Tag: Penn State Football

Texas A&M is set to host former Penn State WR this weekend

In need of more wide receiver depth, Texas A&M will reportedly host WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith this weekend

Just three days until the annual Maroon & White spring game, Texas A&M and head coach Mike Elko will now reportedly host one of the top playmakers who recently entered the spring transfer portal, as former Penn State wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith is back on the market.

After it was revealed that former Troy WR Jabre Barber sustained an injury that will keep him sidelined for at least four months, adding one or two more proven receivers to the roster was a priority regardless of Barber’s sustained absence.

While the current wide receiver depth chart is respectable, Ainias Smith’s departure to the draft, coupled with Evan Stewart’s transfer to Oregon, left a noticeable experienced-based hole. As soon as it was announced that Lambert-Smith was back in the portal, Elko and his staff immediately made the call.

Standing at 6-1 and nearly 190 pounds, Lambert-Smith has been extremely productive for the Nittany Lions over the past four seasons. He recorded 1,721 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns through the air, including a career-high 673 yards and four scores in 2023.

With size, speed, and experience, this would be a home run signing for a team just a couple of playmakers away from competing in 2024. According to 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Lambert-Smith will visit Texas A&M on Saturday, April 20, to the following Monday after visiting Auburn the previous Thursday-Saturday.

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Los Angeles Rams make meeting Chop Robinson a top priority

LA could be calling Chop Robinson’s name next Thursday at the NFL draft

The NFL draft is coming up next week and rumors about the top prospects visiting various NFL teams continue to swirl. Penn State defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] is one prospect who has seen his draft stock rise this spring.

Robinson crushed the NFL combine, running a 4.48 40-yard dash and wowing scouts with his athleticism. The former Nittany Lion is trending toward being the first Penn State player drafted, possibly leapfrogging offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.

Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reports that the Los Angeles Rams plan to meet the star pass rusher in Happy Valley for a private meeting on Thursday. While the specific meeting isn’t all that surprising, it is notable that the Rams brass is flying to the Eastern Time Zone to meet with a prospect who’s not a quarterback and not a projected top-10 pick.

The Rams seem very high on Robinson, and if their travel plans indicate anything, they are seriously considering taking Robinson with the 19th overall pick.

If the Rams were to select Robinson at No. 19, it would be on the higher side of the first round, as he has been mocked recently between picks 26 and 33. He has been one of the biggest risers this draft season, and it will be fascinating to see where he lands next Thursday.

Two Nittany Lions rank among CBS Sports’ Top 100 players of 2024

Two Nittany Lions rank in CBS Sports’ Top 100 college football players of 2024

With spring practices and games wrapping up over the next couple of weeks, everyone is getting antsy for the start of the 2024 college football season. It is officially ranking season after analysts have seen many programs in action during spring ball.

On Monday morning, CBS Sports’ Blake Brockermeyer put out his rankings of the top 100 college football players of 2024. Despite having arguably a top-10 roster in all of college football, only two Penn State players appear on Brokermeyer’s Top 100 list.

The two on the list are defensive ends [autotag]Adbul Carter[/autotag] (No. 17) and [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] (No. 78). Those two should be the bookend defensive ends for what should be a top tier Penn State defensive front.

Carter, who is making the switch from linebacker to edge, is a top-20 player, according to Brockermeyer, and arguably one of the best defenders in the country. Carter has a ton of expectations to be great, and that starts with his number 11 jersey, which makes it hard for anyone not to think of Micah Parsons. The similarities are scary; perhaps Carter can be even better than the former Penn State great.

Can I go with back-to-back Micah Parsons comps? Abdul Carter fits the bill, too, down to the No. 11 uniform. Carter had a great start to his career with excellent production in his first two seasons at Happy Valley and is making the switch to the edge this season. Carter is a dynamic, twitched-up force who is likely to have a lot of success making the move. James Franklin has called Carter “freakishly strong, ” so you can expect he will have the ability to rush speed to power. He should have a great season in Tom Allen’s attacking defensive scheme. – Brockermeyer, CBS Sports

Carter is definitely in the cards for a breakout season, and if everything falls into place, he could be the next Penn State edge rusher taken in the first round.

