Penn State category, Page 77
Penn State receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield seeks to maintain the K.J. Hamler standard
Penn State’s spring depth chart was released last Saturday, but wide receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield warned his players not to pay special attention to it. In fact, he suggested it was written in water colors that easily could disappear. After all, it is April, and the first game isn’t scheduled...
Will Penn State really allow Micah Parsons to return kickoffs?
When Micah Parsons most recently wore shoulder pads, he terrorized Memphis ball carriers in one of the greatest all-time defensive spectacles by a Penn State linebacker. He recorded 14 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in a 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory. After the game, Parsons talked of winning the...
PSU special teams coach Joe Lorig fishing for football, and maybe a day off to fish
During his Zoom conference call with reporters Tuesday, Penn State special teams/outside linebackers coach Joe Lorig talked about two of his favorite topics — kickers and fishing. Lorig said senior Jordan Stout will replace punter Blake Gilliken. But he’ll also handle his accustomed kickoff and long field goal duties and...
Penn State’s John Reid undervalued as CB prospect, draft analysts believe
Penn State is expected to have one former player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday in pass rusher Yetur Gross-Matos. Another Nittany Lions alum will go on the second day when wide receiver K.J. Hamler gets the call. Others will be taken on the third...
North Allegheny’s Joey Porter Jr. could be primed to break out for Penn State
The Penn State football program signed one of its best cornerback recruiting classes in recent memory last year. Four-stars Keaton Ellis, Marquis Wilson and Joey Porter Jr. all joined the program, along with three-star Daequan Hardy. Ellis and Wilson quickly moved up the depth chart and saw meaningful playing time...
RMU’s Chris King on challenges athletic directors face because of covid-19
First-year Robert Morris athletic director Chris King had just gone through a full week of overseeing his teams barrel through playoff performances. The men’s basketball team had just won the NEC Tournament at the brand-new UPMC Events Center. His women’s team finished 17-1 in conference play. The men’s hockey team...
Freshman basketball star Rodney Gallagher gets football offer from Penn State
It’s not surprising that Rodney Gallagher received a scholarship offer from Penn State on Wednesday. Colleges from all over the country are sure to be lining up to secure the services of the Laurel Highlands freshman in the coming months. What might be a little surprising is the Nittany Lions...
Terry Smith finds one of his many niches on Penn State’s coaching staff
Terry Smith won 101 games and led Gateway High School to four WPIAL championship games while serving for more than a decade as football coach and athletic director at his alma mater. He holds a coveted berth in the WPIAL Hall of Fame. On Wednesday, he spoke of a high...
Recruiting calls keep Penn State’s Terry Smith busy
Penn State might get about 10 fewer names on national letters of intent than it received last year, but that doesn’t mean Terry Smith’s job will be any easier. While quarantined at home, Smith said he is on his phone so much that at night he’s forced to give in...
Journey Brown leads Penn State’s deep stable of running backsVideo
Ja’Juan Seider meant no disrespect when he arrived at Penn State to coach running backs two years ago and declared Journey Brown was “a track kid playing football.” Of course, that’s what Brown was. He won back-to-back 100-meter PIAA Class AAA championships at Meadville, clocking 10.73 seconds in 2016 and...
Penn State gets commitments from three prospects in a busy afternoon
Penn State received verbal commitments from three prospects within an hour’s time Friday afternoon. Four-star safety Jaylen Reed of Detroit posted on Twitter his intention to enroll Thursday night. Then, four-star safety Zakee Wheatley of Severn, Md., and four-star cornerback Kalen King of Cass Technical in Detroit committed Friday afternoon,...
Penn State coaches will seek big plays, leadership from Clairton’s Lamont Wade
Whether Lamont Wade was at Clairton or Penn State, one or two doses of a good thing wasn’t enough. While leading Clairton to the WPIAL Class 1A championship in 2016, he returned interceptions for touchdowns in three consecutive playoff games. The last of the picks turned into an 83-yard score...
