Black Shoe Diaries

Success With Hyperlinking Isn't the Only One Impressed

2012-05-16T16:00:22Z

Give credit where credit's due--even to Ohio State. Ramzy over at Eleven Warriors wrote a post about a game that sticks out in his memory: a fateful day in September.

The Big Ten home opener 12 seasons ago was against 1-4 Penn State. Despite their record - which included a 24-6 mortification courtesy of Toledo - the Nittany Lions were still one of those no-substitute-for-being-there tickets...

For at least one play I would have the best seat in the Shoe.

That play was a pitch-sweep right, to Jerry Westbrooks - and the white shirts read it perfectly. Ohio State's third-stringer had his legs taken out by #43, the right corner...

Westbrooks and everyone else picked themselves up off the turf to return to the huddle. Everyone else except for #43, who stayed on the ground with his right arm awkwardly flapping briefly before going still.

Number 43 was, of course, Adam Taliaferro, lawyer, New Jersey County Freeholder, and, now, member of the Penn State Board of Trustees. It's nice to see that the positive impact that Taliaferro's had on the lives around him isn't just relegated to Penn Staters, or to those with spinal injuries--he's inspiring many. Kudos to Ramzy for putting into words what many couldn't.

Speaking of cool guy tips...Cory Giger was on hand for the Coaches Caravan stop in Altoona, and his write up mirrors most of what we've heard about all the stops: BOB is happy to be at Penn State.

"This is the best job in college football...

"I have no idea what other people have thought about this job," O'Brien said. "I just know what I thought, what I saw, what I heard and the people that I met. I just know that this is a very special job, and I'm thrilled to be the head coach here."

The article also details what the other coaches at that stop, hockey coach Guy Gadowsky and mens' volleyball coach Mark Pavlik, but you can't help but think that when Giger quotes O'Brien as saying, "I'm not here to be Joe Paterno," the columnist may be pretty excited about that fact. Give it time, Giger; O'Brien may be annoyed as well soon enough.

The Standard Speaker also had someone on hand at the Hazleton stop on the tour, and Donnie Collins takes a more pragmatic approach:

He has the right ideas.

But with all due respect to a campaign through the east that would awe President Obama, O'Brien's campaign for acceptance and support from the Nittany Lions faithful won't really be tested until September.

For all the attention he is attracting now, his staying power will be determined like every coach's staying power is determined. By wins. By losses.

That's a bitter truth. But it's a truth.

In more Notorious BOB news...Russ Rose was among Penn State coaches impressed by Bill O'Brien, despite giving the impression initially that he was less than enthused about the hire.

With Joe Paterno gone, [Rose] is now Penn State’s longest-tenured head coach, as well as the most successful with five national titles, including four straight in the past decade.

"I’m a coach," Rose said plainly. "He made a statement on one of the interviews that, for me, was what I like to see."

Coach Quese also weighed in, having been in a similar situation to O'Brien's; she also has nothing but positive things to say about the coach's first few months. From one perspective, the coaches caravan seems to be, in addition to unifying the fan base, further unifying the coaches of all different sports on the Penn State campus. This can only be a good thing, in the face of the past few months.

Caring may be creepy...but is it getting less so? Bob Flounders interviews Maxprep's Tom Lemming about Penn State recruiting, and, to the surprise of few, the news is good.

"What I've noticed is they're omnipresent, they're ubiquitous, they're everywhere. And you never saw that with the old staff, ever. They stayed in their areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and Maryland.

"You didn't really see them much in Illinois, Florida or Texas. Now they seem to be everywhere. Wherever I got to see a kid, he's mentioning Penn State on his list. That's a great sign.''

Flounders touches on a few individual players the staff is still targeting, specifically Alex Anzalone and Robert Foster, but more interesting is the suggestion the interviewer puts out that the staff may think about signing another quarterback, beyond Christian Hackenberg, who's already committed to the Nittany Lions.

In scores of other games...Fugi alert! A breakdown of a possible Penn State Hockey game at Beaver Stadium...StateCollege.com takes a quick look into the new football playbook...Boston College fans seem to be no happier about next year's Big Ten/ACC match up than many Penn State fans...And fans of both teams have nothing on Yahoo, which calls this match up the least watchable of the challenge contests...CornNation has a weekly breakdown of conference baseball, where Penn State stands poised to go to the NCAA tournament...The Penn State main campus in University Park may be looking to expand its renewable energy use.

Coach Gruden on Zone Blocking and the New Penn State Offense

2012-05-16T10:00:09Z

May, 2012

Tampa, FL - Inside the dark halls of Fired Football Coaches of America Headquarters

"BScaff! Welcome to Tampa, my man!"

"Thanks for having me down here, Coach Gruden. I'm looking forward to learning from the master."

"Ha! The master...but I still got myself fired, didn't I?"

