Hearing the Lions' Roar: A Penn State Dynasty

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Howie5, thanks a lot. Good luck in yours as well.

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Penn State inks No. 2 class behind Texas

Penn State Recruiting - 2014
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Thomas Wise	HB	HS	Danville, VA	6'1	215
Isaiah Grant	QB	HS	San Marcos, CA	6'1	190
Stephen Graves	HB	HS	Lake Jackson, TX	6'1	219
Chad Gunn	ATH	HS	Fort Belvoir, VA	6'1	179
Bo Givens	DT	HS	Pico River, CA	6'4	289
David Jordan	G	HS	Port Lavaca, TX	6'5	290
Malcom Kelly	DE	HS	San Luis Obispo, CA	6'2	247
Joe Johnson	OLB	HS	Fairview Park, OH	6'3	208
Jesse Williams	MLB	HS	Mena, AR	6'1	231
Brian Wilson	QB	HS	Lake Ridge, VA	6'3	207
Eddie Jackson	HB	HS	Collegedale, TN	6'3	230
Jabari Anderson	T	HS	Perry Hall, MD	6'6	299
Ron Keyes	CB	HS	Philadelphia, PA	5'11	162
Clayton Cox	FS	HS	Galesburg, IL	6'2	210
Anthony Carter	DE	JUCO Jr	Shaker Heights, OH	6'3	252
Dionte Harvey	G	JUCO Jr	Lindenhurst, NY	6'3	310
Brandon McNair	FB	HS	Russellville, AR	5'11	236

Thoughts on Signing Day — As you can tell, I went a little bit halfback heavy. I plan on moving Eddie Jackson to fullback to help out there with Brandon McNair and my junior who is there right now. Thomas Wise will compete immediately for playing time while Stephen Graves might redshirt. Got a bunch of offensive linemen (can't have too many) and at quarterback, Isaiah Grant was the No. 1 QB so I can't fault him, probably will be my No. 3 QB or No. 2, depending on where he goes and I'll slap a redshirt on Wilson.

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Advanced to the 2014 Preseason. Will try to write one of those season previews in the upcoming days. I'm currently ranked No. 3 in the nation. Penn State has 18 seniors.

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Five Burning Questions about Penn State in 2014

Q: What are the Nittany Lions going to do at quarterback? Penn State has three capable signal callers with Bolden, Collins and true freshman Isaiah Grant.

A: As of right now, it's Collins' job to lose. Last season in his first year as started, Collins passed for 1,987 yards and 24 touchdowns. Collins will need to cut down on his interceptions if he wishes to keep the job. Bolden will still come in on certain plays and Grant might see some action as well. Grant is highly regarded as the top freshman quarterback to ever come to Happy Valley. His stats speak for themselves (81 OVR, 89 SPD, 82 ACC, 85 AWR, 90 ELU) and the only question is his arm (79 THP, 75 THA).

Q: What about running back? With the addition of Thomas Wise (No. 1 RB out of high school), it adds some fuel to the fire there.

A: There is no question as to Penn State's strength. It's running the ball. You're still going to see Zach Boyd as the No. 1 RB but Wise has supplanted Terrence Simpson as No. 2. Wise has the speed (95) and acceleration (90) to get away from tacklers. It's going to be a three-headed monster for the Nittany Lions in 2014.

Q: Will Frazier open up the playbook a bit? Seemed a bit weak last year.

A: Penn State needs to open it up a bit. There is no question about it. For Collins to toss 24 touchdowns and less than 2,000 yards is inexcusable. If Collins can assert himself early, he won't need to split time with Bolden and Grant.

Q: Is Frazier looking to coach elsewhere? With 18 seniors in 2014, it's easy to think it could be his swan song.

A: He hasn't let on, but sources close to the situation believe if he wins back-to-back championships, he'll step down.

Q: How can Penn State top last season?

A: By winning another championship.

