In senior season, Blacknall focused only on day-to-day

Saeed Blacknall’s message has a familiar ring to it.

Meeting with the media Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium, just five practices into the Nittany Lions’ preseason camp, the senior wideout wanted to make clear his mentality is focused on nothing other than the present.

“I just want to take it game-by-game, just be the best wide receiver I can be today, and then the next day, be the best wide receiver I can be for that day,” said Blacknall.

The words of a student-athlete who has bought in?

“I am bought in,” replied Blacknall. “Completely bought in.”

Coming off a junior campaign in which he reeled in 15 receptions for 347 yards and three touchdowns, most notably in a six catch, 155-yard, two score performance in the Lions’ Big Ten Championship win, Blacknall’s mind is on the newness of the season ahead.

Held back partially due to injury, missing four games in the team’s first five last season, as well as a discipline issue that forced him out of the Rose Bowl, Blacknall entered spring practice as a receiver with heightened expectations. Especially in the absence of Chris Godwin, those expectations were slightly dashed when Blacknall again suffered injury in spring camp, ultimately missing the Blue-White game and the majority of the team’s April practices.

Now, he’s looking to make up for lost time.

“For me personally, things are great,” said Blacknall. “I feel like this year is a new, fresh start for everyone, just to go out and do everything we did last year and just take it game by game and just get a fresh start.”

To what extent that fresh start will require a herculean effort of Blacknall remains to be seen, but head coach James Franklin has left little doubt regarding the possibilities ahead for the New Jersey native.

Saying Blacknall was primed for a breakout, Franklin’s expectations are nothing Blacknall isn’t already embracing for himself anyway.

“There’s no pressure at all. We've all prepared, we've all been working for years for this - this has been going on three years-plus, trying to get where we want to go,” said Blacknall. “So, me being a senior, this is my last chance to be the best wide receiver I can be for this university.”

Reminiscing on how quickly his career has passed, playing as a true freshman in 2014 to now suiting up as one of the older leaders in the wideouts room, Blacknall wants his leadership to manifest itself as an even keel.

Said Blacknall, “Time does fly when you're having fun, but for me personally, I'm just going to take this senior season slow and take it game by game, day by day to get where we need to go and help lead this football team to victory.”