States like New Hampshire are often overlooked by college recruiters scouring the northeast. With a population of a little over 1.3 million (barely 14.5% of the population of New York City), the talent pool in the Granite State is as shallow as it gets when it comes to Division I football players. With so many other recruiting hotbeds in the region, college coaches just haven’t found a reason to stop in New Hampshire and thus the state and it’s prospects have largely fallen by the wayside.
That is, until recently.
Defensive back prospect Jake Kiley out of New Hampton Prep may very well have put the Granite State back on Penn State’s radar.
The New Hampton native committed to Bill Kenney and the Nittany Lions this afternoon, less than a day following his official offer from Penn State on Monday night. In fact, Kiley would have committed even sooner, but was unable to reach Penn State assistant coach Bill Kenney by phone.
“Penn State was my No. 1 school,” Kiley said. “It would have been crazy not to take the offer.”
He holds no other Division I offers, though that is probably the result of playing high school football in New Hampshire. In fact, national recruiting service Rivals only lists a total of seven 2012 prospects out of New Hampshire, none of whom except Kiley has been ranked, rated or analyzed, and Scout hasn’t even gotten around to rating the US Army All-American candidate altogether. He has even attended summer camps at UConn, Boston College, and Penn State and made numerous unofficial visits just to remain visible on the recruiting trail.
“[BC assistant coach] Sean Devine said if he had an outstanding junior year they’d probably offer him,” said Kiley’s father, Ed, who is also New Hampton’s head coach. “I just got a call from Syracuse. They’re starting to get in the mix now.
Yet Kiley might be the top prospect out of the Granite State. The 6’2″ 175 lb recruit plays both quarterback and defensive back for the New Hampton Huskies. He accounted for 24 touchdowns last season, 14 rushing and 10 passing. On defense he grabbed 47 tackles, four interceptions and three sacks.
The two-way athlete guided New Hampton to a 8-1 record his sophomore season and a 7-2 season in 2010 with back to back appearances in the Roke Bowl (New England Championship). A performance that earned him a US Army All-American nod as well as All-New England and Evergreen League’s Most Valuable Player honors as a junior.
But with New Hampshire largely overlooked by many college programs and recruiting services, Kiley remained largely under the Nittany Lions’ radar until his performance at the Penn State Rising Senior Camp in June where he impressed the staff enough to earn an extended camp offer. An offer that was formally extended Monday night. He joins fellow commits Austin Johnson and Derek Dowrey as members of the 2012 Class who earned their scholarship offers at Penn State’s Rising Senior Camp.
And though he has experience playing on both sides of the ball, Kiley is projected to be a defensive back at the next level. A position that will suit his height and reported 4.56 40-yard dash time well. It also fills a dire need in the defensive secondary for Penn State who has only picked up 2 defensive back recruits in the past 3 years. Given the depth of the secondary, Jake will actually have a shot at competing for playing time right away.
Ed Kiley, his dad who also happens to be the New Hampton Huskies’ head coach had this to say about Jake,
‘He has good hands, pretty quick feet and he can break on balls. Some 1-AA schools like him as a quarterback, but he knows he’s probably going to be a DB. He’s going to be recruited as an athlete.”
Penn State has beaten Pitt for another blue chip WPIAL player out of the Panther’s backyard yet again.
John Paul Holtz, or J.P. for short, out of Shaler Area HS will be Penn State’s 12th member for the Class of 2012 verbally committing to Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions Friday. A decision he then announced on his Facebook page reading, “Committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions.”