"I'd point the blame at a below par roster; unrealistic ownership and fan expectations; and of course, the ready-for-Medicare QB combo of Brian Griese and Jeff Garcia. You had a worse QB situation than Bill O'Brien."

"That's my man. But that's it. I won't throw roses at you all day long bscaff, because I watched your high school film. And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty."

"How did you even find my high school film, Coach?"

"I've got film on everything, though I think we should burn yours. You were awful, son. But there's one play you sucked at just a little more than the others.

In my favorite - your worst - you were an on-line TE, and you had a SAM 'backer on your outside shoulder, and your coach wanted to run outside of you. YOU'RE THE POINT OF ATTACK! You have to reach that SAM 'backer's far shoulder, and give that coach the edge before he ends up in the FFCA with me. And what happened, bscaff?"

"...uh, I don't know which game or year you're even talking about. But probably not much."

"Yeah, not much was right. He set the edge on you! What in the heck was that?! You've gotta be kidding me! You've got to move your feet and flip your hips, bscaff! Aim to his outside shoulder, power step and turn him back inside! You've got to make that block, son!"

"I had slow feet, and..."

"And what happended when you didn't make that block, bscaff?"

"...we lost yards?"

"You got zero yards if you were lucky. HA! Yeah, you're not going to hear your named called in the draft looking like that."

"Well, that ship was never even designed, Coach. But really, what I wanted to talk about was Penn State's new offense, and how it compares to what I've seen since I was born."

"You think I'm stupid, bscaff?"

"No, Coach, I.. - "

"GREEN RIGHT SQUEEGEE, X ZIP SPIDER 2 Y BANANA MOJO CROWN 648 Z SLUGO SHAM WOW!"

".....uh..."

"CHECK, 436 BELLY!"

".......I mea-"

"ON 2!"

"................sorry, Coach."

"That's better. I mentioned your pitiful high school play, young bscaff, to help you understand the differences you can look for in the new Bill O'Brien-led Penn State offense. He is one heck of a coach. But first, tell me about that block you missed."

"You successfully chose the block I hated the most."

"Tell me why, Nancy. Give me details, besides the fact that you sucked at it."

"Uh..first, it's one-on-one, and the LB starts out with alignment advantage. I couldn't get to the guy's far shoulder - dude was already half a yard outside of me. And with my zero-talent level, I had little chance to get decent leverage."

"It wasn't just bad feet, though, was it. You're slow and weak - though judging by looks, you've (cough) bulked up since that film I watched."

"Yes, thanks a lot, Coach."

"Well, let's watch some real football players, bscaff. Here's your beloved Dear Old State against the heathens from Iowa. You hate those Iowa guys, don't you?"

"Not really."

"They remind you of Penn State just a little bit, right?"

"If you take away PSU's championships and winning tradition, then yes. Yes they do, coach."

"Let's go to the film. You know the play call?'

"I didn't play for Penn Sta-"

"It's '43 ISO'. That's a little short on verbiage for my tastes, but watch what happens. This is a man blocking scheme, bscaff. The C is going to chip with the RG. The RT and TE use inside technique on the playside DE and SAM. And the FullBack - you love fullbacks, don't you bscaff? - the FB has an ISO-lation block against the MIKE linebacker. Back-On-Backer, bscaff. Everyone has a man. Everyone is firing off the ball, drive blocking, big boy style."

"YOU GOTTA HAVE YOUR BIG BOY PANTS ON, BSCAFF! RIGHT? RIGHT?! I MEAN, THIS GUY RIGHT HERE..."

"Right, Coach."

"So you've seen mostly man blocking from your Nittany Lions in the last few years. But not exclusively. No one is exclusively man, or exclusively zone. You know why?"

"No, Coach."

"Because coaches like me take pride in having playbooks longer than "War and Peace"; playbooks that are drier reads than Milton.

It shows everyone how smart I am, when I have a huge playbook. If I came back to the college game, well...I just don't know how I'd adjust. Where am I gonna find a 38 year old Jeff Garcia? Or a 34 year old Brian Griese? Or a 36 year old Brad Johnson? Or a 37 year old Rich Gannon? Or a -"

"Coach, pleas-

"PEYTON MANNING! THE SHERIFF. I CALL HIM THE SHERIFF. PEY-TON. MAN-NING. LET ME TELL YOU, IT FEELS GOOD JUST SAYING HIS NAME. NOW THAT GUY, -"

"COACH! Coach. I think you were about to show me a zone blocking play."

"One more time? 'The Sheriff'. Mmmm. Alright, how about one from Coach Paterno, first. BScaff, let me hear you call a Penn State offense, zone blocking run."

"Again, Coach Gru, I didn't play at - "

"42 TAKE. Get up there on the board and draw that out for me."

"I came here to ask you-"

[Coach Gru jumps up, scribbles on a clean board for 3 seconds, and sits back down].

