April News and Notes

I promised I'd be back later in the week, and I'm a robot of my word.  There's so much going on right now that I figured I'd just break up today's news and notes into 3 convenient sections.  Enjoy!

More notes from the Blue/White Game:
Kyle Carter looks like he's back after lingering injuries limited his effectiveness last season.  He lead all tight ends with 4 catches.  The senior will battle Jesse James and Adam Breneman, along with a now healthy Brent Wilkerson, for playing time in the fall as arguably the best TE group in the country.

We may have actually found a punter!  After Alex Butterworth graduated, there were literally ZERO punters listed on the roster.  However, converted place kicker Chris Gulla had an decent outing, averaging 39 yds/punt.  Granted, there were no punt returns in the game, but it's encouraging none the less.

Michael Mauti, the charismatic linebacker credited with keeping the 2012 team together through the sanctions, was in the booth for the second year in a row.  Decked out, per usual, in a custom suit and tie, he was every bit the class act that Penn Staters have come to know and love.  When his NFL playing days are over, Mauti should really consider a career in broadcasting because it may just be his next calling.

Selfies with James Franklin became a thing on social media from practically the first minute the new coach stepped off his plan in Happy Valley.  Well now you can add selfies with the Lion, too.  Throughout Saturday's game, fans could be seen leaning over the railing for a chance to snap a pic with their favorite mascot, and the Lion seemed all too happy to oblige.

Recruiting News
In recruiting news, Adam McLean, a 4-star DT from Maryland, became Penn State's 12 commitment for the 2015 recruiting class just hours before the Blue/White Game on Saturday.  His commitment immediately caught the interest of recruiting experts nationwide and Penn State's recruiting class was bumped up to #1 in the country!  This marks the first time since they started ranking recruiting classes that Penn State has been ranked #1.  I guess James Franklin has successfully backed up all that big talk, huh?  Here's a great piece from just before McLean committed.

Other News:
It was announced earlier this week that Penn State will have 2 night games this year, 1 home and 1 away!  First, the Nittany Lions will make history on Oct 11th as they become the first Big Ten team ever to play Michigan at the Big House, under the lights.  The Wolverines only recently started playing night games, both times against Notre Dame.  Expect Brady Hoke's crew to want revenge for that thrilling 4OT loss to Penn State last year.  Then, after the bye week, the Buckeyes come to Happy Valley for what will assuredly be the Whitehouse Game.  Look for the Lions to also have revenge on their mind after suffering one of the most humiliating defeats in school history in Columbus last season.  Can James Franklin make a huge splash in his first year by knocking off Urban Meyer's National Championship contenders?  I really hope so!

Clearly former Nittany Lion, John Urschel, wasn't content just winning the Campbell Trophy (the academic Heisman).  Last Friday's news was buried a little by all the Blue/White festivities, but Urschel picked up yet another major award, this time the James E. Sullivan Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top amateur athlete.  Congratulations again John, you are truly deserving of all the recognition in the world for your amazing accomplishments!

Last but most certainly not least, Joe Paterno was voted the greatest football coach in Big Ten history in a poll posted on ESPN's Big Ten blog.  JoePa beat out Nebraska's Tom Osborne in the final round of a March Madness style bracket full of legends like Michigan's Fielding Yost and Bo Schembechler, and Ohio State's Woody Hayes.  Some Nebraska fans seemed like poor sports when they began concocting international conspiracies, but I guess haters gonna hate.

Well, that will have to do for now.  Keep it here on the blog all offseason for everything Penn State football.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Blue/White Wrap Up

Ugh, it's tax day, one of the worst days of the year (unless you're smart and filed a long time ago like me!).  So to lighten the mood, I'd like to start today's post by giving a special shout out to friend of the blog, Sheena Hess!  Happy Birthday!!!

Ok, now that we all have the warm fuzzies, let's talk about this past Saturday's annual Blue/White Game!

