Tag: nicholas singleton

Report: Boise State hires special teams coordinator Stacy Collins away from Penn State

Boise State hires special teams coordinator Stacy Collins away from Penn State

[autotag]James Franklin’s[/autotag] offseason will now include replacing all three coordinators on his staff. He already hired [autotag]Andy Kotelnicki[/autotag] to replace Mike Yurcich and [autotag]Tom Allen[/autotag] to replace Manny Diaz last month.

It was reported Friday morning by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Penn State’s special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach [autotag]Stacy Collins[/autotag] will be returning to Boise State. Collins coached at Boise State during the 2021 season before being hired by Franklin.

Based on Rittenberg’s report, it looks as if Collins will receive a promotion once returning to Boise, gaining the title of assistant head coach. The special teams unit stood out this year and seemed to never miss a beat on gameday. His work with the linebackers and recruiting prowess will definitely be missed in Happy Valley. Collins was also a major factor in handing over punter returning duties to nickel cornerback [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag] partway through last season. Hardy flourished in his new role and even returned two punts for touchdowns against UMass.

It is now a full-blown turnover for Penn State’s coaching staff under Franklin, with three new hires all in the matter of one offseason. Whoever takes the reigns of Collins’ room has plenty of talent to work with, including star running back and returner [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag], along with punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag] and Tulsa transfer [autotag]Chase Meyer[/autotag] at kicker.

Follow Charlie Strella on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram.

Social media reacts to Penn State’s dreadful Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss

Social media reacts to Penn State’s Peach bowl loss to Ole Miss

Penn State’s offense has been under fire for pretty much the whole 2023 season, and the unit’s performance in the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss was much of the same. Lackluster, uninspiring, one-dimensional, un-explosive, or whatever word you want to describe it surfaced Saturday afternoon in the 38-25 loss to the Rebels. The Nittany Lions finished the season 10-3 and will go into next season with a lot of questions surrounding their offense and what it will look like.

The offseason should be an interesting one, with Penn State in dire need of offensive upgrades, especially in the receiver department. There are pieces to build around, like Kaytron Allen, Nick Singleton, and perhaps Harrison Wallace III, but that’s a conversation for another time. Social media is a here-and-now atmosphere, and it sure didn’t miss on Penn State’s dud performance in the Peach Bowl centered around another anemic passing performance, Drew Allar, and the Penn State offense.

5 keys to a Penn State victory over Ole Miss the Peach Bowl

5 keys for a Penn State victory in the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss

It’s been about a month since Penn State took care of business on Black Friday against Michigan State in their last regular season game. We are now less than a day away from the Nittany Lions taking on No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels in the 56th annual Peach Bowl.

Penn State is seeking its 11 win of the season, and it won’t be an easy task. Ole Miss has improved from an 8-5 finish last year and, with a win against LSU, had a resurgent season, going 10-2 and finishing in the top-5 of the SEC. The Nittany Lions and the Rebels have never faced one another, and Ole Miss is the last remaining SEC school Penn State has yet to face. Historically, Penn State has a .500 record against the rest of the SEC, including Texas and Oklahoma.

Both teams and programs are pretty different from each other, but both have ended up in Atlanta, with one team going home with a statement win for next season and the other with three losses. Here are five keys to a Nittany Lion win on Saturday against the Rebels.

5 reasons Penn State will beat Michigan State in Detroit

With a Black Friday showdown against Michigan State, we break down five reasons Penn State finishes the regular season with a victory.

This Friday, the Land Grant Trophy is on the line when Penn State (9-2) kicks off against Michigan State (4-7) to close out the regular season. The Nittany Lions and Spartans will face off at Ford Field in Detroit. Despite the series being tied 18-18-1 all-time, Penn State is a comfortable 19.5-point favorite on FanDuel as of Monday morning.

Since the trophy was implemented in 1993, Penn State has won 17 of the 27 meetings against Michigan State. Friday’s matchup will mark the tenth consecutive meeting of the two schools, and with the Big Ten expanding next year, the next matchup won’t be until 2025.

The Nittany Lions and Spartans are both coming off wins. Penn State beat Rutgers 27-6, while the Spartans held off Indiana for a 24-21 victory. Several questions surround the Nittany Lions, specifically the injury status of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and whether [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag] gets a shot against a below-average Spartan team. A win would put Penn State in a prime position to secure a New Year’s Six bowl.

Let’s take a look at five reasons Penn State takes home the Land Grant Trophy for back-to-back seasons.

