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!

Spring News and Notes

Is winter over yet?  I don't know about the rest of you, but it was snowing/sleeting in Harrisburg yesterday, and snowing this morning here in the Philly burbs... on the last day of March... because apparently we didn't get enough of that this year. *sigh*

Thankfully spring is just around the corner, with its warm sunshine and gentle breezes.  More importantly, each year the blooming flowers and frolicking baby animals bring with them one of the best weekends on the calendar: Blue/White!  Now, the sounds of whistles and large men in pads slamming into each other have been echoing throughout Happy Valley for a few weeks already, and all that practicing will culminate on April 12 in James Franklin's first Spring Game as head coach of Penn State.  It may just be a glorified scrimmage, but Penn Staters will take any excuse to tailgate and finally watch some football, especially after the aforementioned winter.  Not to mention, the entire weekend serves as a very welcome reminder that the 2014 football season is getting closer.  

So with that thought, let's get the bad news out of the way first (don't worry, there's plenty of good news to make up for it).  Starting left guard and team funny man, Miles Dieffenbach, will be out the rest of spring and summer drills, and possibly the entire 2014 season, with a torn ACL.  Offensive line was already the thinnest position on the team - although obviously I'm not talking about their physical stature - and this injury could be the most costly Penn State has seen since Michael Mauti went down against Indiana in 2012.  Dieffenbach is a fifth year senior who was a mainstay on Bill O'Brien's lines the last two seasons.  Along with mammoth left tackle Donovan Smith, Dieffenbach was expected to help bring along a small but talented group of linemen with essentially no playing experience at the college level.  The offensive line is now the biggest question mark on the team, but I have confidence in O-line coach, Herb Hand (who, if you're not following on Twitter, you're doing it wrong) and Coach Franklin to figure it out.  They'll most likely have to think twice about redshirting one or more of the incoming offensive line recruits.  That means Noah Beh, Brendan Brosnan, Chance Sorrell, and Chasz Wright had better be quick learners.  This will be a great opportunity for them to earn some quality playing time earlier than anticipated.  In the meantime, get better Miles!  

Now, on to better news!  Spring is a time before teams have to actually prove anything on the field.  Therefore, optimism is at an all time high for just about every fan base across the country.  Still, I get the sense that Penn Staters are feeling even more hopeful than most, and rightfully so.  When James Franklin was hired, I'll admit that I was hooked from his introductory press conference.  He said all the right things, oozed energy and charisma, and had me instantly thinking, "I'm all in!"  But there were skeptics and critics who pondered (quite loudly) whether it was all just an act, and if Franklin could really back up the hype.  Well, although we'll have to wait a little while longer to see if he can actually coach, one area in which Franklin has proved to be worth that $4.25 million per year salary has been recruiting.  I'll start by just leaving this here.

Recruiting update:

When we last left off, James Franklin and Company were sprinting ahead of every other team in the Big Ten, and on pace to compete with the biggest names in college football recruiting.  They had 8 highly touted prospects lined up and were ranked 4th nationally.  Well, apparently that just wasn't good enough for the human can of Red Bull.  This past Tuesday, 4-star WR Brandon Polk (who supposedly runs a mind-boggling 4.36 40-yd dash!) committed to play for the Lions, bringing some of that "SEC speed" we've heard so much about with him.  But Franklin wasn't done.  By Saturday afternoon, 4-star OG Steven Gonzalez, long thought to be an Ohio State lean, surprised everyone by committing to the Lions as well.  And then, in an embarrassing avalanche of riches, on Sunday, 4-star LB Josh Barajas, the #1 ranked player in Indiana, also made his decision to play at Penn State.  The barrage of commitments shot Penn State's 2015 recruiting class up to a staggering #2 in the national rankings.  That's no surprise considering, at a time when most teams are lucky to have 3 commits on board, Penn State has 11, 8 of whom are rated as 4-star!  If James Franklin can coach even half as well as he recruits, all that National Championship talk might not be so far fetched after all.  You can check out a complete list of the entire class here.

Alright folks, barring another influx of talent to State College, I most likely won't have another post until just before Blue/White.  Maybe I'll even put together something extra special just in time for the big weekend.  Either way, keep it here on the blog all offseason, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Spring Practice Update

Well hello everyone!  We're still languishing in the middle of the "silly season" when stories that wouldn't even see the light of day in the fall are headline news.  Yet, we press on.  I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day, a fitting holiday given that Penn State will open the coming season in Dublin, Ireland against the Golden Knights of Central Florida.  Still, before that can happen, the coaching staff has 15 spring practices to formally meet and evaluate their players, install their offensive and defensive systems/philosophies, and create a roster.  Spring practice will then culminate in the annual Blue/White Game on April 12, which will once again be run like an actual game rather than the offense vs defense approach that Bill O'Brien employed the last 2 seasons, and confused the crap out of most fans.