Blue/White notes:

In case you didn't hear, for what felt like the first time in history, Mother Nature decided to cooperate with Blue/White Weekend this year and oh my goodness was it beautiful outside!  Hopefully, the bright blue skies were a sign of good things to come for the 2014 season.  Now, most college football experts don't put a lot of stock in spring games.  With most starters either playing sparingly or sitting out entirely there isn't much you can gather at these events.  Even I'll admit that in most cases the spring game is really just a big show for the fans and means nothing, but it's also our only taste of football (and tailgating!) for the next 4 months, so I'll take what I can get.  As for Penn State specifically, the takeaways from Saturday's glorified scrimmage were pretty much the same across the major media outlets, if they even bothered to cover the game at all.  Here are the 5 things that you should to know about Blue/White 2014.

1.) With an announced attendance of 72,000+ fans, this year's Blue/White Game was the most attended since 2009 (coming off the Nittany Lions' first Rose Bowl appearance in 15 years) and the 3rd most attended in school history.  That number also appears to be one of the most attended springs games in the country.  This came as a shock to most "experts" given that Penn State is a 7-5 team, experiencing a 5th consecutive year of declining home game attendance, who still can't go to a bowl game for another 2 years.  However, one person who wasn't shocked was new coach, James Franklin, who joked that he felt the attendance was more like 82,000 and, therefore, eclipsed his prediction of 80,000.  Either way, Coach Franklin admitted at his post-game press conference that he wasn't really surprised by the support, and thanked everyone in the community who came out.

2.) We all knew the offensive line was going to be an issue this season, but it may turn out to be an even bigger problem than previously thought.  I wrote about Miles Deiffenbach's ACL injury in my last post, but things have only gotten worse for the "big uglies."  Projected starter and senior guard, Anthony Alosi, was charged with simple assault and harassment and has been suspended indefinitely from the team.  Another potential starter, junior center Wendy Laurent, went down during the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury, while DT turned OT Brian Gaia was also injured in the second half.  The remaining patchwork line gave up 9 sacks and was basically a complete disaster all afternoon.  Here's hoping everybody heals up by summer workouts and that Herb Hand can do his magic and put together a presentable product come August 30th.  Otherwise fans - and QB Christian Hackenberg - are going to be in for a long season.

3.) The defense, on the other hand, looks much improved from last year.  Even with some depth concerns in the linebacking corps, this group looks like they could really turn some heads this season.  The secondary is a year older and has the mentality of a veteran group, while the defensive line has been praised by coaches and players alike all spring and has the luxury of being arguably the deepest unit on the field.  All told they tallied the aforementioned 9 sacks, along with 3 interceptions and a 1 fumble.  Keep an eye on these guys this year and you might just witness more than a few breakout performances.

4.) Michael O'Connor is the clear #2 QB, and it's really not even close.  Working behind a decimated offensive line with 2nd and 3rd string wide receivers, he still somehow managed to look every bit like the highly touted, blue chip prospect we all hoped for.  He led all QBs with 11 passes for 81 yds and a TD.  If Hackenberg can stay healthy this season and allow O'Connor to redshirt, Penn State should be set at quarterback for at least the next 4 years.  How many teams can say that?!

5.) Where the heck did #33 Cole Chiappialle (pronounced like "Chippie-el-lee") come from?!  The short, but very stocky walk-on RB was the clear star of the game as he smashed through a stout defense with surprising ease.  He looked like the only person in the entire stadium who could match James Franklin's energy as he bounced from sideline to sideline, changing jerseys during punts so that he could play for both teams simultaneously.  Every time a defender did manage to bring him down, he instantly jumped back up as if to say, "let's go again!"  His performance was reminiscent of this classic scene from Rudy.  When all was said and done, Chiappialle (who goes by "Chip") lead both teams in rushing with 63 yds and 2 rushing TDs on 9 attempts, and he even took a direct snap in the "wildcat" formation... seriously.  Now he still has a long way to go if he hopes to even sniff real game action, but don't be surprised if the human bowling ball manages to press Akeel Lynch for playing time.

That's all for today, but trust me there has been A LOT of Penn State football news lately.  I'll catch you all up with my Thursday post.  In the meantime, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!