Tag: Theo Johnson

James Franklin encourages Penn State fans to get vaccinated during visit from PA Governor Wolf

Pen State head coach James Franklin is fully vaccinated and he wants others in Pennsylvania to join him.

The push around the state of Pennsylvania, and the country, is on to encourage people to get vaccinated for COVID-19. The disease that decimated the entire sports calendar in 2020 continues to be fought with a ramped-up vaccine effort, and Penn State head coach James Franklin had the opportunity to speak out and encourage people to seek out a vaccine.

During a visit from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf in Happy Valley on Wednesday, Franklin and tight end Theo Johnson made their voices heard in support of being vaccinated.

A year after having no fans in Beaver Stadium for football games, Franklin is looking ahead to the first scheduled home game with the hope of seeing as many people as possible come into the stadium.

“We want our Ball State game on September 11 to be our first family reunion in almost two years and we want Beaver Stadium and all of Happy Valley rocking,” Franklin said, according to StateCollege.com. “This is not just about Penn State football. This is about the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We know how important it is for our community and fans to have our college football and professional teams in all sports return to full capacity.”

The lack of football fans in college towns across the country took a toll not just on universities, but the local economy as well. Small businesses that anticipate football Saturday crowds to turn a profit were among the many devasted by the impact of the pandemic last year.

Things do seem to be trending in a positive direction in Pennsylvania. Wolf announced earlier this week that outdoor capacity restrictions will be lifted effective May 31, and a statewide order to wear masks in public will be lifted once the state has hit the 70% vaccination benchmark for Pennsylvanians 18 years or older. Overall, the state is trending toward hitting that benchmark, as it sat at 50.9% for at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Outdoor events like Major League Baseball games in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have already welcomed back fans, and stadium capacities have been adjusted to allow more fans since initially opening up. With the way things are going, Penn State will absolutely be able to welcome fans in Beaver Stadium this fall. The biggest question is just how many will be allowed entry through the Beaver Stadium gates by the time the season kicks off.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

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LOOK: Mike Gesicki returns to Happy Valley with a present for James Franklin

Penn State head coach James Franklin is amassing quite the football jersey collection this offseason, so it would seem. Over the weekend, as the Penn State world focused on the updates coming out of the 2021 NFL draft, Franklin received a visit from …

Penn State head coach James Franklin is amassing quite the football jersey collection this offseason, so it would seem. Over the weekend, as the Penn State world focused on the updates coming out of the 2021 NFL draft, Franklin received a visit from a former Penn State tight end already making a name for himself in the NFL. Mike Gesicki returned to Happy Valley to pay his former head coach a visit, and he came with a present for Franklin.

Earlier this spring, Franklin received a signed jersey from another former Nittany Lion, wide receiver KJ Hamler.

While he was in town, Gesicki may have witnessed for himself that one of his old records in the Penn State football facilities has been dethroned. Freshman tight end Theo Johnson shared a photo on Twitter of a round of 40-yard dash times, which included Johnson’s team-best 4.51. That time clipped the previous best by a tight end of 4.54 seconds set by Gesicki in the winter of 2016.

Gesicki had a successful career at Penn State. By the time he left for the NFL, Gesicki had owned the school record for most catches by a tight end (129) and ended his career No. 17 on Penn State’s all-time leading receivers list with 1,481 career receiving yards (also a record for a tight end). Gesicki was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft and was the second tight end drafted. Similarly, in this year’s draft, Pat Freiermuth was also a second-round draft pick (by the Pittsburgh Steelers) and was the second tight end off the board in the draft.

 

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Four-star tight end Theo Johnson makes commitment

Theo Johnson is a four-star TE, & is the top rated player in Canada. He played for Holy Names High School and is from Windsor, Ontario.

Theo Johnson has committed to play college football at Penn State University. Johnson is a four-star tight end, and is the top rated player in Canada. Johnson played for Holy Names High School and is from Windsor, Ontario. He’s in the class of 2020.

The four-star announced his commitment today:

 

Johnson’s top four schools were: Michigan, Iowa, Penn State and Georgia. Penn State was favored to land the Canadian, but Georgia was considered his second most likely destination. Georgia needs to land a talented tight end in the class of 2020.

Georgia can use another tight end with the departures of senior Charlie Woerner and graduate transfer Eli Wolf. Georgia will have John FitzPatrick, a former four-star, next season, but he’s seldom played this season. The Dawgs could still use more depth and play-making at the position.

Johnson has incredible size at 6’6″, 240 pounds and impressive athleticism. He has great vertical leap skills. He’ll be playing in the 2020 Under Armor All-American before he heads to Penn State.

Best of luck to Johnson in school at Penn State. He’ll be much closer to home. Georgia will look to add a five-star tight end out of Nevada, who has been compared to Zion Williamson.

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Georgia football: Bulldogs must have better bowl game, off-season

The Georgia Bulldogs fell to the LSU Tigers 37-10 in the SEC Championship Game. LSU dominated and UGA’s offense never got rolling. Jake Fromm and Georgia receivers couldn’t get in sync all game (more on the receivers later). All of this felt like a …

The Georgia Bulldogs fell to the LSU Tigers 37-10 in the SEC Championship Game. LSU dominated and UGA’s offense never got rolling. Jake Fromm and Georgia receivers couldn’t get in sync all game (more on the receivers later).