5 reasons Penn State will beat Rutgers this Saturday

Here are five reasons to expect Penn State to get a rebound win this weekend against Rutgers.

Coming off a frustrating and disappointing loss to Michigan on Saturday, Penn State is looking for a bounce-back performance against Rutgers at Beaver Stadium this Saturday. The offense, especially the passing game, was the major disappointment against the Wolverines, as Drew Allar and company could only muster 70 yards through the air. Mike Yurcich’s firing last Sunday makes this weekend even more intriguing for the Nittany Lions’ offense and how they look with new play callers.

The Scarlett Knights are no slouches when it comes to pass defense, ranking 9th in the nation in yards per game (166.2). Rutgers doesn’t present a considerable challenge to offensively ranking in the bottom four of the Big Ten in yards per game (310.5). The Scarlett Knights are also coming off a defeat after getting shutout by Iowa last weekend.

With FanDuel listing Penn State as a 20.5-point favorite against Rutgers, we look at five reasons the Nittany Lions get back into the win column.

Report Card: Grading Penn State’s performance against Michigan

How does Penn State football grade out against Michigan…not so well at all

It was a tough day for James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Michigan Wolverines. Saturday’s 24-15 loss marked another defeat to a top-10 opponent and to Michigan. With Penn State sitting at 8-2 with two games to play, their hopes for a Big Ten title game berth are all but lost.

As they have all season, the defense played a respectable performance against one of the top offenses in the nation. It was not enough, however, as the offense sputtered after a promising first quarter and could never get quarterback Drew Allar into a rhythm.

It was not a happy afternoon in Happy Valley, and this week’s postgame report card reflects it.

Best photos from Penn State’s win over Indiana

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s home win against Indiana in Week 9.

Penn State had to dig deep in the final minutes of a rough outing to find a way to a victory on Saturday afternoon against Indiana. Despite being a 31-point favorite, Penn State needed a long touchdown pass and a defensive safety to help seal the fate of this particular home game, a 33-24 victory.

Penn State’s defense gave up more points in a game than it has all season long, and the offense had their rough moments for a second consecutive week. But in the end, the Nittany Lions managed to come out on top and toss aside quite a gritty effort from the visiting Hoosiers.

Here are some of the best photos available from Penn State’s win over Indiana.

Know your foe, Penn State: Which Nittany Lions could give Ohio State problems

Which Nittany Lions are you concerned about? #GoBucks

Although this is [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s second top-10 matchup of the year, this weekend’s game against Penn State has a different feel.

Notre Dame is a great team, but this game has more implications, specifically conference ones. The winner of this game will be viewed as one of the best in the country, as their body of work will have a very impressive win and look very favorably to the College Football Playoff committee.

The Nittany Lions enter this game with a great team, one that his talented on both sides of the ball. Let’s take a look at which PSU players Ohio State will need to contain in order to get a victory on Saturday afternoon.

Top three kick returners in the Big Ten for 2023

No Buckeyes on this list, but the competition is elite #GoBucks #B1G

The Big Ten has some intriguing athletes and predicting who the top kick returners will be is a bit of a challenging task because many teams don’t want consistent offensive or defensive starters to line up back there. The Big Ten simply lacks prominent stars at kick returner this year.

The top choice we have on this list is pretty evident given the accolades earned last season, but the other two choices are electric athletes who could see less time on special teams and are a bit more of a role of the dice here. Enough discussing it, let’s dive into the top three kick returners in the Big Ten for the 2023 season.

Badger running back ranked in top 10 by ESPN

ESPN released their top 10 running back rankings Wednesday, listing Badger back Braelon Allen as the sixth best in CFB heading into 2023.

ESPN released their top 10 running back rankings Wednesday, listing Badger back Braelon Allen as the sixth best in college football heading into 2023.

The third-year athlete is looking to continue the success he’s had early in his career, posting over 1200 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons with the Badgers. Most recently, in 2022, Allen rushed for 1242 yards and 11 scores on the ground over 12 contests.

Now with new head coach Luke Fickell and offensive coordinator Phil Longo at the helm, the second of which could be more important, Allen will look to explode in Longo’s “Air Raid” offense in 2023. The idea is that if the Badgers can get more success over the top in the passing games, more holes will open up for the 6-foot-2 running back.

Also in the top ten of ESPN’s rankings from the Big Ten were Blake Corum (Michigan, #1 overall), Nicholas Singleton (Penn State, #4 overall) and Donovan Edwards (Michigan, #5 overall).