"THERE YOU GO BSCAFF! LET'S GET EXCITED, HUH?! YEAH! 42 TAKE. You're gonna like this one. I picked it out special for you."

"Why is that coach?"

"Because the zone scheme helps out a turd like you trying to block that SAM sitting on your outside shoulder."

"How's that?"

"He's not your 'man', in this scheme, and you don't have a preset responsibility to turn the outside guy back inside - something you did not do well.

Your basic zone scheme is trying to accomplish two things, bscaff. Number one: prevent penetration. Penetration blows up plays before they get started. Ever watch Nebraska under Tom Osborne in the 1980's? They'd go 10 - 0 scoring 80 points a game, head to the Orange Bowl, and score 17 against a Miami team with Cortez Kennedy blowing up their I-Bone. Why do you think the AP voters wouldn't share the 1994 title with PSU when Dr. Tom finally won an Orange Bowl? They figured the win over my man Sapp was a miracle, and Tommy'd never do it again. Took pity on him."

"That makes a lot of sense. What's the second objective?"

"Right. Second - make movement on the line of scrimmage. Left, right, reach or drive - whatever. We want movement, because movement creates gaps in the defense. Your backs are responsible for slow-reading the blocks, finding the gap, and then turning on the jets. You can't turn that SAM or DE back inside, bscaff? So what - push him into the bench. The back will cut off of your block.

That generally means you don't have to be road-grading Johnnie Troutman in a zone scheme. In most play designs, it's trying to give the blockers better angles - blocking half-a-man, aiming for an armpit instead of a chest.

Now, your new Coach O'Brien runs both zone and man schemes, just like Coach Paterno. But unlike the last couple of years, you can probably expect to see more zone and than man. I queued up three plays from your Blue-White game. The first two are zone, and the third is man. Let's go to the video tape."

"You're one cool dude, Gru. So...who else runs predominantly zone?"

"I've got tape on all of them. Let me flash a few shots at you."

"Ok. That's Wisconsin, Iowa, Screaming Shanahans, and...who was that last one?"

"Best running team in the NFL, son. They took an undrafted free agent RB who was a backup his last year at Tennessee - where I helped recruit PEYTON MANNING - and made him the League's leading rusher. A zone scheme works when you execute it well up front.

Now let's hit the practice field. I wanna see if you can get vertical. Or how about a stick route? A shake?"

"Thanks for the interview, Coach. You're the best. Hope I can visit again."

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Nittany Lions in the NFC

2012-05-15T20:00:06Z

In part two of this two-part series (see the list of former Penn State players in the AFC here), we move on to the division that has produced the last three super bowl champions: the NFC.

Though only holding 18 of the Nittany Lions' 42 players on rosters, the NFC Penn State contributors are no less important, including the most recent Pro Bowl participant, as well as a pair of standout linebackers who made a lot of noise in their sophomore professional seasons.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

Dan Connor, LB. Drafted by the Panthers in the 3rd round, 2008. Signed as a free agent with the Cowboys, 3/15/12. Currently listed as active.

Sean Lee, LB.

Drafted in the 2nd round, 2010. Currently listed as active.

Andrew Szczerba, TE. Rookie. Signed as an undrafted free agent, 4/30/12.

New York Giants

Kareem McKenzie was announced as not being re-signed by the Giants; they now currently have no former Nittany Lions on their roster.

Philadelphia Eagles

Brett Brackett, TE. Signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2011, then cut. Was on the Jaguars' practice squad in 10/11; then signed to the Eagles in 11/11. Re-signed contract with the Eagles on 1/12/12. Currently listed as active.

Washington Redskins

Evan Royster, RB.

Drafted in the 6th round, 2011. Currently listed as active.

NFC North

Chicago Bears

Anthony Adams was released by the Bears in 3/12.

Robbie Gould, K. Signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005, waived in 8/05. Signed to the Ravens practice squad 9/05, waived later that month. Signed by the Bears in 10/05. Currently signed through 2013. Is the most accurate kicker in Bears history. Played in the 2006 Pro Bowl. Currently listed as active.

Detroit Lions

Quinn Barham, T. Rookie. Signed as an undrafted free agent 5/10/2012.

Stephfon Green, RB. Rookie. Signed as an undrafted free agent 5/10/2012.

Green Bay Packers

Andrew Quarless, TE. Drafted in the 5th round, 2010. Won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie. May miss the entire 2012 season due to a possible career-ending knee injury sustained against the Giants in 12/11. Currently listed on injured reserve.

Minnesota Vikings

Eric Latimore, DE. Rookie. Signed as an undrafted free agent, 5/1/2012.

Mickey Shuler, TE. Drafted in the 7th round, 2010. Released by the Vikings in 9/10; claimed off waivers by the Dolphins in 9/10. Released in 9/11, claimed off waivers by the Bengals but failed the physical. Signed to the Vikings again in 11/11. Currently listed as active.

