Decision Day Update

First for the bad news. Virginia athlete Dyrell Roberts chose VT over Penn State today. Virginia was knocked out of contention after his visit to Happy Valley this weekend and he went on to say it was close, however he felt more comfortable at VT.


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Now onto more bad news. Michigan offensive lineman, Deon'tae Pannell, has delayed his announcement for a few days. He went on to say that Michigan was third but has now caught up to Penn State and Michigan State saying they are all three at the top. With Michigan making up that much ground is such a short time, I would think that is where he is heading. He mentioned that his mothers influence will have an effect on his decision.


Scout.com: Groves OL Pannell Delays Decision A Few Days

How They Compare

I heard some idiot this weekend at the Phillies game spout off about Notre Dame and how PSU has not been in the title chase for a LONG time. Needless to say, with that statement right there, the guy is instantly labeled a moron seeing in 2005 PSU finished #3 overall with 1 loss in the last second of the game.

I have since found this information to directly compare the success of Penn State to Notre Dame. There are a lot of us out there in PA that have to deal with Notre Dame fans thinking they are a much more dominant football program. These numbers are from 1990 to the present. Numbers don't lie, so next time you have a Notre Dame fan that spouts without knowing the facts, tell them to reference this chart.

	# of Finishes		Cumulative
	ND	PSU	ND	PSU
Top 3	1	3	1	3
Top 5	1	0	2	3
Top 10	2	2	4	5
Top 15	3	3	7	8
Top 20	3	3	10	11
Top 25	1	1	11	12
Not Ranked	6	5	n/a	n/a

Penn State Future Schedule

With the Big 10 Media Days occurring this week, the 08 and 09 non conference schedules are out. Here they are for Penn State. Not very enticing to say the least:

The 2008 non-con:

Aug. 30: Coastal Carolina
Sept. 6: Arkansas State
Sept. 13: @ Syracuse
Sept. 20: TBA

The 2009 non-con:

Sept. 5: Eastern Michigan
Sept 12: Syracuse
Sept. 19: Temple

D'Anton Lynn Visits

Texan, D'Anton Lynn told USCFootball.com that he will only be taking 3 official visits. He mentioned that USC would definately be one of them and the other two will come from Penn State, Florida, Nebraska, Arkansas and Texas Tech. USCFootball.com also went on to say that it looks like Penn State is a lock for one of those visits as well which appear to put PSU and USC as the top contenders for Lynn's services.

Lynn is a 3 star (5.7) Safety according to Rivals.com.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Lynn likes USC

Deon'tae Pannell to Decide

Deon'tae Pannell is making his choice tomorrow, Tuesday. It is down to Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan came in late with their offer and as of the last interview with him, they were still #3 on his list. It is hard to count Michigan out in this race however with Pannell being from Michigan.


Scout.com: Deon'tae Pannell Profile

Roberts to Announce

Virginia athlete, Dyrell Roberts, visited Happy Valley this weekend. He came without having a Penn State scholarship, but left with one in hand given by Joe Paterno personally. Dyrell now has some thinking to do before his decision day of July 31st. He lists Virginia Tech and Penn State as his top 2 with Virginia, North Carolina and Florida (no offer) following. He says it is a pretty close race, but I think VT will be hard to beat in this one. We will know soon enough.

Roberts is the 32nd ranked running back in the nation according to Rivals.com.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - PSU makes a last-minute push for Roberts

Beachum #5

Ohio RB, Brandon Beachum made his college decision yesterday as planned. He selected Penn State over Wisconsin, Nebraska and Florida State. He had other big time offers as well in LSU, Oklahoma, West Virginia, etc. Brandon is expected to enroll in January to get a jump start on his college career.

Brandon is ranked by Rivals.com as the #4 player in Ohio and the #5 running back in the nation.

This is one running back down on the list that should contain two commits. Michael Shaw is the expected other, but there are several other targets as well still out there.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Beachum makes the call

Preseason Watch List

Penn State's Justin King has been added to the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. The Jim Thorpe award is given each year to the nation's top defensive back.



Andrew Quarless has also been added to a preseason watch list. Andrew has been added to the list of the Mackey Award: an award given each year to the nation's top tight end.




GoPSUsports.com - Official Home of Penn State Athletics

A.J. 65% Chance

A.J. Alexander said this week in an interview with Scout National Recruiting Editor, Allen Wallace, that he favors PSU solidly over VT, WVU, Tennessee and Pitt. We went on to say that there is a "65% chance I'll choose Penn State". Boy have things changed quickly. He started his recruitment saying that he wanted to stay close to home and then he committed to FSU. He is now back to saying he'd "rather not go too far away...".


