Penn State category, Page 33

This story first appeared in Talk of the Town, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA’s State College regional bureau featuring the most important news and happenings in north-central Pennsylvania. STATE COLLEGE — Penn State’s football team’s academic rating plummeted to its lowest point in more than a decade, placing the...

The first thing Penn State football’s Adisa Isaac does when he takes the field at Beaver Stadium is look around. Isaac is one of the best defensive ends in college football, a nightmare for Big Ten quarterbacks when the ball is snapped. But before the game is underway — before...

Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams of USC, Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michigan running back Blake Corum are among the returning first-team players who were selected to the Associated Press preseason All-America team announced Monday. Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt and Miami safety Kam Kinchens also followed...

The accolades have piled up for Kalen King. Penn State’s star cornerback, who ranked second in the FBS with 18 pass breakups in 2022, was named an ESPN preseason All-American and has been a staple on preseason awards watch lists. He will play a major role on a defense expected...

Penn State has seen three running backs leave in the last 12 months. Caziah Holmes, Devyn Ford and Keyvone Lee transferred — and all three exits were tied, at least in part, to the rise of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Singleton and Allen burst onto the scene as freshmen...

Much was made of Penn State’s youth movement last year, and rightfully so. Nick Singleton, Abdul Carter and the 2022 recruiting class played a major role in the Nittany Lions’ 11-win campaign. But Penn State also was buoyed by veteran leadership. Sean Clifford and Jonathan Sutherland were fourth-year captains. Ji’Ayir...

Penn State relied heavily on its 2022 recruiting class last season. From Nick Singleton to Abdul Carter, 10 freshmen burned their redshirts. That’s unlikely to be the case this fall. Tony Rojas, the name on everyone’s lips during the spring, will have a role in the linebacker rotation. Elliot Washington...

When Penn State’s defense forces opponents into long-yardage situations this season, the spotlight will fall on veteran corners Kalen King and Johnny Dixon. King is a potential first-round pick next year, and Dixon intercepted two passes and was credited with 10 pass breakups in 2022. PSU corners coach Terry Smith...

Right tackle was a question mark entering training camp, and it still is for Penn State. Less than three weeks to go until the 2023 season opener against West Virginia, James Franklin has yet to name a starter on the right side of the offensive line. The competition is down...

STATE COLLEGE — Nick Singleton became a household name in college football after his Rose Bowl heroics. He enters the 2023 campaign on watch lists for the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards, given at the end of the year to the top player in the country. And to be fair,...

Georgia will begin its drive for an unprecedented college football championship three-peat as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press preseason Top 25. The Bulldogs received 60 of 63 first-place votes in the poll released Monday to easily outpoint No. 2 Michigan, which received two first-place votes and has...

Penn State’s top four safeties will play meaningful snaps in the fall. The Nittany Lions return one veteran starter at the position: Keaton Ellis. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter could use the diverse skills of Zakee Wheatley, Jaylen Reed and Kevin Winston Jr. to compensate for...

KeAndre Lambert-Smith separated himself in Penn State’s wide receiver room during spring camp. He and Harrison Wallace III figure to be two of the top targets this fall, something coach James Franklin made clear after camp and over the summer. Franklin also emphasized the need for a third wide receiver...

Chop Robinson is one of the top defensive players in college football. As we sit here a few weeks away from the start of the season, that’s not up for debate. Robinson has been a mainstay in the first round of way-too-early 2024 NFL mock drafts. Pro Football Focus ranked...

UNIVERSITY PARK — There was joy in the way KeAndre Lambert-Smith carried himself Sunday at Penn State’s local media day. The junior wide receiver happily showed a reporter the tattoos he has on his arms, describing each as he went before remarking on the ones he saw on a reporter...

Here’s a classic case of “listen to the message, even if you don’t like the messenger.” Rick Pitino has certainly done a lot to make many college basketball fans dislike him during his highly successful yet highly checkered coaching career. But on the topic of nonstop conference realignment chaos, Pitino...

For the past 14 years, Greensburg native Loren Byers has been polishing his tennis game. His goal — has been since he was 7 years old — is to play with the big boys on the ATP. Over the past 12 months, Byers, who will be 22 in November, has...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State has yet to name its starting quarterback, and that’s OK with Drew Allar. He isn’t worried about that label. Not yet at least. Allar, the favorite to take the reins, is focused on the start of preseason camp. The Nittany Lions are only a few...

STATE COLLEGE — Oregon and Washington leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big Ten seemed to happen in a blink of an eye, surprising some fans. But James Franklin wasn’t caught off guard when the news became official on Friday. Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi and athletic director Pat Kraft...

KJ Hamler hasn’t participated in the Denver Broncos’ training camp so far this year, and with most believing the absence to be because of an injury, the speedy wide receiver took to Instagram to reveal the real reason for his absence. Hamler, who starred at Penn State from 2017-2019, announced...

Entering spring camp, wide receiver was a position of interest for Penn State. James Franklin was asked about it frequently in post-practice media sessions, and he made his stance abundantly clear after the Blue-White spring game. “As you guys know, we’ve talked about it a lot,” Franklin said April 15....

INDIANAPOLIS — Olu Fashanu has a legitimate chance to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Penn State’s stalwart left tackle has the tape. He has the size at 6-foot-6, 319 pounds. At only 20 years old, his ceiling is sky high. So it’s hard to picture...

INDIANAPOLIS — The last time James Franklin spoke to a group of media members was the afternoon of June 8. A couple of hours later, the new Big Ten scheduling model was released and generated plenty of reaction. Perhaps the biggest piece of news from that June announcement, at least...

INDIANAPOLIS – Penn State’s safety room once again will be led by a veteran player. But the Nittany Lions have needed to move on from Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown in recent years, and it will be difficult to replace that kind of production. Brisker became a key player in...