Penn State category, Page 49
Freshman Drew Allar named Penn State’s backup quarterback
James Franklin’s Monday morning press conference offered a bit of a surprise: true freshman Drew Allar will be Penn State’s backup quarterback at Purdue. Allar, rated as high as a five-star prospect by 247 Sports, beat out redshirt freshman Christian Veilleux for the No. 2 job behind veteran Sean Clifford....
Penn State preparing for challenges Purdue presents
Penn State’s preparations for its season-opening Big Ten contest Thursday at Purdue are more challenging than they might look. James Franklin and his defensive coaches know they must slow Boilermakers veteran quarterback Aidan O’Connell, a sixth-year player like the Nittany Lions’ Sean Clifford. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound O’Connell, who joined the...
Penn State preview: 5 storylines to monitor as Nittany Lions prepare to start 2022 campaign
Penn State’s football season is just around the corner, with a game looming against Purdue on Thursday in West Lafayette, Ind. Here are five storylines that could be key to success for the Nittany Lions in 2022. 1. Do or die with O-line Offensive line is the position group that,...
Penn State working on plan to sell alcohol in Beaver Stadium for 2022 season, sources say
Penn State may have found a new revenue stream. The university is exploring selling alcohol on the concourse in Beaver Stadium this season, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Centre Daily Times. The current plan is to have sales for the team’s second home game of the...
‘The it factor’: Why Penn State freshmen Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen will play right away
Ja’Juan Seider has a good idea who will take Penn State’s first carry of the season next Thursday at Purdue. He’s not going to say who, of course. It could be Keyvone Lee, last year’s top rusher. It could be veteran Devyn Ford. It could be freshmen Nick Singleton or...
Sean Clifford, Jonathan Sutherland named Penn State captains for record 4th time
Penn State named six captains for the 2022 football season Thursday, making history with two of the choices. Redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford and linebacker Jonathan Sutherland became the first four-time captains in program history. The addition of an extra year of eligibility for players on the roster during the...
B1G deal: Big Ten lands $7 billion, NFL-style TV contracts
The Big Ten’s new $7 billion media rights deal will string the conference’s top football games across three major networks each week, creating an NFL-style television schedule on Saturdays. The Big Ten announced Thursday it has reached seven-year agreements with Fox, CBS and NBC to share the rights to the...
Penn State’s James Franklin addresses transfers, position battles, moreVideo
Since James Franklin addressed the media last week, two former blue-chip recruits left the program. On Saturday, running back Caziah Holmes was removed from Penn State’s roster. Two days later, defensive end Ken Talley entered the transfer portal. Not surprisingly, those were the first two questions Franklin fielded Wednesday. “In...
Penn State’s Sean Clifford hoping 6th season is charm
STATE COLLEGE — In six years at Penn State, Sean Clifford has earned two degrees, learned four offenses and even started his own player promotion company. But Penn State’s quarterback came back for one reason. “It’s all ball,” Clifford said. “That’s the main priority right now.” The 24-year-old veteran, now...
Offensive line will play key role in Penn State’s quest for success
STATE COLLEGE — The spotlight has been on Penn State’s offensive line since James Franklin arrived before the 2014 season. It remains there because the unit has been a problem area for long stretches. The play of the offensive line was a major issue last season, and Penn State will...
James Franklin evaluates Penn State’s early practices, performance of freshmen players
STATE COLLEGE — As Penn State’s Sept. 1 season-opening date at Purdue inches closer, the leader of the Nittany Lions’ program has learned plenty about a team attempting to rebound from a 7-6 finish in 2021. James Franklin, in his ninth season, is supervising a 2022 group that features a...
AP sources: ESPN out of Big Ten TV rights negotiations
As the Big Ten prepares to become a 16-team, coast-to-coast superconference with the additions of USC and UCLA in 2024, it is ending a 40-year relationship with ESPN and moving toward partnerships with two new networks. Two people familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the...
Mike Yurcich ready for Year 2 running Penn State’s offense
STATE COLLEGE — Mike Yurcich’s first year at Penn State did not go as planned. The offensive coordinator presided over a unit that averaged just 3.2 rushing yards per attempt and scored an average of 25 points per contest. Those numbers must improve in Year 2, and improvement is likely...