James Franklin kicked off spring practice yesterday with a press conference where he started by discussing his 4 core principles: positive attitude, unbelievable work ethic, compete in everything you do, and sacrifice (which you can hear in the video here).  He drew a few eye rolls when he mentioned his “tag off” practicing strategy - a glorified version of 2-hand touch that brought back memories of O'Brien's infamous “thud” tackling.  Obviously, this tactic is used to cut back on injuries to an already thin roster, but for some reason it always gets reporters worked up.  He then moved on to talk about the obligatory position changes that always come with spring ball.  Due to various depth concerns, Anthony Zettel will move from DE to DT, while Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia will move from the D-line to the O-line (most likely OG).  But my favorite moment of the press conference came when James Franklin described the non-stop pace he likes to practice at, saying, “there is no walking on the field ever. I told them the first day if you don't know where you're supposed to go or what you're doing when the horn blows, then sprint in a circle until you figure it out.”

In recruiting news, James Franklin picked up yet another recruit over the weekend, bringing the 2015 class up to 8 commits, and Penn State’s class ranking up to an astounding #4 nationally.  Now it’s still very early, but this is a great sign of what we can expect from Coach Franklin and his staff regarding recruiting.  If they can keep up the pace, Penn State might land their first Top 10 class since 2006!  The new commit is 4-star WR Juwan Johnson from New Jersey.  He joins 7 other future Nittany Lions:

ATH Kamonte Carter – MD (4 stars)

RB Andre Robinson – PA (4 stars)

RB Saquon Barkley – PA (4 stars)

OT Ryan Bates – PA (4 stars)

DE Ryan Buchholz – PA (3 stars)

LB Jake Cooper – PA (3 stars)

S Jarvis Miller – CT (3 stars)

Finally, some of you may be aware that the scoreboards in Beaver Stadium have been under renovation since the end of the season.  Here is an update on that; let’s just say, they look awesome!

Well that’s all for now.  Keep it here on the blog all offseason for the latest news and notes about Penn State football, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

March News and Notes

I have to start today by apologizing to Brian.  I forgot to make his recruiting round-up accessible to the peoples... sorry.  So, for all of you who missed it last time, here it is again: Brian's Big Board

Speaking of recruiting news, when your coach is James Franklin, it's never hard to find!  Since I posted Brian's piece the Nittany Lions already picked up 4-star RB Andre Robinson out of Harrisburg.  That makes 7 commits for the 2015 class, 4 of whom are 4-star recruits and 5 of whom are from Pennsylvania!  Looks likes Coach Franklin is coming through on those recruiting promises he made.  And he didn't stop there.  After Robinson's commitment, the staff offered 3-star DE Jonathan Holland and made some exciting progress with 4-star OT Sterling Jenkins (who, at 6' 8" would become the tallest player on the roster if he committed).  Now some of you may be wondering exactly how Coach Franklin and his staff are managing to put such a stranglehold on PA recruits.  Well, Ben Jones from StateCollege.com breaks down their strategy here.

Still, none of this is particularly surprising given Franklin's recruiting success at Vanderbilt.  In fact, after he convinced a number of his former Vanderbilt recruits to switch over to Penn State, new Vandy head coach, Derek Mason had a message for the head Lion: "anytime, anywhere."  Well, it would appear that James Franklin isn't afraid of that challenge and would actually welcome the Commodores with open arms... provided them come to Beaver Stadium that is.

Meanwhile, the countdown has begun to the Blue/White Game on April 12; and to think, Bill O'Brien actually considered cancelling this because of injury concerns.  Thankfully, only Pitt was stupid enough to actually go through with that idea and instead, we'll get our first glimpse of a James Franklin coached squad.  Mike Poorman sat down with the coach to discuss the game and some of the numbers behind winter workouts.

And if recruiting, interviews, and starting blood feuds isn't enough, the details for this year's rendition of the Coaches Caravan Tour, starring none other than James Franklin, were released today!  Last year's tour seemed to really take a toll on the more reserved Bill O'Brien.  But I have a feeling that the media-savvy Franklin is going to put on an extravaganza!  I'll be sure to check out at least one of the dates and let you all know how awesome it was.

Finally, in weird news, it looks like freshman QB Michael O'Connor (1 of the 5 early enrollees back in January) wasted no time showing off his Irish heritage by partaking in the student-drinking holiday known as State Patty's Day.  Come on Mike, you've only been there a month!  Hopefully the matter is handled appropriately, he learns his lesson, and we never hear of this again.