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

Currently have no former Nittany Lions on their roster.

Carolina Panthers

Currently have no former Nittany Lions on their roster.

New Orleans Saints

John Gilmore, TE. Drafted by the Saints in the 6th round, 2002, waived in 9/02. Signed by the Bears in 9/02, then signed by the Texans in 2/03 and waived in 6/03. Signed by the Bears again in 6/03, re-signed in 3/06. Signed by the Buccaneers in 3/08. Signed by the Steelers in 8/11, released in 9/11. Signed by the Saints in 9/11. Currently listed as an unrestricted free agent.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Currently have no former Nittany Lions on their roster.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

Levi Brown, T. Drafted in the 1st round, 2007, #5 overall. The Cardinals had released him in 3/12, but re-signed him to a five-year contract on 3/16/12. Currently listed as active.

St Louis Rams

Josh Hull, LB. Drafted in the 7th round, 2010 (2nd to last pick in the draft). Currently listed as active.

Justin King, CB. Drafted in the 4th round, 2008. Currently listed as an unrestricted free agent.

San Francisco 49ers

NaVorro Bowman, LB.

Drafted in the 3rd round, 2010. Named to multiple All-Pro teams, including the AP, in 2011. Currently listed as active.

Seattle Seahawks

Deon Butler, WR. Drafted in the 3rd round, 2009. Currently listed on injured reserve.

Michael Robinson, FB.

Drafted by the 49ers in the 4th round, 2006. Waived by the 49ers in 9/2010; signed by the Seahawks as a free agent immediately after. Was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2008, and played in the 2012 Pro Bowl. Currently listed as active.

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Poll

Which current NFC Nittany Lion is most likely to be the next Pro Bowler?

The Smaller Side of Penn State Sports 5.15.12

2012-05-15T17:00:19Z

While most Penn State teams have finished their seasons, a few are still going strong. Hence, here's this week's abbreviated Smaller Side of Sports.

Women's Lacrosse (12-6)

The chicks with sticks made a triumphant return to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday by defeating #8 Towson in dominating fashion, 15-8. The win was especially sweet for Penn State coach Missy Doherty who previously held the top job at Towson before coming to State College. Molly Fernandez led the Nittany Lion attack with a four-goal game. With their first win in the NCAAs since 1999, the team will now travel to Gainesville to take on the top-seeded Florida Gators this Saturday.

Baseball (27-24, 13-8)

Illinois came to State College this weekend and left without a victory as the Nittany Lion baseball team swept the Illini by scores of 3-2, 8-6 and another 3-2 victory. They have now one seven of their last eight and have climbed to second place in the Big Ten standings. They also made history by winning their fifth straight Big Ten series, a first for the program. Senior Jordan Steranka led the way for Penn State, going 6-11 with three doubles and two home runs over the weekend. The team plays four games this week, one against Villanova on Tuesday and then a pivotal three-game series with Michigan State over the weekend.

Softball (18-32, 9-15)

Ohio State took two of three at Beard Field this weekend, including Saturday's Senior Day matchup by a score of 4-1, but there was some good news to come out of the weekend as junior Cassidy Bell broke the 24-year old batting average record. Bell hit .423 on the season. The team ends their season with an 18-32 mark.

Track and field went to the Big Ten Championships this weekend and brought home many individual honors. The women brought back fourth-place honors and the men ended up right in the middle of the pack, placing sixth. You can read the recap and find results here.

Also if you didn't see yesterday, you can read about the women's club rugby team's national championship and the men's less than stellar semifinal performance in psuwxman's Fanpost.

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Bill O'Brien Will Name His Quarterback By End Of Month

2012-05-15T13:45:21Z

Bill O'Brien has no intention on squandering precious practice time with a quarterback competition when Penn State's team reconvenes in August. As it turns out, he'll end the competition long before then. He told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that a starting quarterback will be named at the end of this month.

"You can’t waste time, in my opinion, with a quarterback battle during training camp," O’Brien said before speaking, along with three other coaches, to almost 400 Penn State alumni last night at the Omni William Penn Hotel. "We’re not a wishy-washy place. We’ve got to make decisions and some people aren’t going to be happy with the decisions, but that’s our job. It’s about the team, and we’re doing what’s best for the team."

"Not a wishy washy place" should be sweet music to every Penn State fan's ears, considering the senseless and random carousel of the past two seasons. O'Brien's reasoning for this?

"I just think you have to have a starter and he’s going to get most of them reps," O’Brien said during a stop of the Penn State Coaches Caravan. "The guy I name the starter, he’s got to do a great job every day to keep his job so that doesn’t mean he can’t get beat out, but I think that’s important for our team to know who our starting quarterback is going into camp."

Fine by me. The team has enough of a task adjusting to a new playbook with new terminology. There isn't a lot of ramp-up time before the opener against Ohio (and I'll keep beating the drum, that game is not going to be easy). The starting quarterback needs as many reps as possible for his personal sake. The surrounding players on offense need to get in sync with the starting quarterback. Apparently, BOB's seen enough to make a call.

