Penn State Vs. Syracuse 2013 Season Opener Preview

Penn State Football's season opener versus Syracuse is less than 2 months away. The old eastern rivals will kick off on Saturday, August 31 at 3:30pm at Met Life Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ. The game will be televised on ABC/ESPN2. Penn State and Syracuse have played 70 times. They played every season from 1944 - 1990 and in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Penn State owns a 42-23-5 record versus Syracuse. After the 2012 season concluded it looked as if this upcoming game would be a very tough matchup for the Nittany Lions. The Orangemen won six of their last seven games, including a blowout of West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl. But things changed quickly for the Orangemen, Head Coach Doug Marrone left for the Buffalo Bills. Defensive Coordinator Scott Shafer took over for Marrone. Shafer was the team's Defensive Coordinator since 2009. Shafer's biggest obstacle this summer is choosing a quarterback. Either sophomore Terrel Hunt or Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen will be lining up under center versus Penn State. Both quarterbacks have very little experience. The Nittany Lions can relate on the inexperienced quarterback front. True freshman Christian Hackenberg and junior college transfer Tyler Ferguson will be competing this summer for the starting job. Though Penn State will have an inexperienced quarterback starting, there is plenty of talent returning on offense that will give the quarterback some comfort. Junior running back Zack Zwinak and junior wide receiver Allen Robinson will help take the pressure off the quarterback. Zwinak ran for 1000 yards and 6 touchdowns last season while Robinson caught 77 passes for 1018 yards and 11 touchdowns. Both players will have to show up against Syracuse in order for the Nittany Lions to move the ball on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, Penn State will need to put pressure on Allen or Hunt. 2012 Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year, defensive end Deon Barnes and outside linebacker Mike Hull will be relied on to get to the quarterback. If Barnes and Hull can keep Allen or Hunt in check, the Nittany Lions will be able keep the Orangemen off the scoreboard. Both Penn State and Syracuse will be starting inexperienced quarterbacks but the Nittany Lions have the advantage with several key play makers on the offensive and defensive side. Penn State wins 28 – 7.

Publishing Plan

I could attempt getting my blog posts, Paterno Field and Pay College Athletes? published by Penn State's student run newspaper, The Daily Collegian. They have an opinion section with a submission form page. Both of my posts fit the requirements, they ask for the letters to be less than 250 words. I think my blog posts could be published by The Daily Collegian because both posts are debated often at Penn State. 

Proposal

My persona is still the same. The Nittany Lion Report is still a blog for die hard Penn State Football fans, focusing on recruiting and the team. I am going to continue using the NLR pseudonym the rest of the semester. It has been challenging so far because it is the off season for college football. Besides recruiting, the summer depth chart, and NCAA issues I haven't had a lot of topics to blog about. Moving forward I would like to concentrate more on the team. I want to preview each regular season game on Penn State's schedule this year. This will allow me to give readers a sense of how Penn State Football will do this coming season and who their opponents are. So far I don't think my readers know a lot about the team and whether they will be successful this coming season. I also need to be more active on Twitter and Facebook. I need to share my blog posts with the Penn State Football community either with Penn State Football hashtags or on various Penn State Football Facebook pages. By the end of the semester I will have a in depth preview for each match up and several posts on recent recruiting news. I also want to rewrite my Fighting For The Other Side post. I want to fight for the side I believe in. I truly believe the NCAA shouldn't of sanctioned Penn State. Last, I want to rewrite portions of my resume. I want to make each bullet point more interesting. I have learned a lot this past six weeks through the readings, lectures, and writing. I am looking forward to the next six weeks!   

4-star Cornerback Troy Vincent Jr. Commits To Penn State

Baltimore native, Troy Vincent Jr., committed to the Nittany Lions on June 26th. He is the 12th commitment of the 2014 class and the fifth four-star recruit. Penn State is currently ranked 18th in the country in ESPN's recruiting rankings. Vincent Jr. selected Penn State over 20 programs including Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. Head Coach Bill O'Brien continues to recruit bright student athletes. Vincent Jr. wants to study at Penn State's Dickinson School of Law. His intelligence also helps him on the football field according to his trainer and family friend, Roman Morris. Morris told ESPN's Nittany Nation "He's one of the most highly intelligent football players that I've ever been around. He can do anything that's asked of him on the football field, from any scheme. ... He's a coach's dream." Vincent Jr. comes from good genes too. His father played cornerback in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. Between Vincent Jr.'s genes and intelligence it seems like Bill O'Brien landed a fantastic student and football player.  

