Penn State of Mind

Lambert Trophy: A relic from another era

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

The Lambert Trophy seems like a relic from another era.

The award, presented to the best college football team in the East, has been given out since 1936. At the time, and for decades afterward, the award meant something. The Eastern schools played each other nearly every year and they were all independents in football. And they were all from the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic regions.

Other than the national title, the Lambert Trophy was the most important championship an Eastern football school could capture.

But once Penn State moved to the Big Ten, the Lambert Trophy became much less important.

Now, the Eastern schools are scattered over several different conferences. West Viriginia, Pitt and Rutgers are in the Big East. Boston College is in the ACC. Temple is in the MAC. Army and Navy are still independents.

And several new schools are now considered “Eastern” schools. UConn moved up from Division I-AA. Cincinnati and South Florida, which are in the Big East, are now considered Eastern schools because they compete in an “Eastern” conference.

Why all this talk about the Lambert Trophy, you might ask? Well the Lambert Trophy was recently awarded and Penn State won for the 28th time. Cincinnati finished second.

A Big Ten team winning the award? An Ohio school finishing second?

It just doesn’t seem right.

Plus, if you asked any Nittany Lion, each would rather have won the Big Ten crown over the Lambert Trophy. The same goes for the Cincinnati players, who surely hold their Big East title in much higher esteem than a Lambert Trophy. Most of the Cincinnati players probably never even heard of the award.

The Lambert Trophy, it seems, has outlived its usefulness.

Signing day brings no surprises for Penn State

Compared to recent years, national signing day brought little to no drama to followers of the Penn State football program. An early start to recruiting led to the assembly of a strong class, but the bloom came off the rose a bit with late losses of high profile recruits Adrian Coxson and Dominique Easley.

The day started out early as State College local Alex Kenney’s letter of intent was hand delivered to the football office a few minutes after 8 am. Additional letters rolled off the fax machine during the morning hours until, by lunchtime, all but two of the expected members of Penn State’s recruiting class of 2010 had been accounted for.

Seven of the 20-member class have already enrolled at Penn State, getting a jump on conditioning and classwork, and taking advantage of the opportunity to participate in spring practice before their first full season. Those recruits include Dakota Royer, Silas Redd, Paul Jones, Kevin Haplea, Evan Hailes, Khairi Fortt, and Central York standout Kyle Baublitz.

Making it official this morning, in addition to Kenney, were Khamrone Kolb, Robert Bolden, DaQuan Jones, Brad Bars, Mike Hull, Zach Zwinak, C.J. Olaniyan, Miles Diffenbach, Tom Ricketts and Luke Graham.

The staff is awaiting letters of intent from Levi Norwood and Shyquan Pulliam. Both are expected to arrive this afternoon. Norwood is the younger brother of former Lion standout Jordan Norwood, and some sources have suggested that he may greyshirt. (A “greyshirt” refers to the practice of delaying enrollment at the chosen university in order to free up scholarships. A “greyshirt” member of the class of 2010 would enroll in January 2011 and be counted against scholarships for the 2011 class.)

Pulliam, a product of Cathedral Prep. in Erie, is working to complete his scholastic requirements, however some sources close to Pulliam’s recruitment have indicated that he may be destined for a year at Kiski Prep. to get his academic house in order.

By most accounts, Penn State completed a successful and highly rated recruiting class, addressing several positions of need, but leaving some big question marks in the defensive secondary that will need to be answered in 2010 and beyond.

Pitt-to-the-Big Ten rumors overblown

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

I love the Internet.

I hate the Internet.

It can be a source of limitless information. And it can be a source of limitless misinformation.

Take the “Pitt is going to join the Big Ten” rumor that has been swirling as of late.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there’s little to no truth to the rumors. And the P-G is a source I trust on this matter. At least the P-G reporter talked to actual sources, as opposed to just spreading unfounded innuendo.

But that hasn’t stopped the speculation from spreading like wildfire across cyberspace.

