Penn State category, Page 18

STATE COLLEGE — For Julian Fleming, this feels somewhat like a dream come true, even though he could have lived it for the past half decade had he chosen to do so. While the recruiting process out of high school gave him an opportunity to pursue another set of goals,...

If you ask Zane Durant about last year’s Northwestern game, there’s a good chance he will smile. Penn State’s third-year defensive tackle produced arguably his best game, collecting three tackles for loss. One of them, a sack of Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant early in the fourth quarter, ended any hope...

STATE COLLEGE — The news is mostly good concerning Penn State’s wide receiver room with the Nittany Lions a little more than two weeks away from their season opener at West Virginia. Mostly. Coach James Franklin singled out the play of a couple of fourth-year wideouts following the team’s practice...

Penn State coach James Franklin, as measured as he always tries to be when discussing young players, had a hard time holding back when asked about freshman offensive lineman Cooper Cousins. Cousins — a 6-6, 320-pound behemoth and former No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania — has impressed at just about...

As the game continues to slow down for Kevin Winston Jr., it is fair to wonder how much better the Penn State safety can get in his second year as a starter. Year 1 was impressive. Now a third-year junior, Winston led the Nittany Lions in tackles with 61 (34...

Georgia is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for the second straight year as the superconference era begins with the SEC and Big Ten dominating the top 10 of the rankings. The Bulldogs received 46 first-place votes and 1,532 points in the Top 25...

Penn State alum and U.S. Olympian Zain Retherford has withdrawn from competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics as a “medical precaution,” ending his opportunity at a bronze medal, USA Wrestling announced Saturday. According to USA Wrestling, the former Nittany Lion suffered a concussion while training prior to the Olympics and...

Tom Allen was familiar with Dani Dennis-Sutton well before becoming Penn State’s defensive coordinator. Allen, the former head coach at Indiana, watched from the visitors’ sideline at Beaver Stadium last fall as the defensive end put an end to the Hoosiers’ upset bid. Indiana was tied with Penn State late...

Penn State should have strength in numbers at the defensive tackle position in the fall. At the very least. The Nittany Lions’ top edge rushers, led by Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton, are the headliners and deservedly so. Both players, should they leave PSU after 2024, are projected to be...

With Penn State fully underway in fall camp now, position battles will be key to watch before the Nittany Lions travel to Morgantown, W.Va., at the end of the month. Coach James Franklin provided an update at an important spot Thursday night. Redshirt freshman Anthony Donkoh and redshirt junior Nolan...

There’s strong belief within the Lasch Building that Andy Kotelnicki and his creative scheme will reinvigorate a Penn State offense that became stale and, at times, ineffective last year. Drew Allar had a “good, but not good enough” first season as the starting quarterback. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen weren’t...

A new NCAA recruiting rule kicked in earlier this month. It prevents college coaches from communicating with prospects until Aug. 1 of their junior year. When that day rolled around for Anthony Grippo, his cellphone “blew up.” The rising junior from Greensburg Central Catholic had more than 20 calls or...

Penn State’s coaching staff identified Zakee Wheatley as a potential playmaker prior to the 2022 season. The reserve safety intercepted a pair of passes and forced a fumble that year, but his opportunities were minimal last season. This year is different. The breakout opportunity is real for the fourth-year Nittany...

College football teams’ spring games are typically defined by motifs relating to new things, whether it’s new players, coaching staffs, stadiums, etc. One of this year’s new things came in the form of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s voice buzzing through a tiny speaker in the helmet of his quarterbacks —...

Penn State’s offense was far from one-dimensional last season, but its effectiveness through the air left plenty of room for improvement. Drew Allar proved capable in his first season as starting quarterback, yet by year’s end, Penn State’s shortcomings in the passing game were apparent. The Nittany Lions ranked 77th...

STATE COLLEGE — From the outside looking in, replacing three starters on the offensive line, all of whom were NFL Draft picks in April, is among the most pressing to-do items on Penn State’s camp agenda. Losing Olu Fashanu, Caedan Wallace and Hunter Nourzad opened up spots at both tackle...

STATE COLLEGE — It’s a testament to Penn State’s returning players that the Nittany Lions are considered to be a strong contender for the 12-team College Football Playoff this season, the first year of expansion from the four-team field. During the CFP’s four-team era (2014-23), making the cut proved elusive...

McKeesport sophomore Kemon Spell can’t sign with for two more years, but the highly recruited running back and defensive back has already picked his college. Spell committed Friday to Penn State, making him the school’s first commitment in the 2027 class. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder had a growing list of Division...

Penn State liked Jaylen Reed right away. The Nittany Lions’ defensive coaches played the young safety in eight games during his true freshman season of 2021. Starting? Not an option with Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown on that roster. Reed played in all 13 games in 2022 and emerged as...

Weeks before the start of the new season, two Penn State football players were placed on interim suspension, a program spokesperson said Wednesday. Defensive end Jameial Lyons and linebacker Kaveion Keys are on interim suspension to “deal with a personal matter,” spokesperson Greg Kincaid said. The program will have no...

Make it two more commitments for Penn State and a huge hot streak for the Nittany Lions on the trail. Daniel Jennings, a four-star defensive end in the Class of 2026 from Princeton, W.Va., committed to Penn State over hometown West Virginia on Wednesday. He followed the afternoon commitment of...

PARIS — Sam Mikulak pulled Stephen Nedoroscik close and tasked the American pommel horse specialist with the impossible. The U.S. men’s gymnastics team’s first Olympic medal in 16 years a solitary routine away, Mikulak — a Penn State alumnus — told the pommel horse specialist that he didn’t need to...

Harrisburg junior offensive tackle Kevin Brown holds an offer from just about every major college football program in the country. So what was it that set Penn State apart from the rest of his deep and decorated list of offering schools? It was simple: trust. That trust and belief in...