Penn State secures commitment from K Quinn Nordin
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Help for Penn State’s special teams is on the way.
Rockford, MI kicker Quinn Nordin, rated as the top place kicker in the country, picked Penn State over Michigan, Georgia and Arizona State during a commitment ceremony Friday morning. Nordin is the 16th player to give the 2016 class his verbal pledge and is the second scholarship specialist in the group.
K Quinn Nordin via periscope: "It was a nail biter until the end. ... It's now #PennState." Gives #PSU a kicker and punter in 2016 class.
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) July 10, 2015
Punter Blake Gillikin previously verbally committed to Penn State and having two scholarship specialists in the same class is a rarity for Penn State. Last season as the team continued working back to full strength from NCAA scholarship limitations the Lions had kicker Sam Ficken on scholarship. With the departure of Ficken this season the team does not have a scholarship kicker or punter on the roster.
Improving Penn State’s special teams was a focal point since James Franklin and staff arrived in 2014 and using scholarship specialists is part of special teams coordinator Charles Huff’s plan. When Penn State didn’t have the NCAA’s 85 scholarships to work with in previous years because of the NCAA sanctions stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal filling other needs was a priority instead of special teams.
Penn State will have the full allotment of 85 available this season, though it will likely take a few more recruiting cycles until the scholarships are balanced per position and per class.
Nordin announced his commitment with a video that was unlike any other I’ve seen. No, Penn State wasn’t spelled out in the sky, but this airplane announcement video is worth a look.
#WeAre pic.twitter.com/2E4gF87wpO
— Quinn Nordin (@QuinnNordin) July 10, 2015
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @audsnyder4
QB Christian Hackenberg heads to Manning Passing Academy
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Quarterback Christian Hackenberg is busy putting together the type of summer that only elite college quarterbacks draw up.
After working out with teammates during Penn State’s first summer session, Hackenberg attended the Elite 11 finals this past week where he served as a counselor to the top high school quarterbacks in the country during the showcase event at Nike’s World Headquarters in Oregon.
Prepare all summer. Pounce in the fall. Christian Hackenberg strikes a pose with #Elite11. pic.twitter.com/USI8XoatyR
— Elite11 (@Elite11) July 6, 2015
It’ll be a quick turnaround for the junior and projected NFL first-round draft pick who was selected to be among the counselors at the Manning Passing Academy, the Post-Gazette confirmed. The academy, in it’s 20th year, begins today and runs through Sunday in Thibodaux, La. at Nicholls State University.
Run by former New Orleans Saint quarterback Archie Manning and his Super Bowl winning sons Peyton and Eli, plus their brother Cooper, the Passing Academy allows top college quarterbacks to serve as counselors to 1,200 high school campers. According to NOLA.com, 38 college quarterbacks are slated to attend as counselors. Last year’s crop of college quarterback counselors included Jameis Winson, Marcus Mariota, Brett Hundley and Bryce Petty. It’s the same camp that Johnny Manziel was reportedly asked to leave a couple years ago after oversleeping.
"They're coming from Penn State, Indiana, Southern California, Stanford, Utah State, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and then we're not just big-time," Archie Manning told Rachel Whittaker of NOLA.com. "We've got a quarterback coming from (Division II) Shepherd University, and Samford and Jackson State."
For Hackenberg, all these camps are opportunities to learn from some of the best coaches and mentors, many of whom he forged relationships with early on in his career as a five-star prospect.
Future Mich State QB @Siah_10 and Current Penn State QB @chackenberg1 #BrainGames pic.twitter.com/zwFEK3L4uw
— Sione Ta'ufo'ou (@si_oneDiffMaker) July 6, 2015
As noted during the coaches caravan in May, we’re well into ‘The Year of the Hackenberg question’ about whether or not he will opt for the NFL draft following this season, and with Big Ten media days coming up at the end of July the questions likely won’t go away. Penn State hasn’t announced the players it will bring to media days just yet.
Penn State’s annual Lift for Life event will be held Saturday afternoon in State College, presumably without the quarterback in attendance since the Passing Academy’s quarterback competition between coaches, counselors and select campers is slated for Saturday night.