Anyway, I don’t think Pitt is the logical choice to join the Big Ten. Penn State already has the Pennsylvania media markets covered, and I think this expansion is about extending the Big Ten’s reach into new TV markets.

That’s why I think this analysis, saying that Texas is the most logical Big Ten expansion target, is right on the money. It’s detailed and well thought out.

The Texas move may not happen. The political landscape in Texas may prevent it. But it’s a move that would make sense for both Texas and the Big Ten.

Penn State lands 20th recruit

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

Penn State has gone deep under the radar to land the 20th member of its 2010 football recruiting class.

How deep?

Would you believe a one-star recruit from Tennessee?

His name is Brad Bars. He’s a 6-3, 225-pounder (or 6-4, 200-pounder, depending on which recruiting service you believe) from Nashville. He reportedly runs a 4.5 in the 40 and he’s expected to be a linebacker or defensive end.

And the other schools who had offered him were … Arkansas State, Army, Central Michigan, Georgia Southern and Navy.

He’s rated a one-star recruit by Scout.com and two stars by Rivals.com.

That not exactly a sterling resume, but the man who recruited Bars, PSU defensive line coach Larry Johnson, has a reputation for recognizing talent. And if Johnson saw something in Bars that no other big-time schools saw, well, I’m more than willing to give Johnson the benefit of the doubt.

If you want to know more about Bars, check out this story.

Here’s the complete list of PSU’s 2010 recruits. National Letter of Intent Day is Wednesday.

JoePa a coverboy again

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

Do you need a Joe Paterno fix?

After all, it’s been nearly four weeks since the Nittany Lions’ last game. That a pretty long stint without any JoePa news.

Well, if you feel the need to learn a little more about the Happy Valley Legend, you may want to check out the current edition of Sporting News magazine. There’s a cover story on Paterno, with a five-page spread inside.

I haven’t read it, so I can’t vouch for its quality.

But if you just have to feed your JoePa fix, it may be worth the money.

Penn State finally stops the bleeding

Penn State has stopped the bleeding.

After recently having two recruits change their minds and abandon verbal commitments, and having a standout running back cross PSU off his list, the Lions have finally gotten back to 19 verbal commitments.

Erie cornerback Shyquan Pullium has given his verbal commitment to PSU. He’s a middle-of-the-road recruit (two or three stars, depending on which service you subscribe to), but he does fill a big need. Pullium is PSU’s first defensive back recruit in the 2010 class.

National Letter of Intent Day is a week away, but it would be surprising if Penn State landed any more major recruits.

The class is ranked in the top 10 by both major recruiting services. But you can look for the Lions’ class to drop over the next week as some big-name uncommitted players sign on with big-time programs.

By next Thursday, PSU may drop out of the top 10 completely in one or both rankings. But it is still appears to be a solid, if not great, class.

Of course, time will be the final judge.

UConn, Edsall could be nice fit for Big Ten

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

Would you believe Randy Edsall coaching in the Big Ten?

By now, everyone knows the 11-team Big Ten is considering expansion to 12 (or possibly even more) teams.

One team that hasn’t gotten a lot of media attention as far as possibly being the 12th team is UConn _ coached by Susquehannock High School graduate Randy Edsall.

But, at least according to Bill Livingston, a columnist with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, UConn could be an excellent fit for the Big Ten.

And after reading his column, I tend to agree with him.

UConn brings one of the nation’s top-five men’s basketball programs.

It brings a rapidly improving football program, under Edsall’s outstanding leadership.

It brings the No. 1 women’s basketball program.

It gives the Big Ten a foothold in both the massive New York and Boston media markets.

And it gives Penn State a much-needed Eastern partner.

It’s a pretty nice overall package.

And it’s definitely something the Big Ten should consider.

A big week of news for Penn State football

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

OK, I took the better part of a week off, so I’ve been a little lax reporting on the latest Penn State football news.

Here’s a few of the more important tidbits that occurred in the last week.

