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Kevin Newsome To Star In New Version Of 'Butterfly Effect'

So, as has been speculated, Kevin Newsome has decommitted from Michigan and is now back on the market.  Brian has been following this rumor for a while now because of the implications it will have on their ability to land another top dual threat QB, and "all the eggs in one basket" Penn State target, Tate Forcier

The implications of this could be "grrrr" for Penn State recruiting fans.  Forcier has been eyeing Michigan for a while now, with an official scheduled for their game aginst Utah.  It has been speculated that the one thing holding him back from signing a letter with RichRod is the fear of competition with Newsome, who is ranked a little higher on Rival's dual-threat list.

 

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As The Blogdome Turns

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Links from around our digital world...

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Only LaVar Arrington Until Football

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In 11 days, all your quarterbacks are belong to Linebacker U

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Can't Miss Programming!

This is what we pay the Big Ten Tax for, people. There are plenty of DVR worthy items on the BTN over the next couple of days:
Tuesday, August 19
4 p.m. The Big Ten’s Greatest Games: 1994 – Penn State @ Illinois [Football]
6 p.m. Big Ten Tonight: Penn State Year in Review
Thursday, August 21
7 p.m. The Big Ten’s Greatest Games: 2001 – Ohio State @ Penn State [Football]
9 p.m. Big Ten Tonight: Penn State Nittany Lions Football Practice

comment about 18 hours ago Reporter_tiny Kevin HD comment 7 comments 0 recs

Meet the Walk-Ons

They were the best players on their teams in high school. But they didn't come from high profile programs, or they didn't do the combine circuit, or they suffered serious injuries, or they were too short or too small. For whatever reason they didn't get noticed in the recruiting process. Some of them had opportunities to get free educations. They could have gone to Div. I-AA or a respectable MAC school and been the big men on campus. But they chose another path. They chose an uphill struggle where the odds are stacked against them. They will most likely spend the next four years taking a beating on the practice field with the scout team never getting to strap on the pads on game day. But they chose this path because they want to compete with the best. They have a dream of putting on the Blue and White and running out of the tunnel in front of 110,000 people. They came to Penn State to play for a living legend in the twilight of his career. They have dreams of becoming the next Ethan Kilmer or Josh Hull. Whatever their reason for choosing Penn State, they are the walk-ons, and you are now privileged to know them.

Matthew McGloin - #12

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Position: Quarterback
Hometown: Scranton, PA
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs
Forty: 4.7

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Only Michael Robinson Until Football


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In 12 days the ghosts of legends past come to life.

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Nitt Picks Is Dedicated

Your semi-regular scavenger hunt for Penn State news items on The Internets.

Western Kentucky, Here We Come: Steve Koreivo is a simple man, really.  A Penn State season ticket holder, a father of two, and a slightly dedicated football fan who has seen every Division 1-A football team in person...and knows how to pick a woman:

"Me and the kids know that this is Steve’s passion," Laurie Koreivo said. "It’s the one thing in life he truly loves."

She found that out the hard way in 1987, on a cold snowy day at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa. Koreivo did not budge until Penn State had defeated Notre Dame, 21-20.

"We were just dating at the time," he said. "She stayed throughout the game, which weighed heavily in my decision to marry her."

She may have had no choice. "I just remember being too cold to move," Laurie said.

Better Than Crap?  Awesome!:  The Penn State previews keep coming, but here's something slightly more interesting from MLive.com -- teams who will be better than you think:

8. Penn State: The preseason mag that I'm glancing at right now (Sporting News) has Penn State seventh in the Big Ten. I just don't see it. Whether Darryl Clark or Pat Devlin starts at QB, the offense should be able to move the ball with Evan Royster at RB and the great WR group. There are questions on defense, but not enough for a horrible year. Bank on this: PSU will be 4-0 and ranked in the top 15 when Illinois visits on Sept. 27.

Okay, "better than The Sporting News thinks" might be more appropriate.  I'm not sure anyone in a reasonable frame of mind thinks that Penn State will be the #7 team in the conference.  And if they're not 4-0 heading into the Illinois game, well, there's going to be much more trouble than just living down to TSN's expectations.

