Penn State category, Page 39

PASADENA, Calif. — Under drizzling rain, Penn State’s players filed off buses toward a tent steps from the Rose Bowl. For the veterans, this was just another press junket, something they have done countless times. But for the freshmen, this was the first time they were speaking to media members...

LOS ANGELES — After Penn State found out it was heading to the Rose Bowl, Sean Clifford posted a photo of himself in front of the stadium when he was 11 years old and said, “dreams come true.” Utah’s Cameron Rising nearly made his dream of leading his team to...

LOS ANGELES — Tyler Warren started playing at Penn State in 2020. Nothing about that covid-19-hindered season made sense to him. “Really, like my first year of college football, it’s more like 2021 from a normality perspective,” the Nittany Lions’ third-year sophomore tight end said. “It was really its own...

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the year began with a victory lap of sorts and one final playoff appearance for Ben Roethlisberger. It ended with the Steelers breaking in a new quarterback and reeling from the sudden loss of one of the franchise’s all-time great players. Before he retired, Roethlisberger guided...

LOS ANGELES — Mitchell Tinsley’s journey to the Rose Bowl was improbable. The Penn State wide receiver knows that better than anyone. “I’m still trying to grasp it,” Tinsley said with a smile Thursday at the Sheraton Grand in downtown Los Angeles. “It’s definitely surreal.” When the No. 11 Nittany...

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Not even the “Granddaddy” of all bowl games is immune from opt-outs. There will be some notable names missing when seventh-ranked Utah faces ninth-ranked Penn State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, but the absence of the likes of Utes tight end Dalton Kincaid and Nittany...

Two weeks ago, Brenton Strange acknowledged he had a “life-changing decision” on his hands: come back to Penn State for the 2023 season or declare for the NFL draft. “I haven’t really made any decisions yet,” Strange said at Penn State’s Rose Bowl media day at Beaver Stadium. “But I’d...

Which Penn State defense will show up Jan. 2 when James Franklin’s 10-2 Nittany Lions face 10-3 Utah in the Rose Bowl? Will it be the one that was gouged for 418 rushing yards by unbeaten Michigan in the Wolverines’ 41-17 win over PSU in Ann Arbor on Oct. 15?...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State’s 2022 defense was one of the Big Ten’s most disruptive units during the regular season. The Nittany Lions’ fan base will get one more look at coordinator Manny Diaz’s troops when the 10-2 Nittany Lions face 10-3 Utah in the Jan. 2 Rose Bowl. Penn...

From 7 a.m. until noon, James Franklin sat in the same chair in the Lasch Building with coaches and staffers surrounding him. There was NFL Draft music, and there were former Penn State standouts like Tamba Hali, Pat Freiermuth, Paul Posluszny and Jaquan Brisker calling in to announce the future...

Before Franco Harris became a four-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer, he was one of the greatest running backs in Penn State history. Penn State coaches, administrators and former players mourned Harris’ passing Wednesday, remembering a player who helped form one of the nation’s top backfields...

Already holding an insurmountable lead, it didn’t really affect the outcome of the game. But the play of the day during Penn State’s win at Indiana last month was Drew Allar’s bullet to Harrison Wallace III. Allar rolled right and, instead of waltzing into the end zone himself from a...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jalen Pickett scored 16 points, Andrew Funk added 15 and Penn State turned up the defense in the second half to roll to a 97-67 win over Canisius on Sunday. Pickett had 13 points and the Nittany Lions shot 56% in the first half but the...

STATE COLLEGE — The list of college defensive coordinators who had a better year than Penn State’s Manny Diaz is a short one. The Lions’ first-year DC directed one of the top units in the Big Ten. Penn State finished fifth in the conference in scoring defense (18 points per...

STATE COLLEGE — Iconic Beaver Stadium has been around since 1960. And Penn State AD Pat Kraft intends to make sure the current home of the Nittany Lions is the future home of the program. Renovation is the word to associate with Beaver Stadium moving forward. Kraft also made it...

Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr., the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, was named second-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Wednesday. It is Porter’s fourth All-American honor after he was selected second-team by Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America and the Walter...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Andrew Funk and Myles Dread combined for 11 3-pointers to give Penn State a 74-59 win over No. 17 Illinois on Saturday. Funk and Jalen Pickett led all scorers with 20 points each, Seth Lundy added 16 and Dread had 15 to give the Nittany Lions (7-3,...

Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey is joined by teammates Izzy Abanikanda and Erick Hallett II on the Football Writers Association of America All-America Team, released Friday. It was the second All-America honor for Kancey in two days after he was named to the Walter Camp first team Thursday. The FWAA...

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is The Associated Press Big Ten offensive player of the year, Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell is defensive player of the year and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh is coach of the year. Stroud and Campbell are among five unanimous picks to the All-Big Ten first team in...

Penn State has reason for optimism next year. Left tackle Olu Fashanu, a possible top-10 pick in the NFL draft, is coming back. True freshmen Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen totaled 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground in their debut season. And five-star phenom Drew Allar is set...