Tag: Fred Hansard

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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Here are all 32 football players being recognized on Penn State’s senior day

Sean Clifford, Jahan Dotson, Jaquan Brisker, Journey Brown among those being honored at Penn State’s senior day

Penn State will play its final game in Beaver Stadium for the 2021 season on Saturday afternoon against Rutgers. And with this being the final home game of the season, it is the final opportunity for 32 players to step foot on the field inside Beaver Stadium for a game. Penn State will recognize 32 players for senior day festivities prior to kicking off against Rutgers on Saturday.

Of course, this is a slightly different type of senior day. Of the 32 players being recognized on Saturday afternoon, three players will be going through the senior day ceremony for a second time. Jaquan Brisker, Tariq Castro-Fields, and Ben Wilson were all recognized in Penn State’s senior day ceremony last season, but the NCAA allowed all players to take advantage of an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the entire sports world. So those three players opted for one more season in Happy Valley.

Of note, Penn State will recognize Sean Clifford, who could still potentially return for another season in 2022 (also a result of the NCAA’s decision on extra years of eligibility for all). Clifford isn’t the only player who can take advantage of that option, but there remains plenty of discussion on whether or not Clifford will return for another season.

Clifford’s top receiving target, Jahan Dotson, will also be recognized. Although Dotson could return for another season as well, there is no suggestion he will do so. Dotson is expected to be one of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2022 NFL draft, and some believe he could be a first-round pick.

Penn State will also recognize Journey Brown. Brown was forced to medically retire prior to the 2020 season after learning of a health concern that made continuing playing football a risky endeavor.

Here is the full list of players Penn State will honor during the senior day, as provided by Penn State’s athletics department;

  • Jaquan Brisker
  • Ellis Brooks
  • Journey Brown
  • Tariq Castro-Fields
  • Rafael Checa
  • Max Chizmar
  • Sean Clifford
  • Jahan Dotson
  • Arnold Ebiketie
  • Winston Eubanks
  • Henry Fessler
  • Fred Hansard
  • Drew Hartlaub
  • Vlad Hilling
  • Des Holmes
  • Bradley King
  • Will Knutsson
  • Kaleb Konigus
  • John Lovett
  • Jesse Luketa
  • Jordan Miner
  • Mike Miranda
  • PJ Mustipher
  • Jordan Stout
  • Cam Sullivan-Brown
  • Johnathan Sutherland
  • Derrick Tangelo
  • Dan Vasey
  • Justin Weller
  • Anthony Whigan
  • Ben Wilson
  • Eric Wilson

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Penn State’s Fred Hansard issues apology to Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa

Penn State’s Fred Hansard issued an apology for a sideline shove of Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa

During Penn State’s road victory against Maryland on Saturday, there was a brief moment on the Penn State sideline that caught the eye of the broadcasters calling the game on FS1 and drew the ire of the Maryland faithful. Penn State lineman Fred Hansard was seen giving a somewhat hard shove to Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who was running out of bounds on a play as the Terrapins were moving the football in the second half. On Monday, Hansard issued a public apology directed toward Tagovailoa and the entire Maryland football program.

“I would like to extend my sincere apologies for the unfortunate incident that took place on the sideline on Saturday,” Hansard said in his statement. “It was truly an act of impulse, and not malice. I did not and would not intentionally try to hurt another player. I believe in the integrity and the rules of the game.”

Video replay does seem to show Hansard reacting instinctively as he turns and sees a player coming at him. The slow-motion replay may make it look worse than it appeared in real time as well. But the video replay also shows Hansard appearing to pull back as if he did not intend to inflict any harm on Tagovailoa and was regretful for the sequence of events.

Hansard also issued an apology to one of his teammates, Rasheed Walker. Walker received some backlash for the sideline incident due to confusion over which player did the shove. Walker and Hansard wear the same uniform number (53), leading to plenty of criticism misguidingly being sent in the direction of Walker.

“I would also like to apologize to my teammate and brother, Rasheed Walker,” Hansard said. “Not only did my actions make you the subject of false public criticism on Saturday, but I also misrepresented what it means to wear #53 for Penn State Football.”

There has been no indication on whether or not Hansard will receive any internal discipline from head coach James Franklin or the Penn State program for the incident. There was no foul called on the play at the time, which was questioned by the broadcasters at the time, and the Big Ten has yet to issue any statement or suspension to Hansard at this time.

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