Penn State category, Page 2

For the first time, Penn State is bringing its hockey programs to an iconic venue. Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams will play a game in Beaver Stadium on Jan. 31, the programs announced Friday. The men will take on Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State, while the women will...

STATE COLLEGE — It’s been just over seven months since Penn State center Nick Dawkins and his teammates last played a football game. They feel like they’ve been waiting much longer. Coming one game away from playing for a national championship seems to have that effect. The No. 2 Nittany...

Balancing the present and the future can be tricky for a college football coach. As Penn State continues preparations for what could be a special season, James Franklin is pleased with the way his talented veterans progressed through preseason camp. But Franklin also knows 2026 is coming fast. The Nittany...

STATE COLLEGE — Andy Kotelnicki and Drew Allar have developed quite the coach- quarterback tandem in their 18 months together. Their partnership has grown to the point where Kotelnicki, Penn State’s second-year offensive coordinator, let Allar plan out most of what the No. 2 Nittany Lions would drill during their final...

It started out as question for James Franklin about Penn State’s nickel defensive back position and how junior corner Zion Tracy continues to evolve in that role. The resulting answer was a little bit of everything from Franklin, including how new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is going to change things...

Penn State and James Franklin sought answers — both from the transfer portal and in high school recruiting — to remedy another brutal performance at wide receiver in 2024. Thanks to the additions of Syracuse’s Trebor Peña, USC’s Kyron Hudson and Troy’s Devonte Ross, as well as freshman Koby Howard,...

Penn State’s quest to the 2025 College Football Playoffs, and, potentially, a national championship, runs through an intriguing regular-season schedule. On one hand, the Nittany Lions will face all three Big Ten teams that made the CFP last season: Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana. But the Ducks and Hoosiers must...

In the modern era of the NFL Draft, 63 Penn State linebackers have been selected, the most at any position for one of the most distinguished programs in college football. Six PSU linebackers are in the College Football Hall of Fame: Dave Robinson, Jack Ham, Dennis Onkotz, Shane Conlan, LaVar...

Friday’s “First Call” examines an odd omission from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason game in Carolina. Things are tense between Micah Parsons and the Cowboys. Ke’Bryan Hayes is heating up with the Reds. Also, the Pirates and Rockies clash in a meeting of … well, um, they are meeting. And there...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State has a poster of the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation’s best offensive line unit each year, plastered in the group’s meeting room. Position coach Phil Trautwein and his pupils strongly believe they can be the best in the country in 2025. That’s born...

Penn State’s current group of linebackers is coached by the program’s all-time leader in tackles. Dan Connor produced 419 of them during his four seasons in State College. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, one of the sport’s elite minds, is also keeping close tabs on the position as it moves on...

STATE COLLEGE — “Let’s talk about the west side.” With that, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft on Tuesday discussed at length what has transpired at Beaver Stadium since early January. James Franklin’s Nittany Lions open their season Aug. 30 against Nevada in State College. Penn State kicked off its...

Penn State already had a commitment from one talented Imani Christian defensive back, and now the Nittany Lions have another. Junior cornerback Gabriel Jenkins announced his commitment to Penn State on Monday, joining teammate David Davis, a senior who committed there in March. Another former Imani Christian standout, linebacker Dayshaun...

Texas and Penn State, the top two teams in The Associated Press preseason Top 25, each had three players selected for the preseason AP All-America team announced Monday. No. 1 Texas had one player from each level of its defense on the first team: edge rusher Colin Simmons, linebacker Anthony...

Penn State vet Kyron Hudson is entering Year 5 in college. The Nittany Lions expect his final season to be his best one. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound wideout made 13 starts for USC the last two years, producing a combined 55 catches for 651 yards and five touchdowns. Hudson caught a...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is one of the nation’s most veteran teams, a big reason the Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 heading into the season. The quarterback position, manned by third-year starter Drew Allar, is a big part of that. There are...

The stage is set for Penn State, and now the question is whether the second-ranked Nittany Lions will capitalize. While defending national champion Ohio State, defending Big Ten champ Oregon and heavyweight Michigan are breaking in new quarterbacks, Penn State goes into the season with three-year starter Drew Allar, a...

It’s become commonplace for five-star recruits to enter the transfer portal a year or two after signing with their original schools. Just take a look at the 2023 recruiting class. Eleven out of 247 Sports’ top 25 high school prospects in that cycle have transferred. Some players — star safety...

STATE COLLEGE — Every great team needs young players to step up. If Penn State is to reach its national championship hopes, some freshmen will have to produce. James Franklin, at Tuesday night’s practice, named three players who are pushing for playing time midway through fall camp: cornerback Daryus Dixson...

Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class was among the best in the country. Abdul Carter developed into a top-five NFL draft pick. Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Dani Dennis-Sutton are big reasons why Penn State is a national title contender this year. All were blue-chip prospects, expected to take...

For the first time, Texas will open a college football season ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25. The Longhorns hardly have a mandate in the poll released Monday: They edged out Penn State by just five points in the closest preseason vote since 1998. Texas received 25...

This is Year 6 for Penn State veteran Nick Dawkins. A standout at Parkland High School in the Lehigh Valley, Dawkins was part of the 2020 PSU recruiting class that also included Olu Fashanu, Tyler Warren, Curtis Jacobs, Parker Washington, Ji’Ayir Brown, Theo Johnson and current Nittany Lions edge rusher...

When Stan Drayton replaced Ja’Juan Seider as Penn State’s running backs coach, he had a refreshing answer when asked about overseeing the continued development of 1,000-yard backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Drayton, who previously coached Ezekiel Elliott, Bijan Robinson and Brian Westbrook at the college level, said he wanted...