Well that's all for now.  Keep it here on the blog all offseason and be sure to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus for all the latest Penn State football news and notes.  And as always, go State!

Recruiting Update 2/25

Is anyone else kind of over this whole winter thing yet?  Crappy weather AND no football?  No thank you!

Moving on...

I'd like to start today by congratulating all of the Penn State students, and especially the 700+ dancers who participated in THON 2014 this past weekend!  This year's total shattered last year's record of $12.3 million by a million dollars, finishing with a whopping $13,343,517.33!!!  And as always, all of it is For The Kids!  So, great job everyone; this is who WE really are! (keeping it football related, here is James Franklin's speech at THON)

Ok, with that out of the way, let's get back to football.  Monday was a big recruiting day for the Nittany Lions as James Franklin and Company played host to a bevy of recruits on campus.  The day ended with 2 more commitments, bringing the 2015 class up to 6 commits.  3-star LB Jake Cooper and 3-star DE Ryan Buchholz both hail from Pennsylvania and both came away from their visits impressed enough to pledge their commitment to Penn State.  4 of the 6 recruits from the 2015 class are from the Keystone State, which already surpasses the number of Pennsylvania kids in the 2014 class (3).  Additionally, half the class is currently ranked as 4-stars or higher.  Looks to me like James Franklin's promise to "dominate the state" wasn't just strong talk, it was a promise.  Penn State is now considered to have the best class in the Big Ten at this still very early stage in the recruiting game.  There's obviously still a long way to go until National Signing Day 2015, but this is arguably the best recruiting start PSU has had in decades!

Now if you just can't get enough recruiting news, then have I got a surprise for you!  Today we're featuring our first ever contributing piece here on the blog.  Friend of the blog, Brian Bender, has graciously offered an in depth analysis of Penn State's recruiting targets for the upcoming class.  You might remember Brian as the winner of my 1st Annual Prime Pick 'Em Bowl Pool, so clearly he knows his stuff.  In fact, considering he gave this to me on Friday, and already the #1 LB and #1 DE on his board have committed, you'd be a fool not to read this!

In other news, as the NFL Combine wrapped up on Monday, I figured I'd give you all some links from our friends over at PennLive so you could see how your favorite former Nittany Lions did:

- Allen Robinson

- DaQuan Jones

- John Urschel... who also wrote a diary about the experience

Finally, it may interest you to know that former defensive coordinator and interim head coach, Tom Bradley, has accepted a position with West Virginia as a defensive assistant.  We wish Coach Bradley nothing but the best in all his future endeavors, besides, we don't play West Virginia, so they're cool in my book.

Ok, that's all for now.  Keep it here all offseason for the latest Penn State football news and notes, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

February News and Notes

It’s the offseason, so things are already fairly slow in the college football world.  Late February is particularly excruciating.  However, there are a couple of interesting things going on, so I figured I’d get a post in today.

First of all, the NFL Combine officially starts tomorrow (although the media has been doing what they do pretty much all week).  This is an invitation only event in which the best players in the country show off for pro scouts in order to improve their stock for April’s NFL Draft.  Three former Nittany Lions have been invited to the festivities: WR Allen Robinson, DT Da’Quan Jones, and OG John Urschel.  I expect all three to be drafted, with Robinson likely the first one to be picked up late in the 1^st round.  Still, their performances at the Combine will go a long way in determining their final draft position, so good luck gentlemen!  Also of note at the Combine will be former head coach, Bill O’Brien, whose Houston Texans have the first overall pick.

On the recruiting front, James Franklin is wasting absolutely no time in putting together another great recruiting class for next year.  He’s already picked up four commitments, three of which are 4-star players.  As it stands, Penn State’s 2015 class includes 4-star OL Ryan Bates, 4-star ATH Kamonte Carter, 4-star RB Saquon Barkley (who decommitted from Rutgers), and 2-star DB Jarvis Miller.  During the most recent Junior Day, Franklin also handed out offers to 5-star DE CeCe Jefferson, 4-star DE Keisean South, and 3-star LB Josh Barajas.  Looking good Coach Franklin, keep it up!!!

Finally, in case you live under a rock, this weekend is THON weekend (short for Dance Marathon) at Penn State.  Nearly 15,000 student volunteers and over 700 dancers will rock the BJC from now until 4:00 pm on Sunday in the fight to find a cure for pediatric cancer.  For more information about this incredible charity, or to make a donation, check out www.thon.org or watch all the action live via the THON webcast at www.thon.org/Webcast.  Hopefully we can break last year's record of more than $12.3 million!

That's all for now.  Keep it here on the blog all offseason for updates on everything Penn State football.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus.  And in honor of THON, go State, beat cancer!!!