Wikipedia - Penn State Football’s Super Six: “Supa Six”

Penn State Football’s Super Six:

“Supa Six”

The “Supa Six” is a self-proclaimed group of six junior Penn State Football players; Kyle Carter, Allen Robinson, Adrian Amos, Donovan Smith, Bill Belton, and Deion Barnes. They are part of Penn State Football’s 2011 recruiting class.  

                                                          

Contents How it started Kyle Carter Allen Robinson Adrian Amos Donovan Smith Bill Belton Deion Barnes

How It Started:

In the summer of 2011 Kyle Carter, Allen Robinson, Adrian Amos, Donovan Smith, Bill Belton, and Deion Barnes watched ESPN’s 30 for 30 series on the Michigan Basketball Fab Five. They instantly became inspired by the deep connection the Fab Five had with each other. They were so inspired that they wanted to create a nickname for their group. After deep discussion, they came up with the “Supa Six”. They did not reveal their group nick name until the 2012 summer pre season. They didn’t want the upperclassmen to think they were selfish. Going into the 2012 season the “Supa Six” had high expectations. They understood they were the future of the program and it was their time. All members of the “Supa Six” contributed to the team in the 2012 season.

Kyle Carter, Tight End:

Carter redshirted in 2011. Penn State Football Head Coach Bill O’Brien had high expectations for Carter going into the 2012 Season. Before the season started O’Brien claimed Carter was a ‘big time talent” several times. In 2012, Carter had 36 receptions, 436 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver:

Robinson caught just 4 passes for 87 yards in the 2011 season, mostly because of the experienced group of wide receivers ahead of him. After several wide receivers transferred going into the 2012 season, Robinson was the number 1 wide receiver on the depth chart. Robinson exceeded expectations in 2012. He had 77 receptions, 1018 yards, and 11 touchdowns. He set the Penn State Football record for the most completions in a season.

Adrian Amos, Defensive Back:

Amos contributed to the 2011 team, playing in every game. In 2012, he lined up at safety and corner throughout the season. Amos had 31 solo tackles and 2 interceptions.

Donovan Smith, Offensive Lineman:

Smith redshirted his freshman year in 2011. In 2012, Smith started at left tackle and never looked back. He flourished in that position, mostly because of his size. He is 6’5 and 327 pounds.

Bill Belton, Running Back:

Belton saw some playing time in 2011. He was originally a wide receiver but before the 2012 season O’Brien switched him to tailback. Belton struggled from the start and his playing time diminished as the season went on. He managed 60 rushes, 253 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

Deion Barnes, Defensive End:

Barnes redshirted his freshman year in 2011. In 2012, Barnes showcased his size and speed with 6 sacks. Barnes also had 10 tackles for loss.

Sources:

http://blog.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2012/08/penn_states_supa_six_primed_fo.html

http://www.centredaily.com/2012/08/26/3310886/the-supa-six-underclassmen-hoping.html

http://www.espn.com

Bill O'Brien Gets Pay Raise

Head Coach Bill O'Brien restructured his deal with Penn State this past week. O'Brien's restructured deal includes a 1 million dollar raise and it will be more costly for him to leave for a college job than an NFL job. The total value of O'Brien's contract (2013-2016) is 12,789,413 dollars, 3.2 million a year. After the 2015 season O'Brien and Penn State can negotiate an extension. This is great news for Penn State Football fans. O'Brien saved the football program last season. There are not many college football coaches that would of been able to replicate what he accomplished in 2012. He won 8 games with Matt McGloin, a former walk on quarterback and Zack Zwinak, a third string running back. He made both Matt and Zach look like stars. O'Brien also continues to recruit well even with the sanctions. Penn State is currently ranked 22 in Rival's Class of 2014 ranking. With the success O'Brien is having on the field and in recruiting, he is worth every penny.

Should Division 1 College Athletes Be Paid?

As the NCAA continues to profit each year, the on going debate on whether Division I college athletes should be paid continues. Last year the NCAA's revenue was 871.6 million dollars. Many see that number and are curious why college athletes do not profit from it. The answer is simple. They are already getting paid in a sense by going to college for free. The scholarship includes tuition, housing, text books, medical coverage, and several meals. Most importantly, they will have no college loans after graduation. According to the American Student Assistance statistics, close to 12 million Americans are currently paying back college loans. Obviously, it is very common to have college loans. The fact that student athletes do not have to worry about paying any loans because they are above average at a sport outweighs all the reasons for them to get paid. College athletes are fortunate enough to get an education for free, anything more than that would be a crime.