Penn State category, Page 75
Former Penn State women’s soccer standout Rodriguez ready for NWSL tournamentVideo
PORTLAND, Ore. — Raquel Rodriguez was on her way to join her new National Women’s Soccer League team when sports suddenly were shut down by the coronavirus. It wasn’t an ideal start for the Costa Rican striker with the Portland Thorns. Rodriguez, a former Penn State standout, nonetheless bonded —...
Penn State’s Jake Pinegar knows what it takes: ‘Sanitize, spray, wipe, clean’
Back home in Ankeny, Iowa, Jake Pinegar could do almost anything. He was a champion hurdler and record-setting long jumper (21 feet, 7 inches) and high jumper (6-2). All-conference three times in soccer, he also found time to play defensive back on the football team and set the school record...
Two transfers, three freshman round out Penn State women’s basketball recruiting class
Two transfers and three freshmen headline the 2020 Penn State women’s basketball recruiting class, which was announced Monday by the university. None of the additional recruits is from Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions signed Maddie Burke (Central Bucks West, Doylestown), Kaci Donovan (Owego, N.Y.), Nan Garcia (Jeffersonville, Ind.) and Leilani Kapinus...
Penn State, West Virginia scheduled to play in December hoops event in Brooklyn
Penn State and West Virginia are among the teams scheduled to play as part of a quadrupleheader basketball event Dec. 13 in Brooklyn. The Nittany Lions are to face Florida, and the Mountaineers are to play Purdue as part of the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at Barclays...
Bulked-up RB Noah Cain primed for big sophomore season for Penn State
Noah Cain made it a point as a true freshman last year to prove to his coaches that he was mentally mature. Then, during the offseason, his body physically matured. The combination could contribute to a breakout 2020 for a player who showed plenty of promise in limited action in...
Craig Heyward, Steve Wisniewski among those on 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot
Craig Heyward, Steve Wisniewski and Matt Cavanaugh are among those with local ties who were listed on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 that was announced Tuesday. Heyward was a 1987 consensus All-American after leading the nation in rushing yards for Pitt. The late...
Penn State’s Micah Parsons ready to ‘step out of comfort zone’ as leader, still ‘be dominant’
Since the early days of his recruitment as a highly sought-after high school prospect in Harrisburg, Micah Parsons has been known for his outgoing, gregarious personality. But now that over the span of about 18 months Parsons has moved on from being a precocious Penn State freshman to a veteran...
Former Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg trying to switch to baseball
Could former Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg be the next Tim Tebow? Like Tebow, Hackenberg is looking to make the switch from the football field to the baseball diamond after fizzling out in the NFL. “I feel like I’ve got a lot left in the tank,” Hackenberg told NBC Philadelphia....
Wide receiver Jahan Dotson embraces chance to replace lost parts at Penn State
Wide receiver Jahan Dotson may show up Monday at the first day of Penn State’s voluntary conditioning drills, armed with a bit more motivation than many of his teammates. The urge to prove everyone wrong can be a powerful force. At least, that’s the hope. “A lot of people have...
Pitt, Penn State defenders named to preseason Walter Camp All-American team
College football is still months away, but the honors are rolling in for Pitt and Penn State players. Pitt defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman and Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons were named to the Walter Camp Preseason All-American team. (Twyman and Parsons earned second-team regular-season honors in 2019.) Twyman finished the...
Cornerback Keaton Ellis followed his dream to Penn State, now looking for starting jobVideo
The first steps taken in the direction of Keaton Ellis’ dream occurred when he ran a 4.39-second 40-yard dash at a Penn State camp. It was late spring, 2017. He hadn’t even started his junior year at State College High School. Later that day, when coach James Franklin invited him...
Report: NCAA will vote on early start to summer football drills
College football players recently unleashed from coronavirus quarantine might be permitted to interact with coaches at workouts as early as two days after the Fourth of July. After spring practices were either truncated or canceled by covid-19, the NCAA Division I Oversight Committee is expected to vote June 17 on...
Penn State football gets a verbal commitment… from a high school freshmanVideo
A highly regarded athlete made a verbal commitment to the Penn State football program Monday. He’s not projected to make it into a game for the Nittany Lions, though, until at least 2023. Mathias Barnwell, a high school freshman from Virginia, announced his intention to attend Penn State via a...
Penn State’s Micah Parsons betting favorite to be top defensive player drafted in ’21Video
Penn State’s Micah Parsons is projected to be one of the top linebackers in college football this coming season as a junior. He also has become a sportsbook favorite to be highly coveted in next spring’s NFL Draft. Parsons had the best betting odds of any defensive player to go...
Penn State’s return to campus begins Monday with 75 football players
The first phase of Penn State athletes returning to campus after a nearly three-month shutdown will begin Monday with 75 football players. Penn State officials released a series of protocols Thursday night that includes quarantine and testing. Those athletes who are medically cleared may participate in voluntary on-campus workouts beginning...
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...