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @audsnyder4
Kyle Carter, Angelo Mangiro on Watch Lists
Wednesday’s release of the Mackey and Rimington Award Watch Lists included a Penn State football player on each list.
Kyle Carter makes a catch between Iowa's Tom Donatell, left, and Tanner Miller. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
Fifth-year tight end Kyle Carter made the Watch List for the Mackey Award, given annually to the top tight end in college football. Carter also made the Watch List last season. He hauled in 16 receptions for 153 yards last season, including his lone touchdown of the season which came in Penn State’s Pinstripe Bowl victory against Boston College.
Fifth-year center Angelo Mangiro was among the 60-plus watch list selections for the Rimington Award, which goes to the best center in the FBS every year. Penn State’s lone winner of the award was A.Q. Shipley who claimed the honor in 2008.
Penn State will need Mangiro to be a key cog for an offensive line that continues working to replace left tackle Donovan Smith who departed for the NFL. Mangiro started every game last season and his versatility helped the line as he earned 10 starts at center, two at right tackle and one at right guard.
Rimington Trophy finalists will be announced on Dec. 7 and the Mackey Award semifinalists will be revealed on Nov. 16.
Penn State players on preseason Watch Lists:
- QB Christian Hackenberg (Maxwell)
- WR DaeSean Hamilton (Maxwell)
- DT Anthony Zettel (Bednarik)
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @audsnyder4
Penn State trio lands on preseason watch lists
July means it’s time for all of the college football watch lists to release award candidates and Tuesday morning was no exception.
Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Anthony Zettel (98) breaks through the Akron Zips defense during the third quarter at Beaver Stadium. (Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports)
Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg and wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton were among the 80 nominees for the Maxwell Award’s 2015 watch list, the football club announced Tuesday. Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel landed on the Bednarik Award watch list, the award given annually to the top college defensive player of the year. Complete lists for the Maxwell and Bednarik awards can be found here.
Hackenberg looks to rebound after a shaky sophomore season where he played behind a struggling offensive line that looks to run the corner this season. Already projected by some as a potential first-round draft pick, the junior threw 12 touchdowns to 15 interceptions last season.
Hamilton burst onto the field last season as a redshirt freshman and led the team in receptions (82), and receiving yards (899).
No player was more disruptive than Zettel whose freakish athleticism continued to impress during his redshirt junior season. He led the team in tackles for loss (17), sacks (8) and tied safety Adrian Amos for a team best three interceptions. Zettel’s offseason of tree tackling and slam dunks could be the preview to another freakishly unique season for the 6-foot-4, 278-pound senior.
Semifinalists for both awards will be revealed on Nov. 23 and the winners will be announced Dec. 10. Like in previous years the Maxwell Football Club’s awards gala will be held in Atlantic City in March. The Penn State senior class and former head coach Bill O’Brien were honored with the football club’s Brookshire Spirit Award while O’Brien was named the Collegiate Coach of the Year during the 2013 gala.
The preseason awards will continue to be announced in the coming weeks with the full schedule below:
- Wed., July 8: Mackey Award / Rimington Trophy
- Thurs., July 9: Lou Groza Award / Ray Guy Award
- Fri., July 10: Bronko Nagurski Trophy / Outland Trophy
- Mon., July 13: Jim Thorpe Award
- Tues., July 14: Butkus Award / Rotary Lombardi Award
- Wed., July 15: Biletnikoff Award / Wuerffel Trophy
- Thurs, July 16: Davey O’Brien Award / Doak Walker Award
- Fri., July 17: Walter Camp Award
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @audsnyder4
Q&A: RB Miles Sanders on his Penn State pledge and more
Woodland Hills running back Miles Sanders will be one of Penn State’s four verbal commitments participating in The Opening out at Nike World Headquarters next week in Beaverton, Ore.
Woodland Hills running back Miles Sanders verbally committed to Penn State in July of 2014 and says he's still on board with James Franklin's Nittany Lions. (Audrey Snyder/Post-Gazette)
With the 2016 recruiting class up to 15 members, the 4-star running back who committed to Penn State in July of 2014, said nearly a year later he’s still sold on Penn State. Why?