As we all know, Matt McGloin, Paul Jones, and Rob Bolden are the three choices (our sources inside the program tell us that Giant Trebuchet has requested a transfer and Jugs Machine is academically ineligible). The conventional wisdom has been that Jones moved up to the #2 position during the spring and could possibly catch McGloin with a strong performance in pre-season practices. However, it would seem that O'Brien is going to lean on experience. And moxie, of course.

State of the Union: Big Ten Recruiting Update 5.15.12

2012-05-15T10:00:06Z

Only three commits joined the 2013 classes in the Big Ten this week, including one JuCo transfer to Purdue who wasn't even listed on the 247 website (hence, his addition didn't affect the 247 team rank). He is listed, however, as a member of the 2013 class by both Scout and Rivals, so we will include him on here.

Team	# of commits	Avg Rivals ranking	Avg 247 ranking	Avg Scout ranking	Avg ESPN ranking	247 team rank	recruiting rank in B1G
Michigan	18	3.76	3.83	4.06	3.88	1	1
Ohio State	11	4.0	3.82	4.0	4.0	7	2
Penn State	8	4.0	3.83	4.0	4.0	17	3
Illinois	9	3.14	2.78	3.14	3.5	19	4
Michigan State	7	3.33	3.14	3.17	3.5	22	5
Iowa	7	3.14	3.0	3.17	3.33	24	6
Nebraska	6	3.33	3.5	3.5	3.5	26	7
Wisconsin	6	3.17	3.4	3.17	3.5	30	8
Northwestern	2	4.0	3.5	4.0	4.0	53	9
Purdue	2	3.0	3.0	3.0	NR	69	10
Minnesota	1	3.0	3.0	3.0	NR	70	11
Indiana	0						12

As with last week, Rivals is the only service to rank all of Illinois' nine players; both Rivals and Scout gave grades to seven of nine, while ESPN only ranked two of their commits. Iowa's Scout number is from six of their seven, while they only had three commits rated by ESPN. Michigan State's Rivals and Scout grades are for six of seven, and ESPN from four of their players. The only service that didn't rate all of Nebraska's players was ESPN, which only graded four of their six; on the flip side, the only service that did grade Northwestern's second commit was 247. With the decommitments at Ohio State, only ESPN didn't rank all of their players; ten of their eleven were rated by that service. As has been the case for weeks, Penn State's numbers are based off of six of eight recruits for Rivals, Scout, and ESPN, and seven of eight for 247. Lastly, Wisconsin's 247 grade is from five of their six commits, and their ESPN number is for four of six.

The big changes were for Purdue, who, as mentioned above, gained a commitment in the form of Junior College transfer who was unranked by all services, and Michigan, whose streak of all recruits being rated by all services comes to an end this week; with the addition of their 18th commit, only 17 of their recruits are rated by Rivals and ESPN (all are still rated by the other two services).

MICHIGAN

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Morris, Shane	QB	Warren, MI	De La Salle Collegiate	6'3", 190	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	4 stars	5/10/2011
Bosch, Kyle	OT/OG	Wheaton, IL	St Francis	6'5", 282	4	4	5	4	2/18/2012
Thomas, Dymonte	RB/Saf	Alliance, OH	Marlington	6'1", 175	4	4	5	4	9/10/2011
Fox, Chris	OT/DT	Parker, CO	Ponderosa	6'6", 300	4	4	4	4	2/18/2012
Tuley-Tillman, Logan	OT	Peoria, IL	Manual	6'7", 300	4	4	4	4	2/19/2012
Charlton, Taco	OLB	Pickerington, OH	Pickerington Central	6'6", 245	4	4	3	4	2/18/2012
McCray, Michael	LB	Trotwood, OH	Trotwood-Madison	6'2", 220	4	4	4	4	3/5/2012
Kugler, Patrick	OT/OG	Wexford, PA	North Allegheny	6'4", 270	4	4	5	4	2/25/2012
Gedeon, Ben	LB	Hudson, OH	Hudson	6'3", 215	4	4	4	4	4/10/2012
Dawson, David	OT	Detroit, MI	Cass Technical	6'5", 305	4	4	4	4	2/18/2012
Conley, Gareon	ATH	Massillon, OH	Washington	6'2", 165	3	4	4	4	3/10/2012
Smith, Deveon	RB	Warren, OH	Howland	5'11", 210	3	4	4	4	3/17/2012
Butt, Jake	DE, TE	Pickerington, OH	Pickerington North	6'6", 225	4	4	4	4	2/19/2012
Shallman, Wyatt	FB, DE	Novi, MI	Catholic Central	6'3", 245	4	4	4	3	2/18/2012
Lewis, Jourdan	CB	Detroit, MI	Cass Technical	5'10", 170	4	4	4	4	2/18/2012
Dukes, Jaron	WR	Columbus, OH	Marion-Franklin	6'5", 197	3	3	4	4	2/22/2012
Hill, Khalid	TE	Detroit, MI	Crockett	6'2", 235	3	3	3	3	2/6/2012
York, Csont'e	WR	Harper Woods, MI	Chandler Park Academy	6'3", 185	NR	3	3	NR	5/9/2012

The Wolverines added a second wideout to their nearing-completed class.