Holtz was just about a do-it-all athlete for the Shaler Area Titans. Set to start at the inside linebacker position for the third straight season, the 6’4″, 230 lb player also became the Titan’s number 1 ball carrier last season after Shaler’s top two tailbacks went down with injuries. Instead of buckling under the pressure, Holtz seized the opportunity to step up and emerged as a highly versatile threat for the Titans tallying 14 touchdowns both on the ground and through the air. In fact, during a 3 game span last season, Holtz accounted for 6 touchdowns, scored in 3 different ways; 4 rushing, 1 receiving and 1 interception return. Even as a freshman, Holtz displayed incredible versatility, once stepping in for an injured quarterback and guided the Titans to a WPIAL Class AAAA playoff win over Canon-McMillan and current Penn State linebacker Mike Hull. Oh, and by the way, he’s also an exceptional starting center for the Shaler basketball team as well.
Athleticism that caught the attention of numerous programs and as the season progressed, Holtz racked up an impressive offer list that grew to 14 scholarships from regional programs Boston College, Cinncinnati, UConn, Maryland, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia and West Virginia as well as B1G foes Michigan State and Purdue. And though he still had a trip to State College scheduled for next month, Holtz felt his mind had been made up. Finally selecting Penn State over Michigan State, Purdue and hometown Pitt in a choice he described as a ‘dream’ decision.
“I wanted to get [recruiting] over with before the season, and [playing for Penn State has] always been like a dream. When you’re from Pennsylvania, it’s a big thing,” said Holtz, who has 14 Division I scholarship offers and picked the Nittany Lions over Purdue, Michigan State and Pitt. “It’s like the perfect place to go to, especially for football, and it’s a really good school, too. I’ll get a good education. I knew it was the right choice.
For Holtz, it came down to the opportunity to play at the next level in a top-notch conference much like how the WPIAL Class AAAA is regarded at the high school level,
“One of the main reasons I picked Penn State,” Holtz said, “is because the WPIAL is like the Big Ten — a lot of big, tough guys.”
Holtz is considered a 3-star tight prospect by both recruiting services, and the #24 tight end nationally by Scout, but Cory James of Fight on State is reporting that he will be a fullback at Penn State. A fitting move considering the versatility he displayed as the Titan’s top ball carrier last season. His combination of size, 4.7 40-yard dash speed and 325 lb bench press will certainly help him succeed at the fullback position.
“I like running back the best. I know that’s not where I’m going to play, but that’s what I like the best,” Holtz said. “I like having the ball in my hands.”
And with another tight end prospect Jesse James already on board for this class, it will leave the door open for the recruitment of highly touted Florida TE Kent Taylor, nation’s top-ranked tight end.
Hearing new #psu commit JP Holtz will be a fullback at PSU. Therefore, PSU still going after FL TE Kent Taylor
His high school coach, Neil Gordon had this to say about Holtz,
“He has come a long way in the past year,” he said. “He is an athlete, very good in the weight room. He has a nice frame. The first thing out of your mouth is, ‘There is a Division I football player.’ “
If Neil Gordon’s name sounds familiar to you, its because he was also the head coach of former Lions Ron Graham and more infamously, Anthony Morelli at Penn Hills.
Holtz becomes the 2nd player out of the WPIAL to commit to Penn State’s 2012 Class, joining fellow tight end Jesse James out of South Allegheny.
The Penn State athletic department will be collecting a slightly bigger check from the conference this year.
Stu Durando of St Louis Today is reporting that Illinois and fellow B1G schools will receive its largest payout from the conference to date.
The conference will pay Illinois a record $22.6 million, with $7.9 million coming from the network, according to figures provided by the university.
And because of the Big Ten’s balanced revenue-sharing system the St Louis Today numbers can be applied to every other conference member with the exception of Nebraska who won’t earn a full share until 2017.
So thanks to the continued success of the Big Ten Network, Penn State and its fellow conference brethren will reportedly be receiving close to $22.6 million this year from the Big Ten. A truly staggering sum that dwarfs the $18.3 million SEC schools will reportedly earn and the $12 million Big 12 members will receive on average (Big 12 does not share revenue equally among its members) this fiscal year.
And to think fans were somewhat worried that the Big Ten would fall back into the pack in terms of revenue when TV agreements were first renegotiated by the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC this offseason.
