The Penn State Nittany Lions will return to their roots in 2015 after the school announced on Thursday that the team would be removing their names from the back of the jerseys. During former head coach Bill O’Brien’s inaugural season, he made the somewhat controversial decision to add the players’ names to the backs of the jerseys, saying that their loyalty and dedication to Penn State deserved recognition. Current head coach James Franklin followed O’Brien’s example for one year, praising ... Read More
Anthony Zettel, Jordan Lucas get Nagurski nods
Penn State’s Anthony Zettel continues to rake in preseason honors, named this week to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy Watch Lists; senior safety Jordan Lucas also received a nod from the Nagurski committee. Named for the now infamous star for the University of Minnesota and the Chicago Bears, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy is given annually to the National Defensive Player of the Year. The Outland Trophy is given in honor of All-American University of Pennsylvania lineman at the ... Read More
Mangiro, Carter top preseason watch lists for Nittany Lions
Several members of the Penn State Nittany Lions football team have been named to preseason watch lists in the past few weeks. Senior center Angelo Mangiro, who started each game and controlled a young, inexperienced offense at Penn State last year, was added to the Rimington Trophy Watch List on Wednesday. Over the course of the 2014 season, Mangiro played at least three different positions, offering a versatility that James Franklin desperately needed. The Rimington Trophy, given to the ... Read More
Column: Could Franklin be Penn State’s “Great One?”
It is not out of the realm of believability to say that James Franklin’s 2014 was pretty good. Great, even. In January, he was hired to be the head football coach of a fairly prestigious university (a team in his home state that he grew up watching, nonetheless), he scraped out a winning season despite having a severely depleted team, and he led Penn State to its first bowl game since 2012 and it’s first bowl win since 2010. So the question becomes this: will 2015 bring greatness for ... Read More
Paterno to be inducted to Pennsylvania Hall of Fame
The legendary career of Joe Paterno will be memorialized in the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in October. Deified, disgraced, and then honored once again, Paterno’s fall from grace following the 2012 Sandusky child sex abuse scandal ended with the termination of his employment at Penn State and his eventual death from lung cancer complications. His career, which spanned 62 years with the Nittany Lions, featured 409 wins (112 of which were recently restored after the NCAA sanctions stripped ... Read More
Nittany Lions add three to roster, release schedule
The Penn State Nittany Lions mens’ hockey team has announced the addition of three players for the upcoming season. Chris Funkey, Derian Hamilton, and Vince Pedrie will join the Lions in the 2015-2016 campaign. With the commitments, Penn State has gained two defensemen and a goalie. Chris Funkey G || 5-10 || 175 || March 16, 1994 Hometown: Orland Park, Illinois Last Team: New Jersey Hitmen (USPHL) Funkey was a three-year starter for the Hitmen and played in 31 games in the ... Read More
Christian Hackenberg: junior joke or answer to prayers?
The question on every Penn State fan’s mind is this: Will Christian Hackenberg live up to the hype of his freshman year, or will his sophomore slump turn into a junior joke? Arguments from professionals and fans alike swing both ways; they range from calling Hackenberg, the junior quarterback from Palmyra, Virginia, washed up and overrated to calling him the best college quarterback; from saying that he’s all talk and no delivery to declaring that he will go number one in the 2016 NFL ... Read More
Michal Menet an answer for Nittany Lions?
With high school junior Michal Menet’s verbal commitment to James Franklin, Penn State has secured the top in-state recruit and locked in its ninth verbal commitment for the Class of 2016. The 6-foot-5, 271-pound offensive lineman struggled to decide between the Nittany Lions and the Duke Blue Devils, but ultimately decided to stay in-state and close to home. His announcement came last Friday at a school assembly, after which he proudly announced that Penn State is “the place I want to be, ... Read More
Penn State hockey impact a growing phenomenon
The lockers have been cleared, the ice has been removed and the equipment has been stored, but the impact of the 2014-2015 season for the Penn State men’s hockey team will resonate in the coming years. In terms of the economic impact for the university, upswing in recruiting for the team, and support of the surrounding community, men’s hockey is one of the best performing athletic programs for Penn State right now. They Just Can’t Get Enough: Just as a film’s success is partially defined ... Read More
Six Nittany Lions to enter NFL
The Nittany Lions saw three players drafted into the National Football League in the 2015 draft and three more went on to sign rookie free-agent contracts, giving Penn State a total of six players in the NFL this spring. Donovan Smith (Owings Mills, MD) was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the second pick of the second round; Adrian Amos (Baltimore, MD) was picked by the Chicago Bears; and the Pittsburgh Steelers selected hometown tight end Jesse James (Glassport, PA) in the fifth ... Read More