Tag: AJ Lytton

Former Penn State cornerback A.J. Lytton killed in car crash

A car crash in Maryland took the life of former Penn State cornerback A.J. Lytton and two of his high school teammates.

The Penn State football family mourned the loss of former defensive back A.J. Lytton following a tragic car accident in Maryland on Saturday. Lytton was a passenger in a vehicle struck by another driver early Saturday morning. He was one of three victims to pass in the accident. The other two victims were high school teammates of Lytton’s, former Oregon cornerback Kyree Jackson, and former Maryland Isaiah Hazel. Lytton was 24.

According to the preliminary police report, Jackson and Hazel were pronounced deceased on the scene of the accident by responding emergency medical personnel. Lytton was pronounced deceased after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

“The Penn State football family mourns the loss of former Nittany Lion, A.J. Lytton,” a statement from the football program’s official X account read on Saturday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, high school and all involved in the tragedy.”

Police continue to investigate the accident. The preliminary report suggests a driver in another vehicle attempted to change lanes at a high speed and stuck the vehicle carrying the three victims. The car carrying the three high school teammates is believed to have travel off the road and struck multiple tree stumps before coming to an abrupt stop.

Lytton spent one season at Penn State after transferring from Florida State in 2021. He served as a backup cornerback for the Nittany Lions and contributed on special teams. Lytton then entered the transfer portal in 2022.

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These 7 players are no longer on Penn State’s roster for 2022

Here are the seven players who were not included on Penn State’s updated roster

The offseason of transition in Happy Valley continued Monday with Penn State officially removing a handful of players from its football roster. Penn State is continuing to turn the page to the 2022 season by making changes to its staff and its roster. On Monday, the speculation about whether or not certain players would be returning for another year or not was finally put to rest.

As noted by Audrey Snyder of The Athletic, via Twitter, Penn State offensive linemen Mike Miranda and Anthony Whigan, wide receivers Daniel Georgia and Cam Sullivan-Brown, defensive tackle Fred Hansard, cornerback AJ Lytton, and safety Drew Hartlaub were nowhere to be found on the updated roster provided by Penn State.

There are not any real surprises on that list of players that are no longer appearing on the roster. Miranda, Whigan, Hartlaub, Hansard, Sullivan-Brown, were redshirt seniors. Lytton and George had gone through four years of eligibility and neither figured to play into the plans for their respective positions in 2022 had they chosen to stay another season.

At this point, it is unknown if any player still with eligibility will choose to enter his name in the transfer portal, but being removed from the Penn State roster does seem to confirm their days at Penn State are officially over.

All of this roster cleanup is just another step in what should be a pivotal offseason leading into a highly scrutinized season for James Franklin and his Nittany Lions.

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Penn State padding depth with transfer from Florida State

A former Florida State cornerback is reportedly heading to Happy Valley to add to the depth of the defensive secondary.

After a rocky experience at Florida State, cornerback AJ Lytton appears set to take the opportunity for a fresh start at Penn State. According to a report from 247 Sports on Tuesday evening, Lytton will enroll in classes at Penn State next week and officially join the program at that time.

Lytton was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2018 for the Seminoles. He was originally recruited to Tallahassee by former Florid State head coach Willie Taggart. He chose Florida State over offers from many top programs, including Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, and even Penn State. Lytton, a native of Maryland, never made a visit to Penn State while being recruited out of high school, however.

Oct 27, 2018; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) is defended by Florida State Seminoles defensive back AJ Lytton (12) during the second half at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Lytton appeared in 12 games for Florida State during the 2019 season and 10 games in 2018 as a true freshman. Between the two seasons as mostly a reserve (one start in 2019), Lytton recorded 28 tackles and 2.0 tackles for a loss with one interception and one forced fumble.

Lytton left the Florida State program in February 2020 and continued at a community college while taking the time to evaluate his options. A pandemic in 2020 may have led to Lytton letting the process play out a little longer than usual. At the time Lytton left the Florida State program, Taggart had been removed as head coach and Mike Norvell of Memphis had been hired. The transition for Norvell was a bit rocky for some players, perhaps including Lytton.

But sometimes all you need is a fresh start and a new opportunity. If Penn State can take advantage of a player ready to make up for some lost time, then they may have picked up quite the transfer prize. But the secondary is far from Penn State’s biggest issue on the roster in 2021. James Franklin has spoken at length about the quality depth Penn State appears to have in the defensive secondary.

The addition of Lytton appears to cement the depth as a strong suit for the upcoming season. But Lytton has two years of eligibility remaining, so his transfer addition would help solidify the position more in 2022 as well, with Kalen King and Joey Porter Jr. among the possible options to start at cornerback in 2022.

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