Apparently, the BTN is emerging to be a far more formidable cash cow than most have expected. Stu Durando’s breakdown of Illinois’ conference payout should provide Big Ten fans with even more reasons for optimism.
The breakdown of the Big Ten’s payment to Illinois includes $16.6 million from television, of which $8.2 million comes from ESPN and ABC.
The BTN, just 4 years running, has pretty much already closed the gap with the more established networks in its ability to fill our coffers. Of the $22.6 million Penn State is set to receive, $7.9 million will come from the BTN. That’s just $300,000 less than the $8.2 million each B1G members is currently receiving from the ESPN and ABC.
Just 4 years in, the BTN is almost generating as much revenue for the conference as ESPN and ABC. Now imagine the revenue stream should the Big Ten Network continues to grow as analysts expect.
The Big Ten Network continued to see its revenue grow in 2010. It generated $227 million as advertising revenue jumped 22 percent over 2009 based on statistics from industry analyst Derek Baine of SNL Kagan.
Estimates by SNL Kagan suggest the network will continue to be a boon for the Big Ten. By 2015, the BTN is projected to generate $333 million.
As it stands now, the BTN generates $7.9 million for its member schools, a whopping 21 percent increase from last year’s $6.5 million share. This year’s $22.6 million payout is also more than a $2 million increase from the $20 million each members received last fiscal year and the $19 million payout earned in the 2008-09 fiscal year.
And to think the Big Ten gets to renegotiate it’s television contract with ABC/ESPN, one that is set to expire in 2016, pretty soon. In light of recent TV agreements signed with the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC, that number could very well be astronomical.
Remember how, after Pat Devlin’s departure, Penn State was pretty screwed because he was the only scholarship QB they’d signed between 2006 and 2008?
Well, I’m sure the coaching staff does, because they’ve made sure to avoid that same dilemma, securing the commitment of Philadelphia’s own Skyler Mornhinweg.
It’s Official – Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joesph’s QB Skyler Mornhinweg will be a #PennState#NittanyLion
If that last name sounds familiar, it probably is. Skyler’s dad is Marty Mornhinweg, the current offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, and former head coach of the Detroit Lions.
Skyler–sorry, but I can only type out that last name so many times–had committed to Jim Harbaugh and Stanford more than two years ago, when he was a rising sophomore (which probably tells you something about the kid, from both an academic and football perspective). After Harbaugh left for the NFL, taking the job as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Skyler decommitted to explore his options, and Penn State quickly became a leader.
If Mornhinweg isn’t a name you’d become accustomed with over the past few months, don’t feel bad. He’s handled his recruitment pretty quietly, and lacks the stars that makes any player stand out. Rivals grades him as the #29 player in Pennsylvania, and unranked among quarterbacks, rating Skyler as a 3-star prospect. Scout also grants 3 stars to Mornhinweg, listing him as the #44 QB in the class of 2012. ESPN’s slightly more positive, rating him as the #16 QB in the class, awarding the elusive fourth star, and grading him as an 80, which would make him the second highest graded commit to the Nittany Lions thusfar.
But lest you feel that Penn State is taking another flyer on some unknown kid, worry not: Skyler’s offer sheet is pretty impressive. He picked Penn State over national powers like Alabama and Tennessee, and from schools like Illinois and Stanford–who still pursued Mornhinweg. Other interest had come from Northwestern, Miami, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Florida State, and Arkansas. The 6’3, 215-pound Mornhinweg doesn’t appear to be a pure pocket passer–in fact, he was a highly heralded safety for his St. Joseph’s Prep squad last year, named to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s all-Southeast PA team at the position. But he’s no slouch at QB, either, having thrown for over 3100 yards and 31 touchdowns the past two years, en route to a first-team all-Catholic League Class AAAA selection in 2010, even on a team that finished just 4-7.
