UNIVERSITY PARK — It’s easy to tell when a tight end is good at catching the ball, and after a tough 2015 season, Mike Gesicki rebounded with a stellar 2016 campaign by hauling in just about everything thrown near him. Those pass-catching abilities make the 6-foot-6, 257-pound Gesicki a ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State is ranked No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press poll, the same ranking it received in the coaches poll and the program’s highest preseason ranking since 1999, when the Nittany Lions were No. 3. The Nittany Lions return 18 starters from last year’s Big Ten ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — James Franklin is now the fourth-highest paid coach in college football after agreeing to a new six-year contract with Penn State that will guarantee him $34.7 million. A contract extension seemed to be a given after Franklin led the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten title, 11-3 ...
James Franklin’s contract status has been widely discussed for the past year. Franklin went from approaching the hot seat to landing in the catbird seat. On the heels of consecutive 7-6 seasons that were understandable in the wake of the sanctions yet still frustrating, Franklin opened ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — The top priority for Penn State opponents this year, of course, will be to stop or at least contain Saquon Barkley. First, though, they’ll have to find him. The Nittany Lions could well field the tallest offensive line in their history, the perfect complement for the ...
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Two years ago, James Franklin urged Penn State fans to be patient. He and his players believed a plan was in motion. That patience wore thin through back-to-back 7-6 seasons, but paid off last season. After shaking off a slow start, the Nittany Lions won nine ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — First, starters Jason Cabinda, Nyeem Wartman-White and Brandon Bell were all out with injuries. Then, reserve Brandon Smith was ejected for targeting in the second quarter before reserve Jan Johnson went down with a season-ending knee injury. It couldn’t get much worse ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — Saquon Barkley can actually still improve his all-around game, which if you think about it, is a scary notion. No sooner than he sat down for his media day press conference Saturday afternoon did Barkley receive a question about the Heisman Trophy. “The Heisman award ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — Of all the great recruiting James Franklin has done since arriving here, a case can be made that no one has made a bigger one-year splash than Joe Moorhead. Never mind that he’s not a player. The Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator took a dormant offense and turned ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — Brandon Smith said he can’t run for miles and miles at a time like he could do back in the day before practice as an all-state wrestler at Lewisburg High School. But as a Big Ten linebacker Smith, now 23 and married, has traded that for added strength as he enters his ...