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PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL: PENN STATE VS WASHINGTON

December 28, 2017

Mike Gesicki

Glendale, Arizona

MIKE GESICKI: ... everybody said, oh, great tight end, this, that. I'd never played the position before in my life. Then I get back, I get out to my first practice at Penn State and Coach Donovan, all right, guys, we're going to get in the stance, started us off in three-point stance. I've never done it before. I don't know how. I'm just so awkward trying to get down there and fit in with the rest of the guys.

So it's been -- I literally started from scratch in this position. And now sitting here four years later have been able to grow and develop into the player that I am today. But it's also been unbelievable coaching starting with Coach Donovan, who was able to coach me for my first two seasons here and kind of show me the ropes to the position.

And then Coach Rahne taking over from there, and continuing to develop me and instill confidence in me. And now this past month having Tyler Bowen come in and a former O line coach speak about footwork and hand placement and just that nasty mentality of being a blocker. So it's been a very interesting journey that I've taken from that first practice to now. But it's been one that has helped me be where I am also.

Q. I think Adam told me he showed you how to get into a three-point stance. Is that true?
MIKE GESICKI: Yeah, so he showed me -- Jesse, I was trying to learn from Jesse right there on the spot. But ultimately it was something that I was not very comfortable doing because I've always come out of the two-point stance, and just being able to run off the ball. And now getting down in a three-point stance, hand in the dirt, all that kind of stuff, I was able to learn from a few different people and coaches. And now I am where I am.

Q. They had you at tight end because of your size? (Indiscernible)
MIKE GESICKI: Coming out of high school I was about 6'6", 220, 225.

Q. Sort of a prototype?
MIKE GESICKI: They knew with the frame that I had I could put more weight on and all that kind of stuff.

Q. But you had honestly never played --
MIKE GESICKI: Never played the position a down in my life ever. So it was something that I had to learn and grow into. And now I'm sitting here four years later, and I was able to develop into being able to be who I am today.

Q. You knew you were being recruited as a tight end?
MIKE GESICKI: I did.

Q. That wasn't a surprise?
MIKE GESICKI: I knew it was coming. I was just trying to delay it for as long as possible because I was always playing wide receiver.

Q. I wanted to ask you about Trace. Are there certain things that stand out just in your relationship with him?
MIKE GESICKI: Trace is a -- obviously off the field -- a great guy, great teammate, great friend, to me. And on the field, I think the thing that stands out the most is obviously he has a great arm and he can make the throws, and he's so smart in his reads and he doesn't make mistakes in that aspect of it. But the thing that you can't coach, you can't teach, he's a great competitor.

So I think it's kind of thrown around all the time talking about Trace that he's a winner. But obviously I mean the numbers don't lie. He's won a ton of games in his past two seasons being a quarterback at Penn State. And I think that if that's one thing that I take away from Trace's game, he's a competitor and he's a winner.

Q. The same thing comes up when they talk about Browning. So I guess it's just a commonality among quarterbacks at this level. You have to have that?
MIKE GESICKI: Yeah, the quarterbacks are the guys that make the team go. So I think it starts up top and then trickles down to everybody else. But if you're going to be a good quarterback, an elite quarterback here in college football, which Trace and Jake Browning are, you have to have that quality.

Q. Does his running ability ever surprise you?
MIKE GESICKI: Not really. He's an athletic kid. I think coming out of high school he was actually recruited to play safety. And now obviously being quarterback -- and I think he shows off his athleticism sometimes with his running ability. And that's something that is huge for offense, because defenses have to respect that. And that's kind of when some of our big plays have -- he's about to take off, defense sucks up and he puts it over their head.

Q. He's not that big of a guy either?
MIKE GESICKI: No, he's not. But he's tough as nails. He takes shots and gets right back up. He's been out there for the past I think 27 games starting or whatever it is.

Q. So he's durable?
MIKE GESICKI: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Q. Luckily he's the size he is because that time you tried to leapfrog him?
MIKE GESICKI: Yeah, I just got over him --

Q. Leapfrog over him after a touchdown. Trace was standing straight up. What's it been like to play in the same lineup as Trace the last two years?
MIKE GESICKI: It's been great. Him being my quarterback the last few years has been unbelievable. We've obviously had a ton of success together. And this team's had a ton of success with this team being our quarterback.

So I think he's done a great job on the field leading us, but off the field leading us as well. And there's nobody else that I want back there throwing me the ball and making plays for our team.

I think that he's given me an opportunity to have a ton of success these past two seasons so I'm really appreciative of him.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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