Penn State category, Page 76
Penn State’s Lamont Wade speaks out at Pleasant Hills protest
Penn State safety Lamont Wade was on the front lines of a peaceful protest against racial injustice on Wednesday in Pleasant Hills. “If you are out here today then that means you want change,” Wade said. “And we need to see actions towards change, starting today.” Wade, a Clairton graduate,...
Penn State QB Sean Clifford uses chess to keep mind sharpVideo
The stay-at-home directives of the coronavirus pandemic have caused everyone to adjust, including starting quarterbacks of top-10 college football teams. For Penn State’s Sean Clifford, that’s meant keeping his throwing arm in shape by tossing to his younger brother, a high school senior who verbally committed as a receiver to...
Penn State ‘Gunslinger’ Sean Clifford eyes increased accuracyVideo
The coronavirus robbed him of appropriate use of his “gun” and left him without much to sling to over the past 12 weeks. But Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford still proudly plays the part. Clifford on Wednesday was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the word “GUNSLINGER” at the top,...
Penn State’s Shaka Toney pushes teammate P.J. Mustipher beyond his perceived limits
Shaka Toney earned second-team All-Big Ten honors while recording 6½ sacks last season. That makes him the sack leader among Penn State’s returning players. But that’s only part of the reason junior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher respects the Nittany Lions’ fifth-year senior defensive end. The other part stems from a...
In tough times, Penn State’s P.J. Mustipher eager for a return to comforts of State College
P.J. Mustipher wants to return to Penn State’s campus for an obvious reason: He loves playing football for the Nittany Lions and is beyond ready to begin preparing for the 2020 season. It’s nice back home in Owings Mills, Md., but it’s time to get to work. “I’m so eager,”...
Penn State’s C.J. Thorpe sends peaceful, but powerful, message during State College rallyVideo
At 6-foot-3, 328 pounds, C.J. Thorpe has no trouble making his presence known on the football field. But in front of a crowd of hundreds Sunday in State College, the Penn State senior offensive lineman made an impact in another way: using his words and thoughts in an effort to...
Big Ten recruiting rankings: Ohio State, Michigan stay on top with Penn State positioned to surge
The Big Ten recruiting race has continued at a blistering pace despite the coronavirus pandemic, and while the usual suspects remain atop the conference’s rankings, there are some upstart challengers in the top five. It should be interesting to see how everything plays out, especially with no sign of when...
Aspiring sports broadcaster from Latrobe wins inaugural Rick Starr Award
In the not too distant future, Hannah Mears envisions herself standing on the sideline at a packed professional stadium or arena, microphone in hand and dream realized, chiming in on what is happening in the big game. The recent Penn State graduate already can’t wait for the first timeout so...
Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth eager to embrace lofty goals
Don’t bother trying to contact Pat Freiermuth on social media. “I actually deleted my social media a week ago,” the Penn State tight end said Wednesday. If you see one of those too-soon NFL mock drafts projecting Freiermuth as a 2021 first-round choice, he would rather not talk about it...
Penn State football player says he was target of racial slur at Ohio gas stop
While his son is a big, strong college football player, Artrell Hawkins Jr. knows size and strength won’t protect the young man from every danger he might encounter. That’s why Hawkins met Sunday with police in Cambridge, Ohio — a day after Aeneas Hawkins, who is black, said he was...
Penn State’s Maddie Holmberg named track All-American
Maddie Holmberg’s career at Penn State isn’t quite over. It was announced recently that she was granted another season to compete in track and field for the Nittany Lions. On top of that, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Tuesday that Holmberg, along with...
Clairton’s Lamont Wade approaches senior year at Penn State, learns to confront change
The world is changing for Clairton’s Lamont Wade as he approaches his senior season at Penn State. And the covid-19 pandemic that canceled spring football and threatens the structure — if not the entirety — of the 2020 season is only partially responsible. He is 21 years old now, a...
