PSU Nittany Lions

If you believe head coaches on national signing day, none ever make a mistake and everybody gets everything they wanted.

You've got to take it all with a grain of salt, writes ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy.

Read the whole story here.

 

Former Penn State coach Jay Paterno talks about what his family is hoping to accomplish with its report on the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the Freeh Report and more.

Click here to listen

Penn State's Garry Gilliam has been granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, giving him two seasons left.

Gilliam suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the Big Ten opener against Iowa in 2010. He missed the remainder of that season and all of the 2011 campaign after an infection delayed his surgery and rehabilitation. Gilliam has played tight end for Penn State but moved to offensive tackle following the 2012 season, an understandable move as Penn State boasts tremendous depth at tight end with Kyle Carter, Jesse James and Matt Lehman.

The 6-foot-6, 262-pound Gilliam started eight games at tight end in 2012 and had eight receptions for 65 yards. Penn State loses one starting offensive tackle in Mike Farrell, so Gilliam will have a chance to compete for significant playing time this spring.

He'll be eligible to play in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

NCAA president Mark Emmert joins Outside The Lines to discuss the penalties imposed against Penn State in the wake of a shocking abuse scandal and findings in the Freeh Report.

NittanyNation takes a look at this week’s Penn State football news and what you might have missed:

• No commit faced more temptations to leave PSU than Parker Cothren. But, in the end, Cothren couldn't say no to Happy Valley.

• Penn State filled out its staff with an assistant coach from Marshall in Anthony Midget.

• We asked the commits why they chose PSU and listed their answers. We also asked how they think -- or hope -- their class will be remembered in four years.

• An overview of PSU's class and a look at sleepers, misses and candidates for immediate playing time. Also, we posted an overview of signing day and what transpired.

• WATCH: Bill O'Brien talked about his 2013 recruiting class and how he overcame the sanctions. O'Brien also talked with Adam Rittenberg in a Q&A about the class.

• Bill O'Brien had some interesting things to say about specific commits. He also recalled the difficult summer and how his team got past it.

• We finished off our "Lions spotlight" series looking at every Penn State commit. We closed with Jordan Smith and Neiko Robinson. You can see the rest of the series here.

• Trinity athlete Adam Geiger talked in a Q&A about taking the opportunity to run-on at Penn State. Fellow run-on Brian Tomasetti also checked in with NittanyNation, answering five questions.

• Tyler Ferguson's coach talked about what separates his quarterback from others at his position, when he first knew Ferguson was something special and when he really showcased his ability.

• Big Ten blogger Brian Bennett ranked the quarterbacks in the conference, and PSU made a big leap from where they were ranked in the preseason.

• While most people slept on Friday morning, PSU's football players were eexercising in 31-degree weather and lifting weights.

• We talked about the future of the team, Adam Breneman, 2014 recruits and more in the bi-weekly chat.

• WATCH: Christian Hackenberg appeared on "College Football Live" to talk about his commitment to PSU. Josh Moyer and Tom Luginbill also discussed Hackenberg and PSU's surprising recruiting class on "Outside the Lines."

• Larry Johnson Sr. played a critical role in piecing together this recruiting class.

• With the 2013 class wrapped up, we looked ahead to some 2014 prospects to watch.

• Georgia tailback Nick Chubb received a scholarship offer from Penn State, although he admitted he didn't know much about the Nittany Lions.

• We took 10 of your questions on Twitter and then posed them to Christian Hackenberg.

• Penn State's returning starters weren't weren't all elite players back in their high school days. Here's a look at where the defensive players were ranked as recruits, and where the offensive players found themselves.

NittanyNation reporter Josh Moyer stopped by SportsNation on Friday to chat about the state of Penn State football and answer your questions.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Players' tweets start up a little after 4:30 a.m., that strange time when it's not quite day and not quite night. Traffic lights blink yellow along College Avenue, and -- outside of a whirring Herr's potato chip truck -- the roads are silent.

On this starless night ... or morning (take your pick) ... players pry their heads off their pillows and descend on the nearby Lasch Football Building. Streetlights around town still shine, and not a single student is spotted walking on a campus that holds more than 40,000.

