Tag: Adam Breneman

Adam Breneman defends James Franklin after latest Ohio State blunder

James Franklin’s critics were out in full force on social media, but this former player came to the defense of Franklin.

Penn State once again saw just how much work needs to be done in order to be on the same level — forget getting ahead of — Ohio State. On Saturday, Penn State’s offense was dismantled by Ohio State’s defense from start to finish with the Nittany Lions not being able to scratch together a touchdown drive until their final offensive series in the fourth quarter.

After the game, [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] avoided digging into too many big-picture topics following the loss, with most of the focus on the inability to move the football against a quality opponent, but social media reactions were putting Franklin and the offense and another year of shortcomings against the Buckeyes in the spotlight. As hard as it may be on days like these, Franklin was not without some of his defenders.

Former Penn State tight end [autotag]Adam Breneman[/autotag] was likely Franklin’s biggest public supporter after watching his former coach get roasted on social media.

“Anyone questioning whether or not James Franklin should be Penn State’s head coach is being absolutely ridiculous and irrational,” Breneman said on his X, formerly Twitter, account on Saturday night.

“CJF is not even remotely close to having a somewhat-warm seat. His job couldn’t be safer,” Breneman went on to say. “PSU has finished in the top 12 in 5 of the last 7 seasons, played in four New Year’s Six bowl games and won a Big Ten Championship.”

It is fascinating to witness the split reactions to Franklin’s record at Penn State, and both are fair to point out. Yes, Franklin’s record against Ohio State is abysmal, as is his record against top 10 teams and top teams on the road. It’s not pretty, but it is also true his team has been the underdog in the large majority of those outings.

But that is the point that grinds Franklin’s critics. After so many years, Franklin critics know Penn State will win the majority of their games, but it is those high-profile games where they have come to expect Penn State will fall short after seeing the same pattern year after year.

Breneman’s points about the postseason success should not be ignored though. Not too many coaches have wins in the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl. That often gets pushed aside by Franklin’s critics because so much focus is placed on getting in the College Football Playoff, something that has not happened for Penn State and now could be challenging in 2023.

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Big Ten Network analyst Adam Breneman is loving Rutgers football

Big Ten Network analyst Adam Breneman has all praise for Rutgers football (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) through the first two weeks of the 2023 season.

College football analyst Adam Breneman has all praise for Rutgers football (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten) through the first two weeks of the 2023 season. Breneman, a college football analyst for CBS Sports, ESPN, and the Big Ten Network, loves the style of play the Scarlet Knights are using early this season.

Breneman is riding high on the Scarlet Knights heading into their Week 3 matchup as he prepares to call Saturday’s showcase against Virginia Tech (1-1) on the Big Ten Network.

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In his film study, Breneman identifies the identity of Rutgers football for the 2023 season.

“Rutgers is a run first football team. They’re going to run the ball and make you defend it. And then off the run, they’re going to look for big shots in the play action passing game,” stated by Breneman on Big Ten Football.


The Scarlet Knights have won their past eight non-conference games in the regular season and are looking to start 3-0 for the third-straight season since 1959-61. The Scarlet Knights have yet to surrender a point in the first half in both of their first two games and allowed just 14 points total as they prepare to host Virginia Tech on Saturday.

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Big Ten Network analyst praises Gavin Wimsatt for his ‘special arm talent’

Gavin Wimsatt earns some praise from Big Ten Network analyst Adam Breneman.

Count Adam Breneman among those impressed by what Rutgers football quarterback Gavin Wimsatt has done so far this season. The analyst, a former tight end at Penn State and UMass, sees some promise in the plays that Wimsa is making for Rutgers.

Breneman is working the Big Ten Network broadcast for Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech.

In a tweet this week, Breneman highlighted one play by Wimsatt that he says was “special.” He told RutgersWire just why the play stood out to him:

Wimsatt has yet to turn the ball over this year. He has shown greater decision-making in the pocket and the ability to hit his wide receivers with accuracy, in particular, so that his downfield targets can get yards after the catch.

