Penn State back among Big Ten's top Heisman contenders; Sean Clifford stands out at Packers minicamp: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for June 7 include praise of Nicholas Singleton, plus a nugget on Sean Clifford in the pros and more.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers kicked off mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and Sean Clifford made his presence known. The former Penn State quarterback and fifth-round NFL Draft pick of the NFC North franchise led an impressive two-minute drill according to reporters on hand for the practice.
“Sean Clifford might’ve run one of the best 2-minute OTA drills by a rookie fifth-round pick,” Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported. “Hit Jeff Cotton for an 8-yard TD on fourth down.”
Added Matt Schneidman of The Athletic:
“Sean Clifford to Jeff Cotton might be the new Rodgers to Adams. What a grab for a TD over a leaping Tyrell Ford to end two minute. Cotton griddying all over the place is what OTAs are all about.”
Clifford and his new teammates continue practice this week.
In other news, On3 national college football reporter Jesse Simonton picked his top five contenders from the Big Ten who could win this year’s Heisman Trophy. Reigning Big Ten freshman of the year Nicholas Singleton made the cut.
Top 10
- 1Trending
UK upsets Duke
Mark Pope leads Kentucky to first Champions Classic win since 2019
- 2
Second CFP Top 25
Newest CFP rankings are out
- 3
Nico Iamaleava
Tennessee QB dealing with concussion ahead of Georgia game
- 4
Couches on fire
State Street burning couches after Kentucky upsets Duke
- 5Hot
Diego Pavia
Court denies Vandy QB temporary restraining order against the NCAA
“Could sophomore QB Drew Allar be the star for Penn State in 2023? Totally,” Simonton writes. “But I’ll bank on another 5-star sophomore who already has a season’s worth of production proving he’s already one of the nation’s best players. As a 5-star freshman in 2022, Singleton more than lived up to the hype last season, averaging over 6.8 yards per carry. He had had multiple 50-yard+ touchdown runs, and finished the year with 1,061 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“Singleton certainly qualifies as a long-shot candidate, but if the Nittany Lions do break through this fall and reach the Big Ten title, they’ll do so on the backs of a dominant defense and a nasty rushing attack. At worst, that gives him a chance.”
Headlines of the day
For Penn State Football, the 8% Solution and the Not-Impossible Task of Beating Both Ohio State and Michigan in 2023: Poorman, Statecollege.com
Penn State teammate thinks transfer receiver Dante Cephas will be ‘a guy that helps us this year’: Pickel, BWI
Escape to Penn State: These teammates survived crime, violence to build football life: Bodani, YDR
Ask Around: Which Penn State prospects are close to earning an RPM prediction?: Snyder, BWI
Greg McElroy believes Big Ten has most upside at quarterback: Gillenwater, On3
Penn State DL must answer these questions this summer: Bauer, BWI
Quote of the day
“Defensively, we lost some good players. But, I think we got a chance to be really good on defense. We got a chance defensively to do some really good things.”
—PSU coach James Franklin to abc27 about the outlook for his defense in 2023.
