Mike Poorman
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The Week That Was (and Could Be) Are Big for Penn State Athletics
in Columns, Local & Penn State Sports, Local News, Penn State, Penn State Football, Penn State Sports, Penn State Wrestling—
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It was a big week for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics. As if anyone noticed. And an even bigger one may be on the horizon. Last Monday, the website AthleticDirectorU.com published a ranking of Big Ten Conference athletic departments as part of its Athletic Department Power Index series. Penn State was ranked No. 4 among the…
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Adding Up the (Low) Numbers on Penn State’s Offensive Line
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At the 2014 Blue-White Game, Penn State was facing a shortage of offensive linemen. So, the O-linemen wore gray jerseys and played for both offenses. Two former defensive linemen on the PSU roster that day – Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia – had moved to offense earlier in the spring. To stay. For good. And…
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A Whirlwind of Change for James Franklin and Penn State Football
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It’s a brand new Penn State world for James Franklin these days. And we’re not just talking NIL, the transfer portal, an expanded and renovated Lasch building, and Alston payouts to his players. Or the departure of his longtime strength and conditioning coach. Or the departure of his longtime defensive coordinator. Or the departure of…
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Penn State Football: Franklin’s Running Game Needs More Cowbell in 2022
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James Franklin wants Penn State to run the football better in 2022. And that definitely includes his running backs. Not necessarily more carries – OK, two or three more a game would be more to Franklin’s historical liking. Prior to the 2020 season, Nittany Lion running backs averaged 25.2 carries per game during Franklin’s first…
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Time to Show Some Extra Gratitude for Penn State’s Cael Sanderson; How About a 10-Year Contract?
in Columns, Local & Penn State Sports, Local News, Penn State, Penn State Sports, Penn State Wrestling—
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Cael Sanderson is approaching John Wooden territory. Truly legendary in the history of American intercollegiate athletics. Wooden, the Wizard of Westwood, won 10 national NCAA basketball championships in a 12-season period at UCLA — with seven of them coming in a row. On Saturday, Sanderson’s Penn State wrestling team won its ninth NCAA wrestling championship in…
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Can Penn State Quarterback Sean Clifford Be the Next Kenny Pickett?
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Compare Sean Clifford’s three years as Penn State’s starting quarterback with Kenny Pickett’s first three as the starter at Pitt and you come away thinking two things: 1.) The numbers are eerily similar. 2.) If Clifford is going to pull what Pickett did in 2021 – take a strong jump in production, wins and draftability…
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Penn State Spring Practice Kicks Off Another Reboot for James Franklin, as Coaches and Staff Continue to Come and Go
in Columns, Local & Penn State Sports, Local News, Penn State Blue-White Game, Penn State Football, Penn State Sports—
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James Franklin is rapidly approaching his 3,000th day at Penn State, which is March 30. When he was introduced as the Nittany Lions’ head football coach on Jan. 11, 2014, Penn State was undergoing turbulent times. Rod Erickson was president. David Joyner was athletic director. Penn State was under heavy NCAA sanctions. And Franklin was…
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Penn State and the NFL Combine: All-Time Nittany Lion Records, Big Ten Rankings and a Position-by-Position Breakdown
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Eight former Nittany Lion football players will take part in the 2022 NFL Combine that begins Tuesday in Indianapolis and runs — and jumps and lifts — through Sunday. It’s a good time to dust off my Top 12 all-time listings of Penn State showings at the Combine, headed by former safety Trop Apke – among Penn Staters,…
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What the College Football Playoff Staying at 4 Teams Means for Penn State
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When the College Football Playoff leaders announced last week they were staying at four teams for at least the next four seasons, it was a bad news/good news scenario for Penn State. For Penn State, perhaps as much as any of the 65 teams in the Power 5, it also had to be devastating news…
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The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Penn State’s Offensive Line
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James Franklin and Phil Trautwein have been working furiously this offseason trying to stop a PSU OL drought that is almost offensive. They’ve secured 10 offensive linemen – present and future – since December’s Signing Day, counting verbal commitments. That includes five signees in the Class of ’22, with transfers from Lackawanna College and Cornell,…