It’s his uncanny ability to win games in pressure situations that sets [Mornhinweg] apart. He directed Prep to four fourth-quarter comebacks his sophomore year and two fourth-quarter comebacks his junior season. Nothing phases him.
Following the de-commitment of Jamil Pollard (or perhaps a pulled scholarship from JoePa and crew), there’s no net change on the size of the Penn State Class of 2012; it remains steady at 11 verbal commitments. But it’s also starting to become a more well-rounded crew, after stocking up early on linemen, from both sides of the ball. And it’s good for the staff to avoid the chaos that occurs when you only have 1 scholarship quarterback on the roster–and after the trying offseason when every one but McGloin was linked to transfer rumors, Mornhinweg’s commitment is a welcome sight, if not one that serves an immediate need. Though this may weaken Penn State’s chances to get 5-star QB prospect Devin Fuller, I’m going to stick by the old adage: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Okay, now that I’ve gotten through that whole article without addressing it: Marty, what the hell were you thinking naming the kid Skyler? And this coming from the same guy who won the coin toss in overtime… and elected to kick. I think we can all agree, the elder Mornhinweg has made some puzzling decisions. But I’m going to go out on a limb, and suggest that Skyler Mornhinweg is the best quarterback ever named Skyler. At the very least, I’m pretty sure he’s better than Minnie Driver, who played Skyler in Good Will Hunting.
In the beginning, scientists say, all matter and energy in the universe was focused into the tiniest of possible concentrations. From that incredibly hot, dense state, came a rapid expansion outward, and after enough time, I’m here to write this post, and you’re reading it, all thanks to the Big Bang.
Well, I wasn’t really around back then, but Mike over at Black Shoe Diaries, though he’d probably hate the analogy, was the Big Bang of the Penn State blogosphere. A better part of a decade ago, he was one of the first pioneers into the blogosphere, at least for Nittany Lion fans, and it’s in no small part due to the impact he made that, for so many years, Penn State has been one of the best-represented schools on these interwebs. For a long time, you’d need to use both hands and maybe a foot to count how many PSU-centric blogs there were, and all, to be sure, were producing great content. Perhaps it flowed from the top down, from Black Shoe Diaries to the rest of us, and it’s entirely possible, if not likely, that many of us wouldn’t be writing today if it weren’t for the example Mike always set.
But if you haven’t heard the news by now, and I’m sure I’m not breaking this to anyone, Mike’s stepping down, after many years at the helm of BSD. And sure enough, the ensuing madness has brought on what plenty of astrophysicists imagine to be an end-of-the-world situation far more real than the fancies of Harold Camping, or the predictions of the ancient Mayans: the consolidation of so much energy back into one point. Though Mike may be leaving BSD, it’s sure to flourish in his absence, seeing as the SB Nation gang has brought together not just Chris and Kevin, Mike’s former copilots (and formerly of SlowStates), but the whole Linebacker-U gang, and even Ben, formerly of Victory Bell Rings, to go along with the usual cast of characters, who worked alongside Mike. There are a few of us stragglers left; namely, us here at NittanyWhiteOut, William F. Yurasko, the litter in JoePa’s Doghouse, and our friend Kevin McGuire’s Nittany Lions’ Den, and this surely isn’t the end of the Penn State blogosphere, by any stretch of the imagination, so maybe it’s not exactly parallel. You’ll have to indulge me on this one.
Know that, for the forseeable future, we’ll be here to bring you the content you’ve hopefully come to expect from us–I’m still out of the country, and Charlie’s been doing the heavy lifting for a while, but as we approach football season, we’ll be getting into our usual gear. This, of course, isn’t a post updating you about how our summers have gone–but in the midst of the chaos, I think it’s important to let everyone who might be reading this know that we don’t expect to be terribly affected by all the craziness. I’m not sure any of us know how it’s going to work–we haven’t had this few Penn State blogs since Mike was just getting started, probably, but we’re excited to see just how this shapes up, and what our role will be in this new universe.