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2014 Penn State Schedule
Record: 10-0, 7-0

Week 1 — Open
Week 2 — vs. No. 2 Florida (W, 24-21)
Week 3 — at Texas A&M (W, 72-30)
Week 4 — Open
Week 5 — at No. 2 Ohio State (W, 34-21)
Week 6 — vs. Northwestern (W, 59-20)
Week 7 — at Minnesota (W, 40-14)
Week 8 — vs. No 2 Michigan (W, 30-3)
Week 9 — vs. Illinois (W, 80-6)
Week 10 — at Purdue (W, 48-10)
Week 11 — at No. 18 Wisconsin (W, 33-17)
Week 12 —vs. Western Michigan (W, 66-0)
Week 13 — vs. No. 20 Michigan State
Week 14 — at No. 23 Boise State
Week 15 — Open

I will keep this schedule updated with the rankings of said teams when I play them.

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2014 Preseason Awards for Penn State

Zach Boyd (Jr. RB) — First-Team All American, First-Team All Big Ten
Lawrence Ramsey (Sr. DT) — First-Team All American, First-Team All Big Ten
Marco Walters (So. CB) — First-Team All American, First-Team All Big Ten
Trent McDonald (Jr. MLB) — Second-Team All American, First-Team All Big Ten
J Mackey (Jr. CB) — Second-Team All American, First-Team All Big Ten
Lee Collins (Jr. QB) — First-Team All Big Ten
Dakota Royer (Sr. LE) — First-Team All Big Ten
Aaron Taylor (Jr. DT) — First-Team All Big Ten
Chad Heard (Sr. FS) — First-Team All Big Ten
Jonathan Dunbar (Sr. K) — First-Team All Big Ten
Chase Reid (Jr. DT) — Second-Team All Big Ten
Jason Crawford (So. DT) — Second-Team All Big Ten

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Penn State is ranked the Toughest Place to Play in America. The Nittany Lions have a 24-game win streak at home. It will be tested Week 2 against Florida.

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No. 3 Penn State survives scare at home against No. 2 Florida

Florida (0-1) at Penn State (1-0)
Dec 28, 2010 1 2 3 4 F #3 Penn State 7 7 0 10 24 #2 Florida 0 10 3 8 21 Top Performers Florida Joel Edwards — 21 of 31 for 315 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs Michael Henderson — 17 rushes, 98 yards Penn State Lee Collins — 8 of 13 for 146 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Thomas Wise — 19 rushes, 74 yards, 1 TD, 3 catches, 106 yards, 2 TDs	Team Stats Comparison UF PSU First Downs 18 14 3rd Down Efficiency 6-11 4-10 4th Down Efficiency 0-1 1-1 Total Yards 406 323 Passing Yards 315 200 Rushing Yards 91 123 Penalties-Penalty Yards 1-5 0-0 Turnovers 2 1 Time of Possession 16:49 15:11
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING UF PSU 2:08 (PSU) T. Wise 2 run (J. Dunbar kick) 0 7 SECOND QUARTER SCORING UF PSU 5:52 (UF) M. Coker 39-yard FG 3 7 4:12 (PSU) T. Wise 59 pass from L. Collins (J. Dunbar kick) 3 14 1:37 (UF) A. Coxson 3 pass from J. Edwards (M. Coker kick) 10 14 THIRD QUARTER SCORING UF PSU 3:32 (UF) M. Coker 52-yard FG 13 14 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING UF PSU 6:19 (UF) C. Foster 4 pass from J. Edwards (2-point) 21 14 5:27 (PSU) T. Wise 43 pass from R. Bolden (J. Dunbar kick) 21 21 2:07 (PSU) J. Dunbar 30-yard FG 21 24

Thoughts — Another classic between Florida and Penn State. Back and forth the whole time. Lost Zach Boyd (again) in the first quarter to a strained pectoral. Good news is that he only missed the game and nothing more. Thomas Wise really stepped up in his absence. Could have put them away in the second quarter, but I tossed an INT with Collins trying to hit someone in the end zone. In hindsight, I should have ran it up the middle to set up a field goal to go up 17-10 with the ball coming back, but I got greedy. After the win, Penn State moved up to No. 1 in the nation.