On the other side of the defensive line, Dani Dennis-Sutton must be loving Carter’s move to the line of scrimmage, as it should open up plenty of opportunities for Sutton to attack the quarterback. Sutton is a bigger body than Carter and can play all over the line of scrimmage and should form a dynamic 1-2 punch with Carter on the opposite side.

A powerful edge rusher with a variety of moves and the versatility to play inside as well. Dennis-Sutton has a nice motor and works the offensive linemen’s edges well and can convert with power. Nice length and get-off; a nasty tandem lined up opposite Adbul Carter. I’m high on Penn State’s defensive front. – Brockermeyer, CBS

Penn State’s defensive front should be one of the best in the nation and once again be the leader of one of the top defenses.

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Penn State back in familiar territory as transfer portal opens again

Another spring leads to another search in the transfer portal for wide receiver help for Penn State.

In what has seemingly become a bit of a springtime tradition for Penn State’s football program, the transfer portal has opened and the Nittany Lions are looking for some help at wide receiver. For the third offseason in a row, one of Penn State’s biggest needs just so happens to be at wide receiver and the transfer portal is the most likely place to find some help.

Two years ago, Penn State was looking to find some help at the receiver position following Jahan Dotson’s decision to enter the NFL draft. That resulted in the addition of Mitchell Tinsley from Western Kentucky. A year later, with Tinsley making his way to the NFL alongside Parker Washignton, James Franklin and his staff searched high and wide for help at the receiver position in the transfer portal and landed Dante Cephas from Kent State and Malik McClain from Florida State. Unfortunately, neither addition managed to impact the offense much, and the passing attack was a weak spot for the Nittany Lions throughout the 2023 college football season.

And here we are once again. The spring transfer window opened up on Monday, two days following Penn State’s spring game, and Penn State’s leading receiver from last season decided to make his way to the transfer portal to explore his potential options. KeAndre Lambert-Smith opted to enter his name in the portal after seemingly suggesting he would return to the program earlier in the offseason. But despite Penn State making moves to bring in a new offensive coordinator, Lambert-Smith felt it was best for him to see what else could be out there for him.

He is not alone, of course. Cephas, after just one season in Happy Valley, made a move to Kansas State in the previous transfer window. Cristian Driver also jumped into the transfer portal and landed with another Big Ten program, Minnesota. Penn State is in jeopardy of losing its third wide receiver to a transfer since the end of the 2023 season.

Of course, Penn State has already found some help in the transfer portal with Julian Fleming committing to Penn State following a few seasons with Ohio State. But Penn State has swung and missed on a number of wide receiver transfers in the past couple of years, putting more pressure on Franklin and wide receiver coach Marques Hagans to find some quality help.

Wide receiver has consistently been one of the most frustrating positions under James Franklin. With a few notable exceptions, like Jahan Dotson and Chirs Godwin, Penn State has struggled to keep some of its best receivers in place (Justin Shorter and Juwan Johnson, for example) or get receivers to develop quickly into formidable assets for the passing game. There seemed to be a lack of development with some of the younger receivers in 2023, although it is worth mentioning [autotag]Harrison Wallace III[/autotag] was sidetracked by injury issues. And the spring game this year didn’t exactly suggest anyone is jumping all over the chance to be the next breakout star. Then again, it is sometimes unwise to overreact to anything we do or do not see in a spring game, especially with a new offensive coordinator.

Expect Penn State to be in hot pursuit of some of the top receivers in the transfer portal. In a year of big changes in college football and the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, the race is on to field a team fully capable of crashing into one of those top 12 spots. If the biggest missing piece for Penn State is explosiveness in the passing game, then finding answers in the transfer portal is essential for success.

Check out our transfer portal tracker for an updated look at every Penn State player in the transfer portal, who is leaving, and who is coming in.

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Penn State lands huge commitment from Alvin Henderson, who ran for 61 touchdowns last year

Alvin Henderson commits to Penn State football.