Scout.com: Looks Slotted To Go

Dyrell Roberts to Visit

Dyrell Roberts is to announce in the next few weeks and was not going to make a PSU visit as he does not have a PSU offer. However, PSU is still in his top 3 with Virginia and Virginia Tech and he has decided to make the journey to Happy Valley this weekend. He is expected to be a Tech lean, but if the staff decides to offer we will see what that will do to his decision. Tech and Virginia are both recruting Roberts as a wide receiver and Penn State is recruiting him as a running back.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Roberts will visit, after all

A.J.'s New Top 3

Several weeks ago, A.J. Alexander de-committed from Florida State. This week he apparently has a new top 3 of PSU, WVU, and VT. He also confirmed that he will be at the ND vs. PSU game this year.

FightOnState.com, TOTAL ACCESS Premium Board

Beachum to Decide

Ohio native, Brandon Beachum, says he has "already made up my (his) mind" and plans on announcing this weekend, Sunday, July 29th. He will be choosing from his top 5 which include Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State, Florida State and LSU. Out of those 5, he has only visited PSU and Wisconsin.

Brandon is also teammates with current PSU commit, Michael Zordich.


Scout.com: Pretty Much Decided

In Lynn's Top 3?

Texas standout, D'Anton Lynn has over 20 offers and lists USC, Florida and Penn State as those he is favoring "solidly" over the rest. Lynn is the #37 safety prospect ranked by scout and the 97th ranked player out of the Southwest.


Scout.com: Travelin' Man

Ridenhour selects UMass

Spencer Ridenhour has selected UMass to continue his last years of football. Spencer transferred out of Penn State a few weeks ago.

Football: Ridenhour selects UMass

Season is Near

It is official. Penn State will host the “Penn State Football Eve presented by Sheetz" on August 31st in Beaver Stadium. The stadium will open at 7:00PM with the event starting 45 minutes later.


GoPSUsports.com - Official Home of Penn State Athletics

Top 2 for Beachum

The other day Brandon Beachum gave his top 3 of Nebraska, Wisconsin and Penn State. However in a report done by Wisconsin's Rival's site, Beachum said Penn State and Wisconsin are in the lead due to visiting both schools and not visiting Nebraska yet. He is going to try to visit Nebraska, but mentioned he may be committing before he gets a chance...


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Beachum eyeing three

Painter's Top 5

Penn State made Vinston Painter's top 5 along with Virginia Tech, Miami, Florida and Georgia. Vinston has not been to Penn State since he was a freshman, but says he will be taking an official there this year.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Lions on the list?

AJ De-Commits

Many PSU followers were shocked when PA standout, A.J. Alexander, committed to Florida State a few months ago. They will be happy once again to know that he has recently de-committed from Florida State. He did not choose to do so because he was unhappy with FSU, but he just felt that he rushed his decision. A.J. will now take official visits to Florida State, Penn State, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia Tech (VPI). He mentioned that Florida State and Penn State stand out to him a bit from the rest.

I guess the rumors swarming this story the last few weeks are official. This would be a great pickup for the lions if they land him in the end by keeping top talent in PA.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Change of heart for ATH Alexander

GoPSUsports.com - Official Home of Penn State Athletics

The most recent Penn State wrestling recruiting class has been ranked #3 by InterMat. They are only behind Ohio State and Missouri.

GoPSUsports.com - Official Home of Penn State Athletics

BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Visit is all academic for Beachum

Brandon Beachum, teammate of PSU commit Michael Zordich, toured Penn State once again this weekend for an unofficial visit. This visit was mostly academics driven. After the visit, Brandon listed PSU in his top 5 with Wisconsin, Nebraska, Florida State and LSU. Academics are very high on Beachum's list and PSU is in great position with that priority. Penn State is recruiting Beachum as a running back where many others are recruiting him for defense. He currently is the 4th ranked player in Ohio.


BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Visit is all academic for Beachum

Varsity Insider » Blog Archive » Ridenhour leaving Penn State

Apparently Spencer Ridenhour has decided to transfer out of Penn State. It was speculated that even if he stayed on this year, he would not come back for his final year. This will work out for both Spencer and Penn State the best as he is currently behind some major talent and will get a chance to play somewhere else. However Penn State also will get another much needed scholarship back to some of the big time players still on their recruiting list.


Varsity Insider » Blog Archive » Ridenhour leaving Penn State

Scout.com: James McDonald Profile

James McDonald was dismissed earlier this year in April from the Penn State football team for breaking an unspecified team rule. It now appears that he is back on the roster. Whether or not he is on scholarship is still a question that has not been answered.


Scout.com: James McDonald Profile

Frazer to UConn

It is official that Zach Frazier is transferring from Notre Dame to play at the University of Connecticut.

ESPN - Ex-Notre Dame QB Frazer to transfer to UConn - College Football