But if you’re celebrating ArtsFest this weekend, it wouldn’t hurt to pour one out for a fallen homey. Though Mike’s not dead, he is moving on, and though life will go on, for us Penn State blogs, I know it won’t be the same without him.
That is, if the game is actually scheduled to takes place.
The Delaware County Times is reporting that Dominick Dawes, head coach of Division 3 team Neumann University, has confirmed that Penn State and Neumann University are currently working on plans for an outdoor game at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park that would be scheduled for January 4th, 2012.
When word that the Nittany Lions would be playing hockey in South Philadelphia first broke yesterday, Penn State fans were sent into a frenzy. The timing couldn’t be more perfect for Penn State fans in the Philadelphia area with the game scheduled to take place just 2 days after the hometown Flyers and Rangers square off on the same rink for the Winter Classic.
But as details surrounding the game continue to surface, it is starting to look as if the news and excitement over the potential outdoor game may have been a tad premature.
Although the deal is described by Neumann University men’s hockey coach Dominick Dawes as “definitely not a slam dunk,” there is a plan for Neumann, that once-small Catholic school in Aston that is growing its programs at hyperspeed, to host Penn State in a Jan. 4 ballpark non-brawl on ice.
In fact, the idea of the outdoor game itself might just still be in the preliminary stages,
Dawes said the original agreement was for Penn State to play the Knights Nov. 4, but that changed with the developments of the Winter Classic, which at last word was still being bartered by the money people representing the Phillies and the NHL.
Presuming the league finally reaches an agreeable leasing deal for CBP, the Flyers and Rangers would meet Jan. 2, then other community youth activities are scheduled to be held and the game between Neumann and Penn State would follow on the 4th.
But that didn’t stop the rumor from breaking on Twitter yesterday, which led to the subsequent blogposts/links announcing a Penn State outdoor game even though the Winter Classic itself, which would set the stage, the infrastructure, and the promotional blitz for any possible Penn State/Neumann game is still not finalized yet. In fact, the 2012 Winter Classic hasn’t been confirmed by the NHL or the teams expected to take part, but that’s not stopping Penn State and Neumann University Knights from announcing that they’ll be a part. From the Icers’ homepage,
Two days after the Flyers and Rangers take part in the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizen’s Bank Park, the Penn State Icers will get their chance at playing on the same, grand stage.
The Icers will face NCAA Division 3 Neumann University on Wednesday, January 4th at 7 PM.
The announcement has since been deleted from various blogs, and the Icers website. But let’s hope this is just temporary and the idea actually comes to fruition.
The exposure that an outdoor hockey game will bring to the Penn State hockey program cannot be understated. An attention grabbing gimmick like this outdoor game just days following the Winter Classic is just what a program on the brink of rising to the Division I ranks like Penn State needs to make a splash on the hockey scene. Even the opponent will be a significant step up from the usual ACHA club-level opponents. What better way to attract the attention of scholarship athletes during the midst of our final ACHA season than scheduling the 2009 Division III national champions in an outdoor venue. A true coming out party for the soon-to-be newest member of the Division I hockey fraternity.
Should the ink finally dry on plans for the game to take place, the Icers and Knights will join an increasing number college teams being packaged around the Winter Classic. Last year, Atlantic Hockey foes Robert Morris and Rochester Institute of Technology faced off inside the CONSOL Energy Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the lead-up to the Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals at Heinz Field.
Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies is set to play host to the 2012 Winter Classic
Hockey East rivals Boston University and Boston College both took advantage of a similar opportunity in 2010 when a sold out Fenway Park watched as Boston University beat Boston College 3-2 under the lights in the Frozen Fenway a week following the Winter Classic featuring the Flyers and the Bruins at Fenway Park. The Frozen Fenway turned out to be a PR bonanza for everyone involved; BU, BC and Hockey East. Tickets sold out in less than a week and the game was broadcasted by NESN, with the NHL Network picking up the NESN feed. With Sun Life Financial’s title sponsorship, the game even generated a profit which was divided up among all Hockey East programs. Just imagine the recruiting and financial advantages that Penn State, still a year removed from making the Division I jump, could gain from an attention-grabbing event like the Frozen Fenway.