It was a huge Thursday for Penn State as four-star running back Alvin Henderson gave his commitment to the Big Ten program. And all Henderson seems to do is run for touchdowns.

Penn State fought off several big names to land Henderson, a player ranked by Rivals as the third-best running back in the nation and the No. 36 overall recruit. He is a member of the 2025 recruiting class.

ESPN ranks him as the No. 55 player in the nation and the sixth-best player in Alabama this recruiting cycle.

Last year, Henderson ran for 3,253 yards and a staggering 61 touchdowns for Elba High School (Elba, Alabama) in 14 games played.

He picked Penn State from an offer list that included Auburn, Florida State, Miami and Oregon among others.

The Nittany Lions now have 12 commits in the class of 2025. Henderson is one of four recruits ranked as a four-star by 247Sports.

Who will be Penn State’s punt returner in 2024?

Penn State may have a leader in the competition to return punts for the Nittany Lions this fall.

Penn State has a number of positions to pay attention to during the annual Blue-White spring game as spring football practices come to a close for the year. Among them is the punt returner role, which was left vacant with the departure of Daequan Hardy. With one final week of spring football practices, there appears to be a leader in the clubhouse to take over the primary role this fall according to Penn State special teams coach Justin Lustig.

In a recent session with the media, Justing suggested [autotag]Kadan Saunders[/autotag] may be the guy to beat for the top punt-returning role this season. Saunders brings with him some experience from doing so last season before Hardy proved to be more valuable as the season went along.

“It’s still an open battle at punt returner but I would say he’s in the lead right now, especially with his experience,” Lustig said, according to Lions247. “One thing about punt return is that you can design the system around who the guy is a little bit, too. Kaden maybe wasn’t quite as dynamic as Daequan Hardy, but I still see some ability to hit big returns.”

Saunders had 14 punt returns for a total of 86 return yards last season, with no touchdowns and few big-yard returns of note. Hardy provided some needed explosiveness in his time returning punts with 17 returns for 248 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Of course, as Lustig noted, having a punt returner who is comfortable simply fair catching a punt and preventing the ball from trickling down field for additional yardage is an overlooked asset.

“He’s able to just catch the ball and not let it bounce down the field, and that’s super valuable,” Lustig said about Saunders. “That doesn’t show up in the stats, but that’s as good as a 15-yard return. If you can average 15 yards a return, you’re gonna be top 10 in the country.”

When Penn State wraps up spring practices with the Blue-White Game later this week, pay attention to Saunders in this role. Others that could see some opportunities to field punts could include Liam Clifford and Cam Wallace.

Penn State’s spring game is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

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Sports radio report suggests Micah Parsons ‘has worn thin’ with Dallas Cowboys

Dallas sports radio drops a rumor suggesting Micah Parsons may be falling out of favor with some within the Dallas Cowboys.

One of the best NFL players to come out of Penn State in recent years could be rubbing his team the wrong way. It is typically unwise to suggest anything heard on sports talk radio should be taken with anything more than a grain of salt, but it is impossible to ignore conversations revolving around [autotag]Micah Parsons[/autotag], the best player on the Dallas Cowboys‘ roster.

The suggestion that some within the Cowboys front office and organization wouldn’t blink an eye at the thought of no longer having Parsons on the roster comes from a comment by Shan Shariff of 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Shariff said he has heard from multiple sources that Parsons is not exactly in the good graces within the franchise at this moment in the offseason.

“I’ve heard from way too many people this offseason. I’m talking about at least four different people (have told me) that Micah has worn thin there,” Shariff said Friday. “I don’t know how much is true and how much it actually hurts (his reputation). I don’t know whether this is the behavior of a typical superstar. I don’t know how damaging it is. But all I do know is this – I’ve heard from way too many people that if Micah Parsons was out of there, there would be a decent amount of people inside the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco smiling or breathing a sigh of relief.”

