In order for Air O’Brien to flourish this season, Penn State‘s quarterback needs to have time to make his reads and hit the open receiver.
With Penn State needing to replace four of its five starters on the offensive line, the state of the O-Line heading into spring practice was a concern for Nittany Lion fans heading into spring practice.
It look like with senior center Matt Stankiewitch the anchor in the middle, the only returning starter, that flanking him will be guards John Urschel and converted center Miles Dieffenbach. On the outside are tackles Adam Gress and Mike Farrell, with redshirt freshman Donovan Smith also getting positive reviews from teammates for his work. Read more...(256 words, estimated 1:01 mins reading time)
Remember all those analysts who said that Bill O’Brien would have trouble recruiting players after the Sandusky scandal?
As usual, it seems that they were all wrong as the Nittany Lions class of 2013 now has six 4-star recruits (all of which are in the Rivals 250) out of seven commits.
The latest high school star to commit to Penn State is New Jersey’s Greg Webb who is listed at 6’2″ and 290 pounds. ESPN ranks Webb as a preseason All-American, and the G&W Recruiting Report ranks Webb as the No. 1 DT prospect in the Northeast for the class of 2013. Read more...(238 words, estimated 57 secs reading time)
Junior running back Silas Redd and senior defensive end Pete Massaro talk with GoPSUsports.com’s Tony Mancuso after spring practice No. 5 on Wednesday.
A look at day three of the Penn State football teams spring practice. This was the first day that we had hitting as it was the first time the players have been in pads since the bowl game last season.
With former Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien’s decision to attend Wisconsin instead of Penn State leaves the Nittany Lions with holdover starter Matt McGloin, Rob Bolden and Paul Jones, who is hoping to be in the mix after being academically ineligible last year, as the potential starters come the season opener.
Bill O’Brien announced earlier this week that there is “an open competition” for the starting job.
“There won’t be a starter named until possibly the night before the [Sept. 1] Ohio game,” O’Brien said. “So there’s no starter right now at that position.” Read more...(291 words, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)
Big loss for Penn State as quarterback Danny O’Brien has picked Wisconsin over Penn State and Vanderbilt.
O;Brien said he was blown away by his visit to the UW campus and really connected with coach Bret Bielema and new Badgers offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
O’Brien, the 2010 Freshman All-American and former ACC Rookie of the Year, is on schedule to graduate with a business degree in the spring and is eligible as a graduate transfer this fall — much like former N.C, State QB Russell Wilson was for Wisconsin this past year. Wilson led the Badgers to an 11-3 record and the Rose Bowl. One key distinction with O’Brien as opposed to many other recent graduate transfers is that the QB does have two seasons of eligibility remaining, not just one. Read more...(168 words, estimated 40 secs reading time)
Penn State spring football starts today and here is a look at three big story lines this spring.
Spring Practice Begins: Monday, March 26
Spring Game: Saturday, April 21
Returning Starters: Five on offense, five on defense, both specialists
Three Things To Watch For:
1. Bill O’Brien’s debut.
The fact that Joe Paterno is gone will sink in for a lot of people this week when Penn State opens its first spring practice without him on the sideline. Obviously, many eyes will be on Bill O’Brien to see how he handles things now that he’s the man in charge of the Penn State football program. This will be O’Brien’s first chance to see what he has to work with on the field, and it will be his players first chance to find out what kind of coach they’ll be playing for. Read more...(342 words, estimated 1:22 mins reading time)
Bill O’Brien’s recruiting efforts continue to be paying off.
Penn State picked up an offensive lineman for the Class of 2013 over the weekend. Brendan Mahon, a four-star offensive tackle from Randolph, New Jersey, called coach O’Brien with his verbal commitment Saturday afternoon.
“I committed to Coach O’Brien earlier today,” Mahon said. “Penn State was always a school I was real interested in, and after spending some time with Angelo Mangiro, he was just telling me that I have to do what’s good for me, and I just think Penn State is the best choice.” Read more...(187 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)