will finally get it done.
Gantdaily.com prediction: Penn State 31, Michigan 28.
Chris Morelli is the award-winning editor of Blue White Illustrated, a weekly publication devoted to Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. This column does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of BWI’s writers or publisher.
