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
Pitt’s James Conner, Tyler Boyd named to Maxwell Award watch list
Heading into the 2015 college football season, the Pitt Panthers may have one of the best duos on the offensive side of the ball in the entire nation in running back James Conner and wide receiver Tyler Boyd. That duo received another preseason honor on Tuesday as both have been named to the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is given annually to the College Player of the Year. Two former Panthers have won the award in the past as running back Tony Dorsett did so in 1976 and defensive ... Read More
Pitt loses OT Jaryd Jones-Smith for season
New Pitt Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi suffered his first big blow when it was announced on Thursday that sophomore offensive tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith will miss the 2015 season with a right knee injury. Jones-Smith was injured during an offseason conditioning session. He's scheduled to have surgery on Thursday. He played in all 13 games for the Panthers a year ago, making three starts. He was expected to be a starter this season as he was expected to replace All-ACC right offensive ... 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
WPIAL passing leader Brett Brumbaugh arrested
Brett Brumbaugh, WPIAL’s all-time passing leader and a Duquesne University football recruit, has been charged with loitering and prowling and resisting arrest. Brumbaugh, 18, led the South Fayette Lions to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Double-A titles in 2013 and 2014 and is the all-time WPIAL passing leader with 9,644 yards. In November, Brumbaugh committed to play quarterback at Duquesne University. He also played for the Pennsylvania team in last weekend’s Big 33 game against ... Read More
Pitt lands LB recruit Chase Pine
Pitt head football coach Pat Narduzzi landed a solid linebacker prospect on Monday when it was announced that Virginia three-star linebacker Chase Pine verbally committed to the Panthers for the 2016 season. Pine's commitment completes a busy few days for Narduzzi as he was Pitt's third commitment in the past five days, joining the likes of running back Chawntez Moss and Central Catholic safety Bricen Garner announced their commitments to Pitt. Pine chose the Panthers over offers ... Read More
Pitt schedules home and home with Cincinnati; other notes
After adding future non-conference games against the likes of Penn State, Oklahoma State and others the past few years, Pitt added another future opponent by committing to a home-and-home series against a familiar foe. Pitt has officially added former Big East rival Cincinnati to their football schedule for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Panthers and Bearcats will tee it up on September 9, 2023 in Pittsburgh, while Pitt will play at Cincinnati on September 7, 2024. Pitt has played ... 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
Tyler Boyd formally charged with DUI
As expected, University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Tyler Boyd was officially charged with a DUI on Tuesday, stemming from a traffic stop in Jefferson Hills on Friday. Boyd, who is only 20 years of age, also faces summary charges for underage drinking and traffic violations. The traffic stop occurred around 2:30 am when Boyd attempted to pass another car. While reports suggested that Boyd’s blood-alcohol content was under Pennsylvania’s 0.08 percent limit, because he is under 21 the limit ... Read More