The timing of these comments is peculiar because the Cowboys just picked up the fifth-year option on Parsons’ contract, and did so in a unique way by categorizing him as a defensive end instead of a linebacker. Would the franchise have been so quick to jump on that contract option if there was some uncertainty about his behavior? Given his talent and potential on the field, and with the lack of notable moves made by the franchise this offseason, perhaps locking in their best talent through 2025 was a priority.

Parsons was the no. 12 overall pick of the Cowboys in the 2021 NFL draft, and he has lived up to the billing on the field. Parsons was the unanimous winner of the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award and he has been a runner-up for the NFL’s defensive player of the year.

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Recruiting predictions trending against Penn State for coveted DL target Trent Wilson

Penn State is fading in the rearview mirror for this four-star defensive lineman according to recruiting insiders.

Penn State may be considered one of the top four schools for a major recruiting target from Maryland, but the Nittany Lions appear to be trending in the wrong direction as the crystal ball predictions start to come in.

Trent Wilson, from Upper Marlboro, MD, is a four-star defensive lineman according to the various recruiting coverage outlets, and he is ranked as the no. 3 player overall in Maryland. Naturally, Penn State would be an interested school in obtaining his commitment, and Penn State has been active in his recruiting process. However, less than a week after unveiling his top four schools, there appears to be a favorite rising to the top as he nears a decision, and it’s not in Penn State’s favor.

Two crystal ball predictions have now been recorded on 247Sports, and each predicts Oklahoma to be the winner for a commitment of Wilson. One prediction comes from an Oklahoma recruiting insider and the other comes from a national recruiting analyst, giving the Sooners a pretty definitive edge in this process.

The On3 recruiting prediction machine currently calculates a 94.3% chance of Wilson going to Oklahoma with a few more predictions being recorded this past week. That percentage is up a few points since Wilson unveiled his top four teams.

This would be another tough blow for Penn State on the recruiting trail in the Class of 2024. This past week saw Penn State swing and miss on the top in-state quarterback in the Class of 2025, Matt Zollers. Penn State has already missed out on the top player in the state as well with edge rusher Zahir Mathis previously committing to Big Ten rival Ohio State. Penn State is still holding on to one fo the top-ranked recruiting classes in the Big Ten and the nation, and there are plenty of in-state recruiting targets still to be had for the Nittany Lions, but Penn State could use a bit of a reversal of fortune right now after a brief tough stretch of recruiting headlines.

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Best photos of Penn State offensive lineman Hunter Nourzad, a 2024 NFL draft prospect

Check out some of the best photos of Penn State center Hunter Nourzad, who is a potential NFL draft pick in 2024.

When Penn State needed a veteran presence to throw into the middle of the offensive line two seasons ago, they landed one of the top options in the transfer portal from the Ivy League, of all places. Penn State secured a commitment from [autotag]Hunter Nourzad[/autotag] over offers from a handful of power conference programs, including Auburn. The Georga native quickly found his role in the trenches but battled a couple of injury concerns along the way at times.

There is a place for a player like Nourzad in the NFL. His invitation to the NFL draft proves he is on the radar for a possible draft selection, even if it comes in the later rounds. He could be one of three Penn State offensive linemen drafted this year if all goes according to plan.

Here are some of the best photos of Hunter Nourzad, who looks to join a  couple of his offensive line teammates (Olu Fashanu and Caedan Wallace)in the NFL draft this spring.

Best photos of NFL draft prospect LB Curtis Jacobs of Penn State

Check out some of the best photos of Penn State linebacker and NFL draft hopeful Curtis Jacobs.

Penn State is hoping to send another linebacker to the NFL draft this spring with one of its top defensive leaders from the 2023 season. [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] proved his value as a team leader and felt it was an obligation to not skip out on Penn State’s bowl game this past offseason, and now he is hoping to land a spot on an NFL roster by way of the draft.

Jacobs was always involved in Penn State’s solid defense in 20234 and he became the first Nittany Lion player in the school’s Big Ten era to recover two fumbles in the same game against Iowa. Jacobs ended the season with the third-most tackles on the roster with 49 tackles and the second-most tackles for a loss (9.0).

Here are some of the best photos of Curtis Jacobs from his time at Penn State and on his path to the NFL draft.