NittanyNation takes a look at this week’s Penn State football news and what you might have missed:
- Ted Roof resigned from his defensive coordinator position at Penn State to coach at his alma mater. That move shocked PSU's defensive commits and "put some thoughts" in the head of Jonathan Walton.
- Roof's departure will be felt most with recruits in the South, especially Alabama and Georgia. His replacement, John Butler, emphasized recruiting and talked about his promotion and defensive philosophy in a conference call.
- Former Penn State OL Tim Freeman talked at length about the NCAA's lawsuit against Penn State and about the sanctions overall. He stood behind Gov. Tom Corbett during last week's news conference.
- NittanyNation gave the outlook of several PSU positions, including wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, running back and safety.
- Five Penn State recruits enrolled early Monday, and we gave a synopsis and predicted role for each player.
- Should college athletes be paid? ESPN asked several of the nation's top seniors, including Christian Hackenberg, that very question.
- College coaches are wary of the NCAA's potential rule changes, which would make recruiting rules looser than they already are.
- Bill O'Brien told the media his decision to return to Penn State was not financial, and he acknowledged some structural changes -- such as additional help on the recruiting end -- would take place.
- Curtis Dukes left the team, and he's still considering declaring early for the NFL draft or playing for another school. Reserve linebacker Brennan Franklin also left the school for a community college in his home state of Arizona.
- Adam Rittenberg offered his final Big Ten power rankings for 2012, and Penn State dropped one spot to fourth.
- The postgraduate coach of PSU walk-on Austin Whipple talked about what made him a special quarterback and when he really impressed in 2012.
- Penn State commit Curtis Cothran said he found PSU games much more enjoyable than NFL games in an extensive Q&A.
- Just one week after saying he was still thinking about an official visit, four-star LB Garret Dooley said he was no longer interested in Penn State. In other recruiting news, 2014 OL Sam Mustipher planned to take his first visit and 2014 ATH Omar Truitt still likes PSU and he's starting to hear from the likes of Stanford and Oregon.
- 2014 WR Thaddeus Snodgrass explained why he hasn't chosen a school yet and said PSU is still in the mix.
- High school freshman Rahshaun Smith is just 15 years old, but he added a PSU scholarship offer on Friday. He talked with NittanyNation about the honor.
- PSU commit Parker Cothren is starting to see more attention thrown his way, especially from SEC schools. Ditto for Walton.
- A transcript from our Friday chat, which addressed who might be the starting QB, Cothren/Walton and everything in between.
Josh Moyer | email
Reporter, Recruiting Nation- Covers Penn State athletics and recruiting
- Previously worked for The Citizens' Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
- Joined ESPN in 2012
ABOUT NITTANY NATION
Josh Moyer
Josh Moyer joined ESPN.com in 2012 after covering Penn State football for recruiting website Nittany Network and City Hall for The Citizens' Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Moyer graduated from Penn State and earned his graduate degree at Columbia. Email him at espnjoshmoyer@gmail.com.
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