Welcome To My Hell, Coastal Carolina:  The Chanticleers (I know, I know...) are preparing for the noise at Beaver Stadium by, you guessed it, blaring annoying techno music into their little stadium:

The stadium and portable speakers were again blaring with a mix of techno and crowd noise during CCU's scrimmage Saturday. The noise attributed to a high number of false starts and miscommunication for the offensive line.

CCU offensive linemen Seth Smalls told Coastal coach David Bennett that one such mistake was related to the noise in Brooks Stadium. Bennett responded by saying he better watch the ball at Penn State. The problem with watching the snap is it gives the defense an advantage on what could be a very tough day for Coastal Carolina quarterbacks.

"We have to learn to communicate by signals, sign language," Bennett said.

Don't worry, Coastal.  The crowd won't be into it by halftime.  Meanwhile, the Chants are still looking for a quarterback.  Techno should be the least of their concerns.

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Now is the time on Sprockets vhen ve dance!

Fullback?  I Still Get Paid, Right?:  Tony Hunt has impressed Andy Reid enough to be tried out at another position of need for the Philadelphia Eagles:

The Eagles will have a new fullback taking some of the reps with the first team offense today at practice. His name is Tony Hunt, the team's third round draft pick in 2007. Hunt has impressed head coach Andy Reid with his play on offense and, more importantly, on special teams in recent weeks.

On the surface, some may see this as a demotion, but Hunt has obviously made enough of an impact on Reid that the coach seems to be looking for a solid excuse to keep him on the team.  He'll see the ball a lot more at fullback (think lots of check-down passes and goal-line playaction stuff) than he would as the #4 running back.  Hope it works out for him.

In Scores From Other Games:  A chance to bid on a football autographed by Joe Paterno and some guy who used to beat up on the University of Mexico and Millington Naval Air Station.  Austin Scott is hoping to get a few carries tonight against the Giants.   Evan Royster is pretty good.  Dan Connor gets adjusted to the NFL.  A great story about a former Penn State player who lost a leg at war...and still wanted to come back and play after being released from a German POW camp.

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Pat Devlin Extras

Devlin's high school coach, Mike Matta, had a few stories to illustrate what kind of leader Devlin is. For instance, one day as he was nursing a separated shoulder he injured early in his senior year, Devlin saw his coach coming off the field with the team. Matta had told the kids to stop practicing because they were being particularly sloppy and lazy. Devlin saw this and "told them, ‘Turn around and go back on the field. We’re getting this right,’" Matta recalled. "And he didn’t yell or curse. The just followed. And he then ran practice."

comment 2 days ago Lioneye_edited_tiny BSD comment 0 comments 0 recs

BlogPoll Draft Ballot - Preseason

So I've listened to everyone's input and put together as solid a preseason poll as you're going to get. Which means it's still a crappy preseason poll.

RankTeamDelta
1 Florida 25
2 Oklahoma 24
3 Ohio State 23
4 Georgia 22
5 Southern Cal 21
6 Missouri 20
7 West Virginia 19
8 LSU 18
9 Clemson 17
10 Texas 16
11 Auburn 15
12 Kansas 14
13 Texas Tech 13
14 Virginia Tech 12
15 Wisconsin 11
16 Tennessee 10
17 South Florida 9
18 Penn State 8
19 Arizona State 7
20 Illinois 6
21 Oregon 5
22 Brigham Young 4
23 Michigan State 3
24 Wake Forest 2
25 Alabama 1

Dropped Out: N/A

The Contenders

Florida - I put Florida first based on the fact they return a ton of talent including a Heisman Trophy quarterback. But I wouldn't be surprised if they struggle and drop as they seem to be going through ACL's like underwear.

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Only Jay Alford Until Football

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Just 13 days until endzone celebrations are severely frowned upon.

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FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recent FanShots

Tony hunt
ESPN Article on College Football Student Sections (PSU #1)
J. Leman saves the world
Why does USC stink? Or why did they stink in 1992...
Abe Koroma is bringing it back.  Much more about the barber preferences of the Nittany Lions -- including the debut of the Okoli-Ogbu comedy team -- can be found in this FightOnState.com video.  Highly recommended.
Hoops player gets ARD
Beaver Stadium Being Prepped For '08
Buckeyes' flops start Big Ten bashing
Bright Lights, Big Opportunity
Bowden talks about Paterno

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Countdown to Coastal Carolina


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