But Garry Gilliam, a tight end turned offensive tackle, is up. He tweeted, at 4:39 a.m, "They sleep, we grind. They dream, we shine."

On this Friday, Penn State football players' days have already started. In about 30 minutes, their morning workouts will begin.

5:12 a.m.

Bill O'Brien walks onto the field with a whistle draped around his neck. The players are still inside the building, throwing on their gray T-shirts and blue shorts, and Penn State's dimple-chinned coach awaits them in the 31-degree weather.

Four bright stadium lights for the practice field are flipped on, and snow covers the perimeter of the turf. O'Brien chats with the staff and grad assistants, who constantly shift their weight from one leg to another to stay warm. He's cracking jokes, smiling and seems to be acting as if it's 3 p.m. He's ready.

"We should've had this at 3," he says with a nod.

About five minutes later, players burst from the weight room doors. Some hold their hands in the air, almost as if they're running through the south tunnel of Beaver Stadium. They yell, they chatter, they run.

The nearby stereo starts blaring LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," and the drills begin.

5:28 a.m.

Strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald, an eccentric-but-beloved guy who's been known to lick the weight room floor and do the worm in pregames, is dressed in his trademark shorts, backward hat and T-shirt.

Players break into six groups. Some flip tires, others weave through cones, and others stretch. Fitzgerald guides about a dozen to the northwest corner of the field. If he pumps his arms left, they go left. Right, they go right. Down? Their stomachs kiss the turf.

But O'Brien isn't liking what he's seeing. He cuts the music, and the entire field falls silent like a third-grade classroom that's ticked off the schoolteacher for the last time.

"I don't see the intensity I'm expecting!" O'Brien barks. "Let's do it!"

The pace noticeably picks up.

(Read full post)

The Big Ten classes are signed and sealed. You can see ESPN's final class rankings as well as grades for all the Big Ten teams .

As we put a bow on national signing day 2013, let's take a look at some superlatives ...

Biggest winner: Ohio State. The Buckeyes took a great class and made it even better with the additions of elite safety prospect Vonn Bell and four-star receiver prospect James Clark. They also held onto running back recruit Ezekiel Elliott. Plucking Bell out of SEC country made a significant statement, as Ohio State secured the nation's No. 3 class and the best in the Big Ten. Although other Big Ten programs secured strong classes -- Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State -- Ohio State made the most headlines Wednesday.

Best closer: Ohio State co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Everett Withers. Although Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer is unquestionably one of the nation's top closers, Withers merits a mention here after steering Bell to sign with the Scarlet and Gray. "I've seen some really good efforts," Meyer said Wednesday. "Everett Withers from start to finish, his effort on Vonn Bell, as good as I've ever seen." Bell's high school coach called Withers the "most proficient and professional recruiter we've ever dealt with," according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. Withers played a major role in Ohio State securing five defensive backs ranked in the top 50 by ESPN Recruiting.

Biggest surprise: Indiana and Penn State. The Hoosiers have reached only one bowl game since the 1993 season and boast just five wins the past two seasons, but things are looking up in Bloomington. Kevin Wilson and his staff signed what appears to be a very solid recruiting class, especially on the defensive side, where IU has struggled for years. The Hoosiers signed two four-star defensive linemen from within the state -- Darius Latham and David Kenney III -- and bolstered the secondary with Rashard Fant and others. Penn State overcame NCAA scholarship sanctions and a multiyear bowl ban to sign the nation's No. 24 class, headlined by quarterback Christian Hackenberg, rated by ESPN Recruiting as the nation's top pocket passer.

Who flipped/biggest loss: The only notable intra-league flip on signing day -- and it wasn't a major surprise -- saw linebacker Reggie Spearman, a one-time Illinois commit, signing with Iowa. Ohio State (Taivon Jacobs) and Wisconsin (Marcus Ball) lost commits to Maryland and Arizona State, respectively, while Minnesota made a late flip with junior college linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who was expected to sign with Kansas State. But for the most part, Big Ten teams played good defense on signing day.