Tag: Curtis Jacobs

Penn State leads Auburn at halftime, here are the highlights

Check out the first-half highlights from Penn State vs. Auburn.

Penn State and Auburn are locked in a tight one down in Jordan-Hare Stadium. The defenses have been coming up with some big plays, including a pair of red zone stops by the Penn State defense to force Auburn to settle for field goals.

Sean Clifford took a big hit early on but led the offense to a go-ahead touchdown on his second series of the game. Penn State also forced two turnovers in the half.

Here are some of the highlights from the first half of the game as the teams look to make their adjustments going into the second half.

Instant reaction: Nick Singleton dazzles as Penn State overpowers Ohio

Instant reaction form Penn State’s blowout of Ohio, featuring a glimpse of the future

Penn State fans got a glimpse of the future of the Nittnay Lions, but maybe that future should be now. Freshman running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns to help Penn State overwhelm Ohio on Saturday, 46-10.

Penn State quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] passed for 213 yards and a touchdown before getting an early rest midway through the third quarter. Freshman [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] entered the game to get some in-game experience under his belt, and he took full advantage of it with a pair of touchdown passes.

Singleton became Penn State’s first 100-yard rusher in a game since [autotag]Keyvone Lee[/autotag] rushed for 134 yards against Michigan on November 28, 2020.

Penn State’s defense was locked in all game long as well. With the exception of one second-quarter touchdown drive by the Bobcats, and some late fourth-quarter action, Ohio’s offense was unable to get much pressure on the Nittany Lions defense. Penn State had just one sack in the game, courtesy of Johnny Dixon. The defense did not force any turnovers in the game, but there were some nice performances to take note of from players like [autotag]Adisa Issac[/autotag], [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], and [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag].

Next up for Penn State is another road trip. The Nittany Lions head to Auburn in Week 3 for a mid-afternoon game on CBS next Saturday, September 17.

Ohio will be on the road as well next week with another game against a power conference opponent. Ohio visits Iowa State, who will be coming off their rivalry game with Iowa.

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2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ linebacker preview

Penn State position overview: Linebacker roster overview for 2022

Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.

Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. When that season begins, the Nittany Lions will begin to answer whether or not the linebacker depth is truly a concern for the upcoming year. After losing a pair of starters from last year’s team, Penn State has some big spots to fill at the program’s signature position.

Here is a look at what Penn State has on the roster at the linebacker position going into the 2022 season.

Penn State Top 25 Players for 2022: Curtis Jacobs

Penn State top 25 players in 2022: Curtis Jacobs, linebacker

Penn State’s roster for the 2022 season has a good mix of returning veterans and experience and fresh new faces expected to jump in and contribute this fall. Nittany Lions Wire will be taking a look at 25 of the most important players on the roster for the 2022 season all throughout the month of July by profiling one player each day.

One of the biggest questions for the Penn State defense this season comes at the school’s signature position of linebacker. After losing a pair of starters to the NFL, [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] looks to be the provider of stability for a unit in some transition this fall. After getting a good amount of starting experience last season, Jacobs appears ready to be an anchor for the defense and prove he is ready to be a defensive leader that will give opposing offenses nightmares.

Every Penn State player on Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten selections

What Penn State players made the Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten roster for 2022?

The preseason accolades and honors are beginning to flow this summer. Athlon Sports released its preseason all-conference teams as the annual preseason magazine begins to hit newsstands, and the Big Ten preseason all-conference teams have a nice handful of Penn State players sprinkled throughout. Defense is the story of Penn State’s preseason All-Big Ten honorees from Athlon Sports with two defensive fixtures named first-team All-Big Ten for the preseason.

Defensive lineman [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Ji’Ayir Brown[/autotag] each appeared on the preseason All-Big Ten defense first team from Athlon Sports, and cornerback [autotag]Joey Porter Jr. [/autotag]and linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] made the second team.

In all, Penn State has eight players appearing on Athlon Sports’ four-deep All-Big Ten preseason team, with five defensive players and three offensive players. A notable exemption from the list is quarterback [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], who is returning for his sixth season in Happy Valley. The preseason All-Big Ten quarterback according to Athlon Sports includes CJ Stroud of Ohio State, Aidan O’Connell of Purdue, Taulia Tagovailoa of Maryland, and Payton Thorne of Michigan State.

You can check out the entire Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten teams here, but below is a look at where each Penn State player landed in the preseason mix.

Can Penn State snatch a surprise commitment from another Big Ten school?

