When Penn State’s plane touched down in State College following the TaxSlayer Bowl in January, tight end Mike Gesicki pressed the reset button.

Coming off a disappointing sophomore season in which he started eight games and played in 12, the New Jersey product managed just 13 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown. Made worse by some particularly dispiriting drops through the course of the season, Gesicki became a story unto himself of unrealized potential and head-scratching results.

So with the help of new Nittany Lion offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, Gesicki shut it down and started fresh.

“I'm not really concerned with last year and this and that anymore because Coach Moorhead has been preaching it to us that he's not concerned with the past. He's just worried about the present and the future,” Gesicki told the media via conference call Tuesday morning. “I’m not really thinking about the struggles and all that kind of stuff that everybody wants to continue to talk about. I'm really just focused on continuing to get better.

“I think that absolutely I've matured and I would not change a thing that I went through last year because I think that I've become a better person because of it. I think I've become a better athlete because of it. And I think I've become a much better football player because of it. So if I could go back and change anything, I wouldn't change one thing because I'm happy with who I am and what kind of football player I am right now.”

Whether or not the new start pays dividends when the Nittany Lions take to the turf in September remains to be seen. But, workout numbers from Gesicki this winter again are instructive in his company among the elite athletes at Penn State.

Testing out among the top five in vertical leap (36.5 inches), broad jump (10-feet, 10-inches) and power clean (365 pounds), Gesicki was identified by head coach James Franklin recently as one of the highlights at the tight end position.

“It's a good group to work with,” said Franklin. “You've got some experienced guys with Mike Gesicki who has played some football and I know is really motivated to have a strong year this year.”

Admittedly motivated to be a better person and player after going through the adversity of a season in which he made some plays, but not enough to make him happy, Gesicki said he has also learned how to work harder and more efficiently this offseason. Said Gesicki, “I think that it humbled me extremely. I think that it has kind of made me work. I thought I worked hard before and I thought I was doing things above and beyond that I thought I was doing last year. And now I've kind of continued to take that and take that so many levels above what I thought I was doing.”

Focusing on continuing to improve his blocking, Gesicki also said that he understands and has embraced the duality of the role of a tight end at Penn State and in this new system - which he said is 50-50 between responsibilities for the tight ends in the run and pass game.

Saying that he feels he has matured through the entire process, Gesicki has figured out who is for and against him, has put Twitter and the world of social media aside, and no longer pays attention to what’s being said to or about him. Instead, he’s simply looking to put the past behind him while focusing on what he considers to be an exciting future.

“If I'm being completely honest, I'm not really worried about the past anymore. I'm not thinking about the past anymore. I'm just excited for the future, excited for this new offense and excited for this team to continue to move forward,” he said. “I’m going to continue to improve my game day in and day out. And I think these next two years under Coach Moorhead in this offense will be very exciting and very fun to play in. And really I'm just excited for practice tomorrow to continue to get better.”