Here are some of the highlights from my recent conversation with Sanders:
Q: What’s the rest of this summer look like for you?
A: Miles Sanders: “I had the 5-star challenge earlier this month, I think it was this month, and then I’ve got The Opening soon so that’ll be good and then after that I just got practice with my team and stuff and getting ready for my senior season.”
Q: It seems like you’re the kind of player where the more events you’re at, the more people see you at these showcases, the more your stock continues to rise. Do you feel like you’re still opening eyes even at this stage in the process?
A: Sanders: “Yeah, they put me in the top-50 on 247 and stuff so yeah, rankings, I don’t really pay attention to the rankings, but it’d be good to get a fifth star.”
Q: Do you think about getting that fifth and final star?
A: Sanders: “Nah, not really. If it happens, it happens.”
Q: Penn State has the 2015 class ready to go and since you’ve been verbally committed for so long are you close with anybody in that class?
A: Sanders: “Everybody. [Running back] Saquon [Barkley], [receiver] Irv [Charles], I’m close with them. In about a year they’ll be my teammates.”
Q: Your 2016 class continues gaining momentum with all these defensive linemen they’ve added lately. Have you kept up on that?
A: Sanders: “Oh yeah. It’s exciting just knowing our class is getting better and bigger.”
Q: I know James Franklin wants you guys to be active recruiters while putting your class together. What’s your recruiting pitch like?
A: Sanders: “He tells us the people he really wants and then we just tell them why we chose Penn State, why it’s the best place to be right now. … Most of them ask me why I picked Penn State and I’ll just be real with them. The coaches show love. They make you feel like it’s a family and that’s how coach Franklin is. He’s a family guy. He treats us like we’re his sons and he’s just real with us.”
Q: Penn State is also after a lot of that WPIAL talent. What are your thoughts on the talent out there since you know most of those guys?
A: Sanders: “It’s crazy. There are crazy athletes coming out of the WPIAL so we just gotta try and get them to Penn State.”
Q: Since July of 2014 you’ve been committed to Penn State. That’s a long time. I’m sure other teams don’t stop calling you so have you thought about going elsewhere and will you look elsewhere?
A: Sanders: “The calling, that’s just the recruiting process. Of course I’ve thought about other schools, but what I’ve come to realize is every time I come to Penn State the reason why I’m here is because it feels like home -- and my mom loves it here too.”
Q: If mom is on board that’s probably important, right?
A: Sanders: “Yeah, she might love it more than me actually [laughs]. I’m sticking with Penn State though, 100 percent Penn State.”
Q: Is it difficult for you when you see on social media that fans question your commitment? I know you reiterated your commitment on Twitter one night in May just to kind of calm people down it seems.
A: Sanders: “Yeah, they were switching my words up. I was thinking of taking other officials and that’s just official [visits]. I’m still 100 percent Penn State. It’s just taking official visits to take official visits, just to take them. They were saying I was going to decommit and all that and no, I’m definitely 100 percent Penn State. That’s where I want to be.”
Q: You’re on the front lines of this Penn State-Pitt rivalry and with the 2016 game on the radar what’s it like for you being a Penn State commit in Pittsburgh?
A: Sanders: “Those Pitt fans are crazy [laughs] and when I’m home I see them all around and they come up and talk to me.”
Q: Are they trying to recruit you to Pitt?
A: Sanders: “[Laughs] nah, I’m not hearing it.”
Q: Penn State has a lot of running backs on this team that are young. A year is a long time to wait and see where you might stack up. Do you pay attention to that and how many young running backs this team has?
A: Sanders: “Yeah, I do. Everywhere you go you’re going to have to compete so it doesn’t really matter to me. Coach told me when I come up here he’s going to throw me right in the rotation and then it’s up to me.”
Q: What goals do you have in mind for your final high school season?
A: Sanders: “Just to get back to Heinz [Field] that’s it. Just to win for the team and do whatever it takes.”
Audrey Snyder: asnyder@post-gazette.com and Twitter: @audsnyder4