Penn State awaits a college decision from a three-star recruit from Maryland, but this Big Ten school is the current favorite for the commitment.

There is no secret that Penn State values recruits from the state of Maryland, and the Nittany Lions have had some McDonogh School over the years. That is the same school that has produced current veteran leader [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag] and [autotag]Dvon Ellies[/autotag] as well as former linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag]. Now, Penn State is hoping to make one more score out of the recruiting hotbed with [autotag]Mason Robinson[/autotag].

Robinson is a three-star defensive lineman in the Class of 2023 from McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, and he announced he will be sharing his college decision this Friday afternoon. While Penn State is among the many offers extended to him, Robinson is heavily expected to commit to another Big Ten program this week. Northwestern is the favorite to secure Robinson’s verbal commitment, with the Wildcats getting 100% of the 247Sports crystal ball predictions and getting a decisive 89.5% prediction from On3Sports’s prediction machine. For what it is worth, Penn State has the secodn-best chance of landing Robinson according to On3Sports with a 4.2% chance, and Virginia Tech is third at 3.1%.

So it does seem as though it will be unlikely Penn State will manage to woo Robinson away from Northwestern. Robinson visited Penn State in early April, which followed up another unofficial visit last September and last June. Penn State was among the first schools to extend an offer to Robinson, doing so in April 2021. Northwestern waited until just a couple of weeks ago t extend its offer to Robinson, doing so when Robinson made an official visit to the Evanston campus on May 13.

Robinson holds offers from a number of schools in addition to Penn State and Northwestern. Among those to have offered Robinson are Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, Duke, Oklahoma, Stanford, Georgia, and West Virginia.

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Five big questions for the Penn State defense

5 big questions for Penn State’s defense this spring.

Penn State’s defense was a strength in 2021 but faces some big questions this spring ahead of the 2022 season. With a number of notable departures to the NFL and a new defensive coordinator, this spring has plenty to be watching in Happy Valley on the defensive side of the football.

Penn State’s biggest change this season is the addition of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. The former Miami head coach comes to State College to replace Brent Pry, who has left the program to become the head coach at Virginia Tech. Diaz brings a solid reputation as a defensive coordinator and Penn State appears to have found a terrific replacement for Pry. But Diaz will have some work to do in shaping the defense with a number of key starting jobs up for grabs this spring.

Penn State is set to open spring football practices on March 21, with the annual Blue-White Game currently scheduled for Saturday, April 23.

Here are five questions I have for Penn State’s offense that may be addressed this spring (we addressed the questions for the offense last week).

What’s next for former five-star LB recruit Curtis Jacobs?

Curtis Jacobs came in as one of the top recruits in the country in 2020, and now the sophomore could get his chance as a Nittany Lion.

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As the Nittany Lions enter the final phases of their spring practices, head coach James Franklin confirmed that Curtis Jacobs is getting reps with the first-team and is expected to get the start in 2021.

Jacobs was Penn State’s top recruit for the 2020 class and third-ranked outside linebacker in the country coming out of high school, according to 247 Sports.

During his weekly press conference on Wednesday, Franklin stated his decision with Jacobs is based on performance during spring practices. With Micah Parsons heading to the draft, and Jacobs’ lack of experience as a freshman, this a big move for the Nittany Lions to continue their success at the linebacker position.

Penn State’s Brandon Smith will continue to lead the linebacker core heading into this season as he and Jacobs are expected to play both outside linebacker roles.

The Nittany Lions should be excited to see Jacobs has excelled during his first full spring practices. At 6-foot-1 and 227 pounds, Franklin and company will want to use him as a pass coverage backer who can stick on running backs, wide receivers or tight ends. On the other hand, Smith can be that run stopping linebacker with his 6-foot-3, 240 pound frame.

Be on the lookout for Jacobs in this year’s Blue-White Game scheduled for April 17.

Which Penn State games are among the best Big Ten games in 2021?

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POLL: Super 25 High School Football Top Star, Week 12

Which performance was the best this past week from a player on a Super 25 ranked team? Vote for the Super 25 Top Star!

Here are the candidates for this week’s Super 25 Top Star. All nominees play on a team ranked in the top 25 or from a regionally ranked team. Vote now in the poll below.

SUPER 25: TOP 25 | REGIONAL | How the Super 25 Fared

NOTE: Players can only win once per season | Voting ends Friday at 2 p.m. ET

Mobile users click here to vote >>

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