OHIO STATE

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Marshall, Jalin	QB/Ath	Middletown, OH	Middletown	6'0", 190	4 stars	5 stars	5 stars	4 stars	1/30/2012
Bosa, Joey	DE	Fort Lauderdale, FL	St Thomas Aquinas	6'5", 260	4	4	5	4	4/23/2012
Burrows, Cameron	CB/Saf	Dayton, OH	Trotwood-Madison	6'2", 195	5	4	4	4	1/19/2012
Barrett, JT	QB	Wichita Falls, TX	Rider	6'2", 205	4	4	4	4	4/18/2012
Woodard, Eli	CB	Voorhees, NJ	Eastern	6'1", 185	4	4	4	4	2/16/2012
Baugh, Marcus	TE	Riverside, CA	J W North	6'4", 200	4	4	4	4	4/10/2012
Lisle, Evan	OL	Centerville, OH	Centerville	6'6", 265	4	4	4	4	2/28/2012
Price, Billy	DT	Youngstown, OH	Fitch	6'4", 300	4	4	4	4	2/13/2012
Elliott, Ezekiel	RB	Saint Louis, MO	John Burroughs School	6'0", 195	4	3	4	4	4/1/2012
Thompson, Jayme	S	Toledo, OH	Central Catholic	6'2", 190	4	3	3	4	4/1/2012
Sprinkle, Tracy	DE	Elyria, OH	Elyria	6'4", 250	3	3	3	NR	4/17/2012

There were no additions to the Buckeyes' class this week.

PENN STATE

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Breneman, Adam	TE	Camp Hill, PA	Cedar Cliff	6'5", 220	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	4 stars	3/9/2012
Hackenberg, Christian	QB	Fork Union, VA	Fork Union Military Academy	6'4", 215	4	4	4	4	2/29/2012
Webb, Greg	DT	Sicklerville, NJ	Timber Creek	6'2", 290	4	4	4	4	4/5/2012
Sickels, Garrett	DE	Little Silver, NJ	Red Bank Reg	6'4", 230	4	4	4	4	3/4/2012
Douglas, Ross	Ath	Avon, OH	Avon	5'10", 180	4	4	3	4	2/29/2012
Mahon, Brendan	OL	Randolph, NJ	Randolph	6'5", 302	4	3	3	4	3/17/2012
Cothran, Curtis	DE	Newtown, PA	Council Rock	6'5", 230	NR	3	NR	NR	3/26/2012
Nelson, Andrew	OT	Hershey, PA	Hershey	6'5", 265	NR	NR	NR	NR	4/15/2012

There was no change in the Nittany Lions' class this week.

ILLINOIS

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Bailey, Aaron	QB	Bolingbrook, IL	Bolingbrook	6'2", 215	4 stars	4 stars	4 stars	4 stars	4/25/2012
Jackson, Merrick	DT	Belleville, IL	Althoff Catholic	6'2", 310	3	3	3	NR	4/30/2012
Clements, Jarrod	DE	Trotwood, OH	Trotwood-Madison	6'2", 275	3	3	3	NR	5/1/2012
Chadwell, Jesse	OL	Clarkston, MI	Clarkston	6'5", 260	NR	3	3	NR	3/15/2012
DiLauro, Christian	TE	Uniontown, OH	Green	6'5", 240	3 stars	3	3	NR	4/13/2012
Cazley, Dillan	DB	Charleston, IL	Charleston	5'10", 165	3	2	3	3 stars	2/28/2012
Foster, Kendrick	RB	Peoria, IL	Richwoods	5'8", 182	3	2	NR	NR	4/12/2012
Schmidt, Austin	OL	Galena, OH	Olentangy	6'6", 270	NR	2	NR	NR	5/5/2012
Gibbs, Kenton	DT	Detroit, MI	Cass Tech	6'2", 290	3	3	3	NR	5/5/2012

The Illini built on the steam they had going last week, gaining a commitment from a Michigan lineman. Despite having one more committed recruit than the Nittany Lions, they are still ranked behind them by 247.