And for the Penn State athletic program trying to convince fans to purchase tickets and season packages for Penn State’s inaugural season as a Division I program, the possible timing of an Icers game packaged around the Winter Classic couldn’t be more ideal.
Let’s just hope an official announcement will be made soon and who knows, if the game is a resounding success the possibility of a Penn State hockey game or a Winter Classic in Beaver Stadium might not be too far behind.
Penn State has just announced that the 2011 football team schedule poster is now available to the masses at the student bookstore and various downtown locations.
Fans should be familiar with the design seeing it is an exact replica of this season’s football yearbook cover. The design created to commemorate Penn State football’s 125th season features a vintage blue silhouette of its very first All-American, William Thomas Dunn.
A 4 year starter for the Nittany Lions, Dunn was named captain his senior year for the 1906 squad who finished the season 8-1-1. ‘Mother’ Dunn anchored a ferocious Nittany Lion line that held 9 of Penn State’s 10 opponents scoreless.
Walter Camp even remarked how Dunn “persistently broke through and blocked kicks. Able to run the hundred inside of 11 seconds, he was down under his own side’s kicks with the ends” eventually awarding Penn State’s first recipient of the Walter Camp All-American award to ‘Mother’ Dunn. To this day, Dunn is still regarded as one of Penn State’s all-time greatest lineman.
A truly fitting selection to honor Penn State football’s past in its 125th season.
And the timing of the posters’ release couldn’t have been more perfect with Arts Fest looming this weekend and the throngs of fans expected to be in attendance. The perfect storm from a PR marketing perspective.
Except there is just one little problem.
The actual schedule in the football team schedule posters is incorrect. Unless Penn State is indeed playing the Boilermakers the Saturday following Indiana, the Penn State athletics department is now in possession of thousands of inaccurate team schedule posters. The posters’ designers mistakenly switched the Purdue and Iowa logos from where they should be. A simple, but noticeable mistake that tarnishes an otherwise vintage keepsake befitting of an important milestone in the football program’s history.
Ouch.
Though this isn’t the first time the athletics department has dealt with a public snafu. Penn State accidentally mailed thousands of misprinted tickets asking fans to wear white for the Temple game last season. A clear error considering that the White House is usually scheduled for Penn State’s most marquee opponents, the last one held against Notre Dame. A game against an eastern Pennsylvanian MAC opponent certainly did not warrant the honor. But like this year’s football posters, the error escaped proofreaders and wasn’t caught by the time it was sent to the printers and thousands of fans headed to the Temple game were in possession of misprinted tickets asking everyone to wear white.
Neither error should cause mass confusion where fans will miss games, but let’s just keep our fingers crossed that the dates on this season’s tickets will be printed accurately.
Penn State has just picked up it’s 11th recruit for the Class of 2012. Valley View HS linebacker Nyeem Wartman has committed to the Nittany Lions over the weekend. A fitting end to a 5 month process that began with the extension of a verbal offer by Dick Anderson to Wartman back in February.
“This is not only a decision I made for myself,” Wartman told The Times. “I’m happy that I can do this for my family and for my mom. I really liked the fact that players at Penn State, no matter what grade they were in, went out of their way to get to know me and talk with me. They made it feel like a family.”
The two-way recruit helped lead the Cougars to an Eastern Conference AAA football title last season earning Times-Tribune All Region honors. Wartman caught 13 passes for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns at the tight end position. On the other side of the ball, he racked up 115 tackles, including 70 solo and 10 for losses, an interception and 3 fumble recoveries predominantly as an outside linebacker, a position Wartman is expected to play at the next level. He is considered the #30 recruit at the position by Scout, #31 by Rivals.