Penn State’s Shane Simmons finds positives amid uncertaintyVideo
The loss of the time spent bonding with teammates has been the gain of priceless family time. Missing on-field work for the purpose of fine-tuning skills for the best senior season possible is difficult, but the abundance of free time has allowed for personal exploration into newfound hobbies. For Penn...
Shaka Toney’s turn to serve as Penn State leader, provide NFL-caliber pass rush
Shaka Toney didn’t take long to make a positive first impression on his new position coach. So imagine what some of Toney’s Penn State teammates who have known him for three or four years think about him. “He’s well respected among our teammates,” Nittany Lions cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields said, “so...
Penn State counting on Tariq Castro-Fields to be leader, lockdown corner as a senior
Tariq Castro-Fields is well aware what Penn State expects of him this season, as he’s being counted on to be both a leader and a lockdown defender at cornerback. What Castro-Fields didn’t know is that none of the 37 Nittany Lions selected in the first round of the NFL Draft...
Even without lead ‘Wild Dog,’ Penn State D-line expects to remain strength
Two of last year’s most prominent Wild Dogs have moved on from Penn State. The leader of the pack has, too. But the Nittany Lions defensive line believes it can still be dogged. Plenty of talent remains at defensive end and tackle for Penn State in 2020, even if a...
Pitt, Penn State, Duquesne athletes beat national averages in classroom progress
Student-athletes from Penn State, Pitt and Duquesne surpassed national averages in academic progress over the past four years, according to data released Tuesday by the NCAA. At Penn State, a school-record 20 teams earned perfect APR scores of 1,000 during the 2018-19 academic year, an increase of seven from the...
Virus has NFL prospects pondering threat of a lost season
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Joe Burrow was a competent if unspectacular quarterback as a backup at Ohio State and during his first post-transfer season at LSU. In 2019, he transformed into Super Joe. Imagine if a pandemic had shortened or wiped out that last, golden season for Burrow, who won the...
Senior offensive linemen Michal Menet, Will Fries don’t second-guess decision to return to PSU
When school was in session, Michal Menet’s days were structured almost like he was back on Penn State’s campus. “You can roll out of bed, make some breakfast, sit down and do your class,” the Nittany Lions’ fifth-year senior center said Wednesday. But the semester has ended, exams are finished,...
Former WPIAL great Tanisha Wright starts WNBA coaching career in Las Vegas
Tanisha Wright retired from the WNBA in 2019 to cap a 14-year playing career. Now the former West Mifflin and Penn State star is returning to the women’s professional league as a coach. Wright on Wednesday was named an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces, coached by former Detroit Pistons...
Penn State defenseman Cole Hults named Big Ten Player of the Year
Former Penn State defenseman Cole Hults has been named Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Hults is the first player in the history of Penn State’s program, which opened NCAA play in 2012-13, to claim the honor. As a junior this season, Hults appeared...
6 Penn State players sign undrafted free agent contracts in NFL
Six undrafted Penn State players have signed with NFL teams, giving the Nittany Lions a total of 11 preparing for professional football camps this summer. The undrafted players include: • Tight end Nick Bowers, a Kittanning graduate (Las Vegas Raiders), a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. • Wide receiver Dan...
Penn State picks up football commitment from ex-Clemson baseball recruit Lonnie White Jr.
Penn State’s latest football recruit switched not only his choice of schools but also his choice of sports to join the Nittany Lions. Malvern Prep athlete Lonnie White Jr. made a verbal commitment to Penn State on Thursday, becoming the school’s 12th recruit from the class of 2021. White, 6-foot-2,...
Penn State’s James Franklin ‘confident … hopeful’ season of some sort will occurVideo
James Franklin has heard all the possible scenarios for how to safely begin and maintain the college football season in this year of the global pandemic. They include a shortened season, delayed season, full season with fans or full season with partial fans. Almost anything is up for discussion. “I’m...
Big Ten extends suspension of athletics through June 1
After previously canceling all organized team activities, including spring sports, through the end of the academic year, the Big Ten Conference on Monday extended the suspension through June 1. The conference said in a statement it will re-evaluate at that time. “The Big Ten Conference will continue to use this...