First-year Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz opens up about each level of Nittany Lions defense
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State coach James Franklin is in his ninth season with the Nittany Lions, but this is his first season without Brent Pry. The former PSU defensive coordinator is now Virginia Tech’s head coach. Manny Diaz was Franklin’s choice to replace Pry. Diaz, formerly the Miami head...
North Allegheny grad Joey Porter Jr. stands out among Penn State’s defensive backs
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State hasn’t had many cornerbacks like Joey Porter Jr. Few possess his raw talent. Even fewer are built like him. Porter is already a 2023 first-round projection in several mock drafts. The North Allegheny grad, the son of Pittsburgh Steelers great Joey Porter, was a third-team...
After 2 disappointing seasons, James Franklin likes Penn State’s depth, but question marks remain
Something Penn State players, coaches, fans and administrators probably would agree on is the Nittany Lions have fallen well short of expectations over the past two seasons. The covid-impacted 2020 campaign was something of a mulligan for all college football programs (those lucky enough to even play a season), but...
Friday Football Footnotes: Ben Roethlisberger’s name dragged into Deshaun Watson mess; J.K. Dobbins, Saquon Barkley making comebacks
“Friday Football Footnotes” this week looks at how Ben Roethlisberger’s name is getting dragged into the suspension wrangling of Deshaun Watson. J.K. Dobbins and Saquon Barkley are looking to make big comebacks in 2022. And there are legal problems in Arizona. Watson’s ‘whataboutism’ Apparently, Deshaun Watson’s legal camp is going...
New Penn State AD Pat Kraft discusses Big Ten scheduling issue, future of Beaver Stadium
INDIANAPOLIS — Pat Kraft is less than a month into his tenure as Penn State’s athletic director. And he has plenty of interesting ideas about shaping the future of collegiate sports in State College. Kraft, formerly the athletic director at Boston College and Temple, was also a walk-on football player...
Penn State’s Sean Clifford among old-guy QBs in Big TenVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The story of Sean Clifford and Tanner Morgan’s began on a seventh-grade football field. Their final scheduled matchup is Oct. 22 when Minnesota visits Penn State. In between, the two quarterbacks followed one another’s journeys through high school and the recruiting process, the natural ups and downs of...
Penn State’s James Franklin optimistic about PJ Mustipher’s health, talks about depth at QB at Big Ten Media Days
INDIANAPOLIS — Penn State’s James Franklin, now in his ninth season, used part of his opening press conference at Big Ten Media Days to break down some of the strengths of the Nittany Lions entering training camp. Franklin is also aware of the significant challenge facing Penn State in the...
Big Ten’s expansion further damages Rose Bowl’s status
INDIANAPOLIS — Playing in the Rose Bowl was the pinnacle of a college football career for those who coached and played in the Big Ten for decades. The Rose Bowl’s importance has been waning for years as college football’s postseason evolved. The latest expansion by the Big Ten puts the...
Bold, aggressive Big Ten leaves door open for more expansion
INDIANAPOLIS — Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren talked Tuesday about the conference being bold and aggressive as college sports goes through a period of sweeping change and left the door open for more expansion after the league added Southern California and UCLA. Warren’s opening remarks to begin Big Ten football...
‘Commander on the field,’ ex-Pine-Richland, Penn State catcher Matt Wood selected in 4th round by Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers selected former Pine-Richland and Penn State catcher Matt Wood in the fourth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, perhaps impressed by the take-charge attitude he has cultivated throughout his baseball career. “You’re the commander on the field,” he said from his home in Gibsonia. “You get...
Penn State lands another top Pa. recruit, Scranton Prep RB London Montgomery
Penn State coach James Franklin received a verbal commitment Monday from running back London Montgomery, who rushed for 2,356 yards and 36 touchdowns in only 10 games last season for Scranton Prep. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Penn State Nittany Lions (@psudylan) Montgomery’s pledge gives the...
Strong season at Penn State puts Pine-Richland grad Matt Wood on radar for MLB teams
Matt Wood did everything he could on the diamond this spring to open the eyes of Major League Baseball scouts, and soon he’ll see if he’ll get the chance to play professionally. Wood, a Pine-Richland grad, slashed an impressive .379/.480/.667 with 15 doubles, a dozen homers and 53 RBIs this...