Not only is Wartman a 3-year starter for the Valley View football team, he is also a sprinter on the school’s District 2 Class AA championship track and field team where he managed to post a sub-11 second time in the 100 meters.
Photo Credit: Butch Comegys / Times-Tribune
Speed his football coach, George Howanitz raves about,
“We’re probably doing an injustice to him. Because he’s so fast and all he’s able to do, we move him around a lot. If he just stayed in and played middle linebacker for us, his stats would probably be a lot better… One play, we played Abington Heights. They had a tight end going to Villanova, probably 6-3, 240 or 250. He tried to block down on Nyeem. Nyeem put him on his back and then tackled the ball carrier in the backfield, snapping his head back.”
Scout also had this to say about the 3-star recruit,
Wartman plays a lot of roles for the Valley View defense. You’ll see him inside or outside, sometimes he’ll be covering the slot receiver. More times than not he is in the middle and we see him as more of an outside linebacker. He doesn’t have the quickest first step and when he has to sit back and read it really hinders his skills as an athlete. Wartman needs to be out in space where he can use his athleticism to his advantage.
The 6-foot-3, 226 lb standout held more than a dozen offers from the likes of Boston College, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina State, Syracuse and Pitt, but it ultimately came down to a decision between the Nittany Lions and the Scarlet Knights.
“I was planning for one more go-round visiting Penn State and visiting Rutgers, but, when I got to Penn State, everything was great, I was comfortable with the players. Everything happened that I wanted to happen,”
Wartman joins Camren Williams as the 2nd linebacker in the 2012 class.
The timing of his commitment comes as no surprise, the Scranton area star was in attendance to support Penn State’s Lift for Life Challenge on Friday. He spent the day talking to current Penn State players while being escorted by linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden. It was just a matter of time before he would feel right at home in Holuba Hall.
“I literally felt like I was on the team now. When [incoming freshman] Kyle [Carter] said he had to get home, go to sleep and get up for lifting, it felt I had to get up for lifting, and I went home and went to sleep, too,”
A little over six months since Terrelle Pryor and 4 other Buckeye players were officially accused of selling memorabilia for improper benefits, Ohio State has finally prepared a response to the NCAA.
Photo Credit: Jeff Hickley / DISPATCH
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting Ohio State will vacate wins from the 2010 season and place the program on probation for two years as part of self-imposed punishment in their response to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations. An obvious step in the right direction considering the season-long coverup involving Jim Tressel withholding knowledge of rule violations despite receiving word of the scandal as early as April of last year. By withholding knowledge of the scandal and the involvement of his players, 4 of them starters, Jim Tressel knowingly played the Tatt Five for the entire 2010 season when their eligibility should have been in question. So for Ohio State to vacate the 2010 Big Ten title season, as well as the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas should be considered a no-brainer, it was the very least they could have done, the NCAA would have automatically imposed that penalty.
Interestingly, the Buckeyes’ self-immolation does not include scholarship reductions or a post-season ban. A bold move considering how Ohio State managed to somehow convince the NCAA to postpone the suspensions of Tatt Five and keep all 5 offending players eligible for the Sugar Bowl when the case was first brought to light last December. A questionable decision that only further embarrassed the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement staff when details surfaced after the Sugar Bowl of Jim Tressel’s involvement and subsequent coverup of the case as early as last April.
Even vacating the Sugar Bowl is nothing more than an illusion of punishment for the involvement of Tatt Five, the retroactive erasing what already happened is more of a symbolic gesture than an actual punishment. The Buckeyes have already reaped in most of the benefits of a Sugar Bowl win on national television; tickets have been sold, the offending players played crucial roles in the win, and national exposure of beating a SEC team in a BCS bowl cannot be erased. If the NCAA is truly serious about punishing Ohio State for the use of ineligible players not only during the entire 2010 season, but in the Sugar Bowl, a post-season ban will do the trick.
