UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Mike Gesicki stepped behind tight end Jesse James, sporting sunglasses and an ear-to-ear grin. Gesicki was waiting to hear what the Steelers rookie would say about his former Penn State teammate.
Gesicki, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound sophomore tight end, refers to James as his big brother, and the two joke back and forth as siblings do. With Gesicki standing behind James during an interview Saturday afternoon, the NFL tight end kidded that his mentee didn’t do much last season as a freshman.
Gesicki laughed and smiled some more because at some point he was going to tell James that his previous power-clean record hanging on the board in the weight room now belongs to the 19-year-old, not the NFL rookie.