Penn State category, Page 47

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State lined up for its first three plays of its final spring practice Saturday with the same decision, one that’s been emphasized over the last two months. They were going to run. The three run plays went for 11 yards, but more importantly they answered emphatically...

Penn State football coach James Franklin was visibly frustrated following his team’s 30-27 loss to Michigan State in late November 2021. When asked about the importance of running, he was succinct. “It’s important,” he said. “I want to be able to run the ball.” While Penn State wasn’t able to...

With two relatively young quarterbacks on the roster and a third potentially joining them in the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers hired David Corley as assistant quarterbacks coach. The announcement was made Tuesday. Corley, 42, was the running backs coach at Richmond in 2021 and spent the 2018 season as...

STATE COLLEGE — Sean Clifford’s revolving door of offensive coordinators at Penn State has been well-documented. In his first three years as a starting quarterback, he had three different voices in his ear, from Ricky Rahne in 2019 to Kirk Ciarrocca in 2020 to Mike Yurcich in 2021. This spring,...

After scoring more than 1,200 career points, being an all-conference player and the Patriot League men’s basketball scholar-athlete of the year, Bucknell senior Andrew Funk wanted a new challenge for his fifth year of college basketball. Funk, a 6-foot-5 guard from Warrington, didn’t have to go far to find the...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State’s offensive line has drawn the ire of fans in most years since coach James Franklin took over in 2014. The 2021 season was no different, making the current spring ball just as important as the rest when it comes to the group’s development. That progression...

Penn State football picked up a commitment from the transfer portal Tuesday morning at a major position of need. Former four-star defensive end Demeioun Robinson announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions and head coach James Franklin via his personal Twitter account. Robinson was a highly touted pass rusher in...

The Big Ten is coming. The prestigious, Power Five conference has selected the Fox Chapel Golf Club for the site of its women’s golf championships over the next two seasons. This year’s event will be from April 22-24, with a practice round on April 21. There will be six female...

Penn State landed a four-star quarterback recruit Friday, picking up a verbal commitment from Marcus Stokes of Nease High School in Florida. Stokes is rated the 17th-best quarterback recruit in the country by 247sports.com. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Stokes threw for 2,672 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions in Florida’s second-largest...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Curtis Jacobs was caught off guard when he met new Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz in December. “It was kind of funny,” the sophomore linebacker said with a laugh. “…I thought he was a little taller.” Wednesday night, Jacobs said he was surprised by something else...

Penn State landed the commitment of four-star tight end Andrew Rappleyea on Sunday, following his initial commitment to Michigan on Jan. 16. “Michigan is a great place with great people, but the reality is I committed too quickly and take full responsibility for that,” Rappleyea wrote on Twitter. “I have...

STATE COLLEGE — Sean Clifford might be returning to Penn State for his sixth college season, but it marks just the second time in his career that he’ll be working with the same offensive coordinator for the second year in a row. In Clifford’s first three years as a starter,...

Penn State’s quarterback room includes one productive, experienced leader and three very talented young followers. Sean Clifford is back for his sixth season, and he is the Nittany Lions’ projected starter when Penn State opens the season Sept. 1 at Purdue. Clifford has made 33 career starts, amassed more than...

STATE COLLEGE — It didn’t really hit him until he sat down in his seat on the plane, closed his eyes, and couldn’t focus on the place he’d be landing. Jaquan Brisker could only focus on where he had been. In a few hours, he’d be training for the NFL...

We just spent the better part of two weeks debating Steelers free agent signings and Penguins trades. So why not kick around another big deal that went down recently: sports broadcaster Joe Buck getting traded from Fox to ESPN in exchange for one college football game. Oh, and, yes, Pitt,...

Fans might be more focused on the quarterback position or on how Penn State will replace some established stars at wide receiver or safety this fall. For James Franklin, though, it’s time to start rebuilding what has been a significant problem for several seasons. As the Nittany Lions began the...

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed former Penn State defenseman Clayton Phillips to an amateur tryout contract (ATO). Phillips was a third-round pick (No. 93 overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 draft. He remains unsigned at the NHL level. In order to retain his NHL rights, the Penguins must...

DETROIT — Penn State moved closer to its ninth NCAA wrestling championship in 11 years Friday night, widening its lead in the team race as five of its six semifinalists advanced. The Nittany Lions had 108 points after the semis. Michigan, trying for its first title 45 minutes away from...

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State continued to bolster its off-field staff around coach James Franklin and company by hiring another analyst in Rod Smith. “I am extremely thankful to @coachjfranklin and the @PennStateFball program for the opportunity to serve as Offensive Analyst. My family and I are excited to start...

DETROIT — Penn State led the team race after two rounds of the NCAA wrestling championships Thursday, with six of its nine wrestlers moving to the quarterfinals. The Nittany Lions will head into Friday with 27.5 points, 5 1/2 ahead of Arizona State, which had five of its seven wrestlers...

Sandy Barbour, who provided oversight for seven of Penn State’s top 10 fundraising years off the field and numerous championships on it, announced plans Wednesday to retire this summer as the school’s vice president of intercollegiate athletics. Barbour was hired as Penn State’s ninth athletic director in 2014 before assuming...