All of this felt like a accumulation of Georgia’s weaknesses and errors adding up over the course of the season. But make no mistake about it. Georgia had a despicable off-season in 2018-2019 following the 2018 SEC Championship Game defeat to Alabama. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs must bounce back better following the crushing loss against LSU.

Last year, following the 2018 SEC title game UGA’s Deandre Baker started the off-season slide when he won the Jim Thorpe Award. Baker set a tone for the off-season that was not ideal. Following winning the award Baker was quoted saying this:

“I’m playing in the Sugar Bowl,” Baker said, per Jake Rowe of 247Sports. “…I just wanted to finish it right with my teammates, that’s all.”

Baker went on to sit out Georgia’s bowl game against Texas: a multi-score defeat to Texas. Players who are going to sit out the bowl game need to decide soon and be honest about it. Coaches need to prepare with the guys they’ve got and start building momentum for 2020. Regardless of who shows up, Georgia needs a win to be making progress as a program.

Baker’s decision was one of the least notable things of the 2018-2019 off-season.

Receivers Mecole Hardman Jr., Riley Ridley, RB Elijah Holyfield, and tight end Isaac Nauta all declared for the NFL early following the Sugar Bowl loss. Georgia lost Justin Fields in a transfer to Ohio State. Fields would’ve looked mighty good in Georgia red and black this season.

Every player has the right to declare for the NFL early, but for many it is not the best choice. There’s no going back. Some players family situations prevent them from being in school. That being said, Holyfield and Nauta would’ve been served better staying in Athens. Each would’ve had large roles in the offense. Neither is set up for NFL success now. Players should do what’s best for them and their families at the end of the day.

Kirby Smart secured yet another talented recruiting class, but that was the least of UGA’s 2018-2019 off-season worries. Seven Georgia players were arrested in 2019 before the Dawgs suited up to play Vanderbilt. WR Jeremiah Holloman proved to be the most costly of UGA’s arrest-related off-season losses. Georgia never made up for his loss and struggled to stretch teams down the field, especially in loses to South Carolina and LSU. Fromm missed Holloman’s back shoulder fade ability as well.

How does UGA have a better off-season this time? Jake Fromm staying would help, but don’t count on that. If he leaves, it may be Georgia’s turn to land a talented QB transfer like D’Eriq King of Houston. Kirby Smart needs borderline players to return and/or not transfer.

Players leave programs and that’s a reality of college football in 2019. Smart must land more recruits. UGA’s class of 2020 is extremely talented, but the Dawgs only have fifteen commitments. They will look add about ten more. Smart needs to land a talented tight end in this class. Darnell Washington or Theo Johnson would be huge for UGA. It’s the most talented tight end class in years.

Lastly, Georgia must stay out of trouble. 2-3 arrests would be excellent in comparison to seven. Yes, last off-season all seven weren’t all serious offenses, but they hurt the team.

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Four-star tight end Theo Johnson sets commitment date

Theo Johnson, a Georgia Bulldogs recruiting target, will make his commitment soon. He’s considering UGA, Iowan, Penn State, and Michigan.

Theo Johnson, a Georgia Bulldogs recruiting target, will be committing on Monday. Johnson is a four-star tight end, who is the top rated player in Canada. Johnson plays for Holy Names High School and is from Windsor, Ontario. He’s in the class of 2020.

The four-star announced his commitment date today via Twitter:

Johnson’s top four schools are: Michigan, Iowa, Penn State and Georgia. Penn State is favored to land the Canadian.

Georgia can use another tight end with the inevitable departures of senior  Charlie Woerner and graduate transfer Eli Wolf. Georgia will have John FitzPatrick, a former four-star, next season. The Dawgs could still use more depth and play-making at the position.

Johnson has incredible size at 6’6″, 240 pounds and impressive athleticism. He has an excellent vertical:

It’d be excellent to see Johnson come to Athens. It’s a long way from home. If he decides to go elsewhere, then Georgia will look to add a five-star tight end out of Nevada.

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Michigan recruits invade Ann Arbor for annihilation of MSU

The Wolverines hosted several top-targets to campus for the 44-10 beatdown of Michigan State.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan recruiting might be quiet lately, but Saturday’s guest list certainly wasn’t of the quiet variety.

Several Michigan commits, top targets and prospects made their way to campus to take in the Wolverines stunning 44-10 beatdown of Michigan State at the Big House.

Naturally, the biggest name on deck was four-star tight end Theo Johnson, who hails from Windsor (ONT) Holy Names, and has been a frequent visitor to campus. Johnson will be making a decision soon, and it looks to be a Michigan – Penn State battle for his services.

But there were a handful of 2021 four-stars on-hand, to go along with 2020 commits Roman Wilson, Blake Corum and Braiden McGregor (not pictured) as well as 2021 commit Giovanni El-Hadi. Among the four-stars included local names such as Rocco Spindler and Garrett Dellinger — both from Clarkston (MI) — and Ohio product A.J. Kirk Jr. and Indiana TE Rodney McGraw.

WolverinesWire was on the scene to capture some of the prospects who made it to town for the game.

Michigan commit Roman Wilson
2022 Zeeland (MI) East OLB Tag Bonnema
2020 Windsor (ONT) Holy Names four-star TE Theo Johnson
2021 Clarkston (MI) four-star OG Garrett Dellinger
2021 Clarkston (MI) four-star OT/DT Rocco Spindler
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