At this point the Buckeyes are basically hedging their bets that the sacrifice of head coach Jim Tressel will be more than sufficient to appease the NCAA firing squad. A clear strategy of painting sweatervest wearing Jim Tressel as a rouge agent working alone in manipulating Ohio State.
Ohio State concedes major violations of NCAA regulations but says it should not face harsher punishment, because no OSU official other than Tressel was aware of player violations, according to the response that was obtained by The Dispatch.
“The responsibility is upon Tressel. No other institutional personnel were aware” of the violations, and the former coach failed in his obligation to report them, the response says. “The institution is embarrassed by the actions of Tressel.”
Even Ohio State AD Gene Smith has just recently claimed that it was he who asked for Jim Tressel’s resignation a day before it happened, a claim that stands in stark contrast to the unwavering support for Jim Tressel just 13 days prior at the Big Ten meetings in Chicago. Revisionist history? Maybe. But a smart move nonetheless for a program trying to persuade the NCAA that they were being proactive throughout the entire scandal. Now time will tell whether Ohio State’s response today and its scapegoat strategy will pay off. They are set to face the NCAA Committee on Infractions on August 12th.
But considering the two year bowl ban and heavy scholarship losses the NCAA dropped on USC for similar allegations of a star player receiving improper benefits, retroactively vacating the 2010 season and the illusion of a 2 year probation seems like barely a slap on the wrist especially when 5 players, including a star quarterback and its head coach are involved.
What’s worse, even the university has admitted that this allegation makes them a dreaded ‘repeat offender’ of NCAA regulations.
The university concedes it is a “repeat violator” of NCAA regulations but contends that its “corrective and punitive actions are appropriate” and asks that the football program be spared additional punishment.
The Dispatch reported today that Ohio State is increasing compliance efforts and staffing. The report to the NCAA includes new restrictions on how and when players receive awards, in an attempt to ensure they do not sell them.
Players must prove they still have their championship rings and watches and will not receive other items, such as gold-pants charms for Michigan wins and game-worn helmets, until they leave the program.
The university also says that at least one compliance officer will travel with the football and basketball teams to away games to monitor players.
Maybe just too little too late? Remember that USC also increased compliance staff and implemented corrective measures leading up to their date with the NCAA, and they still dropped the hammer.
Now it’s up to the NCAA to decide whether retroactively erasing the 2010 season from the record books and a 2 year probation is sufficient punishment for a coverup of improper benefits that started as early as April of last year, involving tattoos, money and possibly cars, by a head football coach who also presided over the ineligible use of 4 star players, and the subsequent embarrassment of the NCAA by being misleaded into reinstating the Tatt Five for the Sugar Bowl.
States like New Hampshire are often overlooked by college recruiters scouring the northeast. With a population of a little over 1.3 million (barely 14.5% of the population of New York City), the talent pool in the Granite State is as shallow as it gets when it comes to Division I football players. With so many other recruiting hotbeds in the region, college coaches just haven’t found a reason to stop in New Hampshire and thus the state and it’s prospects have largely fallen by the wayside.
For Holtz, it 
And because of the Big Ten’s balanced revenue-sharing system the St Louis Today numbers can be applied to every other conference member with the exception of Nebraska who won’t earn a full share until 2017.
Outdoor hockey fever is sweeping Penn State.
The actual schedule in the football team schedule posters is incorrect. Unless Penn State is indeed playing the Boilermakers the Saturday following Indiana, the Penn State athletics department is now in possession of thousands of inaccurate team schedule posters. The posters’ designers mistakenly switched the Purdue and Iowa logos from where they should be. A simple, but noticeable mistake that tarnishes an otherwise vintage keepsake befitting of an important milestone in the football program’s history.