First, on the recruiting trail, the news isn’t good.

Standout South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore has apparently eliminated Penn State as a possibility. He says his final two schools are South Carolina and Auburn.

Also, previous verbal Adrian Coxson, a star wideout from Maryland, has reneged on his commitment to the Lions.

That follows another player who had previously decommitted on his Penn State verbal _ Staten Island defensive end Dominique Easley.

That leaves Penn State with 18 verbal commitments. The Lions’ class is still ranked No. 6 in the nation by Scout.com. PSU is ranked No. 9 by Rivals.com. At one point, however, both services had Penn State firmly in the top five, so the Lions are slipping.

More bad news _ Penn State starting safety Drew Astorino has had shoulder surgery. He is expected to be ready for next season, however.

In other news, Penn State assistant coach Jay Paterno recently found it necessary to rip Lane Kiffin on his unexpected move from Tennessee to USC after just one year. It’s a pretty interesting read.

Meanwhile, Jay Paterno’s legendary father, Joe, may have to testify in the Austin Scott case. Scott, a former PSU running back, is basically suing everyone because he didn’t make it in the NFL. Hey, Austin, look in the mirror. That’s the guy who kept you out of the NFL.

Another former disgruntled PSU player, wideout Chris Bell, is ready to try to his hand at the NFL.

Additionally, the Nittany Lions’ football team was again honored for its academic achievement.

Also, a couple Lions (Daryll Clark and Jeremy Boone) are headed to play in a postseason all-star game.

Finally, here are a few other news and notes from the school’s official Web site.

Television loves the Nittany Lions, Big Ten

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

The Penn State football program has not been a real factor in the national title race since 1994.

But when it comes to attracting eyeballs to television sets, the Nittany Lions don’t have to take a backseat to anyone. The program traditionally garners some of the best TV ratings in the nation among college football programs. Only Notre Dame consistently draws more viewers.

The latest proof came when the television ratings came out for the Capital One Bowl.

The Capital One Bowl tied the FedEx Orange Bowl for the fifth-highest rated bowl of the season. The 6.8 rating on the ABC telecast was a 6 percent increase over the 2009 Capital One Bowl. A total of 7.8 million households watched the muddy mess in Orlando, which ended with a 19-17 Nittany Lions triumph.

Overall, Big Ten teams played in four of the seven highest rated bowl games of 2009-2010. The BCS national title game was first, followed by the Rose Bowl (Ohio State), Sugar, Fiesta, Capital One, Orange (Iowa) and the Alamo Bowl (Michigan State).

The Big Ten may not get much respect when it comes to the play of its teams on the field, but the TV networks love the (mostly) Midwestern conference with its large TV markets.

The conference hasn’t produce a national football champion lately, but it’s the undisputed national champion when it comes to raking in TV dollars.

At least that’s something.

Season is over, but news never stops in Happy Valley

By STEVE HEISER

York Dispatch Sports Editor

Boy, it’s getting hard to keep track of the comings and goings in Happy Valley.

First, one the Nittany Lions’ most highly regarded recruits (Dominique Easley) dumps Penn State for Florida.

Then their standout linebacker (Navorro Bowman) gives up his final year of eligibility to go pro.

Next, an often-injured defensive end (Jerome Hayes) decides not to pursue a possible sixth year at Penn State.

And finally, their top running back (Evan Royster) defies the common wisdom and decides to return to Penn State for the 2010 season.

Wow. All of that has occurred in the last week. And that doesn’t even include Penn State’s 19-17 win over LSU in the Capital One Bowl.

Royster’s decision seems like a smart one. He’s not an overwhelming talent and he may or may not have been chosen during the first day of the NFL draft. To be frank, he’s probably a third- or fourth-rounder _ at best.

By returning to PSU, he can possibly improve his stock status and he’ll probably break the school’s all-time rushing record, currently held by Curt Warner.

Like Bowman’s decision to go pro, Royster’s decision to stay was a no-brainer.