New Penn State OC Kirk Ciarrocca learns to ‘adapt, overcome’
The only time Kirk Ciarrocca had an opportunity to watch Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford throw a football, he didn’t pay close attention. Penn State’s first-year offensive coordinator was fixated on Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan, who completed 18 of 20 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-26 victory...
Penn State linebacker Cam Brown confident he fits in today’s NFLVideo
Cam Brown saw how the NFL was changing when he entered college four years ago. The Penn State linebacker noticed the influence high-powered spread systems had. NFL teams are employing quick, rangy linebackers to contend with more skilled tight ends who line up split wide and running backs who can...
Penn State AD: Football season could be played in ‘nontraditional’ spot on calendarVideo
Based on the resolute attitude of athletic director Sandy Barbour and the financial realities of the situation, it seems, at the moment, somewhat unlikely the Penn State football season will be canceled entirely. Based on the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic gripping the country, it seems unlikely the season will...
Penn State 1st-year coordinator faces difficulties without spring practice
The time between practice sessions might be longer for Penn State than other programs. Penn State wasn’t scheduled to start spring practice until March 18. The coronavirus shutdown started six days before that, and it has progressed into its third week with no end in sight. The last time Penn...
Former Penn State national champion wrestler Frank Molinaro retiresVideo
Former Penn State national champ, volunteer assistant coach and 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro announced his retirement from wrestling Tuesday on FloWrestling Radio Live. Molinaro planned to “go for broke” to make his second Olympic Team this year. If he made it, he’d retire at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. If he...
Penn State defensive meetings dig into more than football
If you wonder what college football coaches are doing to pass the time these days, Brent Pry is one guy keeping himself busy. And it’s not all football for Penn State’s defensive coordinator. “For us, there is a lot of Zoom (conference calls) going on (with staff, players and extended...
Time at Penn State helps track and field standout Holmberg prepare for futureVideo
Maddie Holmberg was staring at a premature end to her decorated track and field career at Penn State. The Hempfield grad was in her final semester of athletic eligibility when the spread of covid-19 wiped out spring sports season. She was coming off an indoor season in which she won...
How is Penn State football continuing to recruit amid coronavirus pandemic?Video
Penn State landed its third verbal commitment in the Class of 2021 on Thursday when four-star offensive lineman Landon Tengwall picked the Lions over Notre Dame. It was the latest sign recruiting is continuing across the college football landscape, even if universities have moved classes online while spring practices have...
Isolated college coaches, players deal with change in recruiting landscape
When it’s time to get serious about next football season, Ethan Carr will get down on the floor and do a series of push-ups and sit-ups, followed by some challenging pull-ups. Then, he might open the front door and run through the mostly deserted streets of Harrison City. It is...
Penn State receives commitment from coveted 2021 offensive line prospect
Penn State landed an important verbal commitment Thursday when four-star offensive tackle Landon Tengwall announced on a Twitter video his plans to enroll next year. Tengwall, a member of the Class of 2021 at Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md., is rated one of the best offensive linemen in...
Penn State’s James Franklin deals with coronavirus reality
The problems presented by the shutdown of the football program at Penn State stretch all the way from James Franklin’s condo, back to campus and onto the front lawns of every player who is home at a time when he expected to be at practice. Still, they pale in comparison...
Penn State WR KJ Hamler does best to prepare for NFL DraftVideo
Among the initiatives taken by the NFL at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic was eliminating in-house visits by draft prospects. That decision, coupled by most college programs canceling their pro day workouts because of the outbreak, has limited the opportunities for players to impress scouts and coaches heading into...
Penn State finishes 8th in final college hockey poll
The Penn State hockey team will never know how the most promising season in program history would have turned out on the ice. The Big Ten and NCAA tournaments have, of course, been canceled. On paper, though, the Nittany Lions finished as the eighth-best team in the country. Penn State...