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So far on the season, Wimsatt has 361 passing yards and two touchdowns with a 54 percent completion percentage. He also has 57 rushing yards and a touchdown in 17 attempts.
Breneman was a four-star tight end in the 2013 recruiting class. He was the third-best tight end in the nation according to Rivals.

Rutgers football: Where did Kirk Ciarrocca land among the Big Ten’s offensive coordinators?

Rutgers football Kirk Ciarrocca checks in pretty high among the Big Ten’s top offensive coordinators.

The hiring of Kirk Ciarrocca is a big deal for Rutgers football. One college football analyst slotted in Ciarrocca as one of the top offensive coordinators in the Big Ten.
Adam Breneman, who is in his first year as an analyst with the Big Ten Network, ranks Ciarrocca among the top five offensive coordinators in the conference. Ciarrocca checks in at No. 4 on Breneman’s ranking.
With Rutgers, he will have quite the task.
Last year, the Scarlet Knights were second-from-the-bottom in both total offense and scoring offense.

At 57-years old, Ciarrocca brings a wealth of experience in his return to Rutgers. Last season, he was the offensive coordinator for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were solid offensively last year, taking a step forward from the season prior. In 2022, Minnesota was fourth in the conference with 28.2 points per game.

 

In 2021, Minnesota was sixth in the Big Ten with an average of 27.9 points per game.

Prior to his time at Minnesota, Ciarrocca was an analyst at West Virginia and he was on staff at Penn State in 2021 as their offensive coordinator.

This is a return to Rutgers for Ciarrocca, who was the offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010 for the Scarlet Knights. In 2008, he was the wide receivers coach for Rutgers and helped develop Kenny Britt, who was a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

Breneman is a former Penn State tight end who transferred to UMass for his final season of college football.

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Adam Breneman lists seven reasons why Texas A&M will finally put it all together in 2023

College football analyst and former Penn State Tight end Adam Beneman listed seven reasons Texas A&M will rebound in 2023.

It’s only July, but we’re already in full-on prediction mode ahead of the 2023 college football season, which as of today, is just seven Saturdays away from making all our lives just a little bit better. On Friday, former Penn State and UMass Tight end Adam Breneman, host of “Next up with Adam Breneman,” took to Twitter to talk Aggie football, specifically focusing on Texas A&M’s chances to make noise in the SEC after their 5-7 2022 debacle.

As we’ve discussed here at Aggies Wire ad nauseam, Texas A&M is built at three levels, including a highly competent AD, an experienced coaching staff, and an elite roster that will benefit from an infusion of talent from the transfer portal in combination with several returning veterans on offense and defense.

Though last offseason’s high expectations quickly resulted in a nightmare-fueled campaign, the Aggies’ 38-24 season finale victory over the then No.5-ranked LSU Tigers made us all witnesses to a program that hit a roadblock and are on the rise once again. For further reasons to be optimistic, here are Adam Breneman’s seven reasons why the Aggies will turn it around during the 2023 season.

WATCH: Former Badger Benton’s stock rising ahead of 2023 NFL Draft

Former Wisconsin defensive tackle Keeanu Benton’s draft stock is on the rise according to college football analyst Adam Breneman.

Former Wisconsin defensive tackle Keeanu Benton’s draft stock is on the rise according to college football analyst Adam Breneman, who believes he’ll be a second round pick.

Benton spent four seasons with Wisconsin, racking up 81 career tackles, including nine sacks. Additionally, he played in 12 games each of his final two campaigns, operating without any major injuries.

The interior defensive lineman impressed at the Senior Bowl before running an impressive 5.08 40-yard dash time at March’s Scouting Combine amongst other drills.

With Benton considered a borderline second round pick, he joins offensive lineman Joe Tippmann as the potential first Badger off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft with Tippmann being projected in a similar spot.