MICHIGAN STATE

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Reschke, Jon	ILB	Bloomfield Hills, MI	Brother Rice	6'2", 223	4 stars	4 stars	4 stars	NR	2/17/2012
Benenoch, Caleb	OL	Katy, TX	Seven Lakes	6'6", 321	3	3	3	4 stars	3/13/2012
Shelton, R.J.	APB	Beaver Dam, WI	Beaver Dam	5'11", 187	3	3	3	3	2/26/2012
Jones, Shane	LB	Cincinnati, OH	Moeller	6'1", 220	4	3	3	NR	4/16/2012
Powell, Jalyn	S	Marion, OH	Harding	6'1", 185	3	3	3	NR	2/26/2012
Holmes, Gerald	RB	Flint, MI	Carman-Ainsworth	6'1", 209	3	3	3	3	2/5/2012
Terry, Damion	QB	Erie, PA	Cathedral Prep	6'4", 210	NR	3	NR	4	4/16/2012

There was no change in the Spartans' class this week.

IOWA

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Goebel, Colin	OG	Naperville, IL	Naperville	6'4", 275	3 stars	3 stars	3 stars	3 stars	4/21/2012
Kenny, John	LB	Carmel, IN	Carmel	6'2", 210	3	3	3	NR	4/27/2012
Gressel, Brant	DT	Centerville, OH	Centerville	6'2", 280	3	3	3	NR	4/23/2012
Kenney, David	DE	Indianapolis, IN	Pike	6'2", 250	4	3	4	4	4/4/2012
Willies, Derrick	WR	Rock Island, IL	Rock Island	6'3", 190	3	3	3	NR	4/10/2012
Hill, Delano	DB	Detroit, MI	Cass Technical	6'1", 190	3	3	3	3	4/14/2012
Bazata, Nathan	DT	Howells, NE	Nowells Jr/Sr	6'2", 270	3	3	NR	NR	4/22/2012

There was no change in the Hawkeyes' class this week.

NEBRASKA

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Banderas, Josh	LB	Lincoln, NE	Lincoln Southwest	6'2", 220	4 stars	4 stars	3 stars	4 stars	4/12/2012
Love, Courtney	LB	Youngstown, OH	Cardinal Mooney	6'1", 215	3	4	3	NR	4/22/2012
McWilson, Marcus	S	Youngstown, OH	Cardinal Mooney	6'0", 195	4	4	4	NR	2/26/2012
Lacouture, Christian	DE	College Station, TX	A&M Consolidated	6'5", 255	3	3	4	3	5/5/2012
Natter, AJ	DE	Milton, WI	Milton	6'5", 240	3	3	4	N3	4/16/2012
Dixon, Tre'Vell	Ath	Baldwin, LA	West St Mary	6'0", 180	4	3	3	4	1/23/2012

There was no change in the Huskers' class this week.

WISCONSIN

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Obasih, Chikwe	DE	Brookfield, WI	Central	6'3", 240	4 stars	4 stars	3 stars	NR	4/29/2012
Ramesh, Austin	RB/Ath	Eagle River, WI	Northland Pines	6'2", 221	3	4	3	3 stars	3/24/2012
Wheelwright, Rob	WR	Columbus, OH	Walnut Ridge	6'3", 185	3	3	4	3	4/29/2012
Dooley, Garret	LB	Rochester, IL	Rochester	6'2", 215	3	3	3	4	2/27/2012
Keeler, Jack	OL	Barrington, IL	Barrington	6'7", 285	3	3	3	4	5/3/2012
Watt, TJ	Ath	Pewaukee, WI	Pewaukee	6'4", 200	3	NR	3	NR	4/1/2012

There was no change in the Badgers' class this week.

NORTHWESTERN

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Alviti, Matt	QB	Park Ridge, IL	Maine South	6'0", 176	4 stars	4 stars	4 stars	4 stars	4/14/2012
King, Blake	OL	Minooka, IL	Minooka Community	6'5", 270	NR	3	NR	NR	5/3/2012

There was no change in the Wildcats' class this week.

PURDUE

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Etling, Danny	QB	Terre Haute, IN	Terre Haute South Vigo School	6'3", 210	3 stars	3 stars	3 stars	NR	4/17/2012
Gregory, Randy	DE	Yuma, AZ	Arizona Western CC	6'6", 230	NR	NR	NR	NR	5/9/2012

The Boilermakers picked up a commitment from JuCo transfer Gregory, who also held offers from Oregon State and Louisville.

MINNESOTA

Name	Position	Hometown	High School	Height/Weight	Rivals grade	247 grade	Scout grade	ESPN grade	Date Committed
Brookins, Keelon	CB	Oakdale, MN	Tartan	5'11", 175	3 stars	3 stars	3 stars	NR	2/26/2012

There was no change in the Golden Gophers' class this week.

INDIANA

No current commits.

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Penn State Will Host Boston College In The 2012 Big Ten-ACC Challenge

2012-05-15T01:09:01Z

Earlier today, the schedule for the 2012 edition of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge was announced, and the powers that be decided to pair together Penn State and Boston College for a second straight year. This time, however, the Eagles will make a return trip to Happy Valley, where PSU will attempt to repeat last year's victory up in Boston. The game will be played on Wednesday November 28th, which is the second and final night of a challenge that will feature marquee matchups such as Ohio State at Duke, UNC at Indiana, and NC State at Michigan, to name a few. All 12 games of the challenge will be broadcast in some way, shape, or form through the Dear Worldwide Leader (ESPN) series of networks.

During the DC leg of the Coaches Caravan tour, Pat Chambers mentioned how the folks in charge of scheduling at PSU were working to set up a home-and-home series with DC-area programs such as Georgetown, George Mason, and Maryland. Consider me disappointed then, when my dreams of a Penn State-Maryland showdown in this year's challenge were dashed. I suppose there's always 2013...

This announcement adds yet another confirmed non-conference game to the 2012-13 basketball schedule, which along with the already announced participation in the Puerto Rico Tipoff Tournament the week before Thanksgiving, home dates with Bucknell, Duquesne, and Penn, as well as a road date with LaSalle at the Palestra, is shaping up to be a semi-appealing OOC slate thus far.

BSD Roundtable: Which School Should Penn State Schedule for a Home-and-Home?

2012-05-14T20:00:31Z

Bill O'Brien made a splash last week when he expressed his desire for more marquee out-of-conference games for Penn State. That got us thinking- which program would you like Penn State to schedule for a home-and-home series, and what destination would make for the best road trip?

Cari- I'd like us to schedule a home-and-home with Texas--a storied program that I think we'd be competitive with, where a win would get us cred but a loss wouldn't damage us too hard.

As for which stadium I'd want to visit, I'd probably say Oregon's Autzen--I've heard so much about it, and how loud it is. And Oregon the state is supposed to be beautiful.

Devon- I'd love to see Penn State schedule a series with Stanford. They're not a traditional power, and they're sure to take a step back with the loss of Andrew Luck, but they've established themselves as a significant presence out west, and unlike Oregon and USC, one that isn't teeming with scandal. Stanford is also ideologically similar to us, with the heavy emphasis on education, but we haven't played them in 20 years. Let's remedy that.

Where would I like to visit? Well, Austin has been on my to-go list for a long time, and playing Texas would be a ton of fun. I could also use an excuse to take a vacation to Boulder, even though Colorado is hardly an elite non-conference opponent these days.

Ben- We used to schedule a series after a great bowl game: Alabama, after the '79 Sugar Bowl; Miami after the '87 Fiesta Bowl. Lets start a feud with another fan base after a great bowl game, so we have something handy to throw in each other's face. And no, I'm not talking about Houston.

I want at least two out of the following three traits from a destination: 1) great tailgating; 2) a great game; and/or 3) batshit crazy fans - they make for better stories. I was torn between Ole Miss, for 'the Grove' legend, and LSU for Death Valley at night. But I'm not keen on tie-and-jacket - con Ole Miss. And with LSU, there's a chance I could run into some of the 'Swamp People' actors - that's a definite pro. And LSU has food. My God, the food. So it's LSU - Death Valley, at night, after a day hanging out with the crazies you see in a Google image search of "LSU tailgating."

Jared- I've always thought a home-and-home with Texas A&M would be a welcome addition to Penn State's schedule. Both programs have a proud history with a laundry list of gameday traditions. Thanks to conference realignment, Penn State could gain more recognition for knocking off an almighty SEC team full of blazing-fast athletes.

I have always enjoyed watching games in College Station, and seeing these two historic programs face off at Kyle Field would make for compelling football. The fans are easily among the loudest in the nation and the white towels waving in unison, The Spirit of '02 firing away to celebrate each touchdown, and the yell leaders whipping the crowd into a frenzy all have to be awe-inspiring experiences. The large majority of us have never played a game in this type of atmosphere, so watching #12 sprint down the field on kick-offs is certainly an inspirational sight to behold. Be sure to bring a pretty date if this series ever happens, as tradition dictates you must kiss following touchdowns. And to avoid any embarrassment, make sure it's someone who is willing to kiss you in public.

Chris- It's far off the radar as a favored destination for most Penn State fans, but how about the University of Washington? A historically proud program (15 Pac-10 titles, two national championships) in a great American city (Seattle). Sign me up. There's very little history between the two programs. Penn State won both games between the programs, first in 1921 (21-7) and again in the 1983 Aloha Bowl (13-10). I'm looking at this as a rare road trip, and I don't have many reasons or opportunity to visit Seattle.

Mike- USC. Penn State and Southern Cal do have a nice history, nine games total, including a four-game series in the early 90s. The programs represent very different cultures, with the Trojans' West Coast flash contrasting nicely against the reserved Northeast attitude of the Nittany Lions. Tailgating? A warm, sunny day is nearly guaranteed. Add in beautiful beaches a stone's throw from the L.A. Coliseum, and you can count me in for a long weekend trip to Tinsel Town. Runner Up (it was very close): Stanford.

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