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Former Penn State TE Adam Breneman resigns from coaching role at Arizona State

Former Penn State TE Adam Breneman resigned from his assistant coaching role amid recruiting controversy at Arizona State

Things have not been going so well for the Arizona State Sun Devils football program. On Friday, offensive coordinator Zak Hill resigned from his position amid recruiting scandal controversy within the program, but he was not alone in leaving the Arizona State program. Former Penn State tight end Adam Breneman was among the four coaches who resigned from the Sun Devils staff, continuing the fallout from alleged recruiting violations.

Breneman was previously placed on administrative leave as the alleged recruiting violations were being investigated. Arizona State had allegedly been conducting recruiting activities that were against NCAA-mandated protocols put into effect in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is alleged that Arizona State continued to host recruits on campus for recruiting visits during what was supposed to be an extended dead period for on-campus visitations and interactions. Breneman allegedly paid $600 for a recruit to visit Arizona State’s campus from Philadelphia when he was a graduate assistant with the program.

Breneman was one of the top recruits brought to Penn State under former head coach Bill O’Brien. Breneman’s commitment to Penn State was a major victory at the time given Penn State’s hefty sanctions as a result of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The four-star recruit from Pennsylvania enrolled at Penn State early and played for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman. He missed the entire 2014 season with a knee injury and only appeared in two games in 2015 while battling injuries once again.

Breneman briefly decided to retire from playing football as a result but he continued his football career at UMass as a graduate transfer in 2016. With the Minutemen, Breneman was a two-time Mackey Award semifinalist and he earned second-team All-American honors from numerous outlets, including USA Today.

Breneman joined the Arizona State football staff in 2020 as an offensive assistant coach. He was promoted to the role of tight ends coach in 2021 and, at the time, was one of the youngest position coaches at a Power Five program. His quick rise led to Breneman being named among 247 Sports’ 30 Top Coaches Under 30 in 2020.

Now, Breneman is out of the coaching game for the immediate future. Whether we see him again in a coaching role remains to be seen.

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Former Penn State TE Adam Breneman placed on administrative leave for recruiting violation at Arizona State

Former Penn State TE Adam Breneman is under the NCAA’s microscope at Arizona State

Before the college football world got swooped up in conference realignment madness, one of the more important offseason storylines was taking place in the Pac-12 with Arizona State coming under fire for alleged recruiting violations. Now, one of the assistant coaches with a Penn State connection has been placed on administrative leave as an NCAA investigation continues to dig into the situation.

Adam Breneman, who played tight end for Penn State, was reportedly been placed on administrative leave by Arizona State on July 16. According to a report from Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Breneman is one of 10 members of the Arizona State football staff mentioned in a dossier of documents outlining potential recruiting violations.

Arizona State came under fire for alleged recruiting violations going against NCAA-mandated protocols during an extended dead period for recruiting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is alleged Arizona State continued to host recruits on campus for recruiting visits at a time when no school in the country was supposed to be having in-person recruiting of any kind.

Penn State Nittany Lions tight end Adam Breneman (81) scores a touchdown against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

Breneman appears to be one of the coaches who was most out of line with the NCAA recruiting guidelines. Breneman allegedly paid close to $600 for a recruit to visit Arizona State’s campus from Philadelphia. At the time, Brneenman was a graduate assistant with the Sun Devils program. Head coach Herm Edwards promoted Breneman to the role of tight ends coach in January 2021.

Breneman was one of the top recruits brought to Penn State under former head coach Bill O’Brien. Breneman’s commitment to Penn State was a major victory at the time given Penn State’s hefty sanctions at the time as a result of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The four-star recruit from Pennsylvania enrolled at Penn State early and played for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman. He missed the entire 2014 season with a knee injury and only appeared in two games in 2015 while battling injuries once again.

Breneman briefly decided to retire from playing football as a result but he continued his football career at UMass as a graduate transfer in 2016. With the Minutemen, Breneman was a two-time Mackey Award semifinalist and he earned second-team All-American honors from numerous outlets, including USA Today.

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