BWI roundtable: Picking the most impactful part of the offseason so far for Penn State football
What has been the most impactful piece of news for Penn State football in your mind since the offseason began?
The list of possibilities is endless. Two new coordinators plus a key transfer receiver have arrived. There’s a reason for that, though: Three important people in the program have left.
Nine early enrollees also started classes. Some, but not all, starters have decided to turn down a free year of eligibility to instead begin their path to the pros.
Things have changed across college football, too. Coaches have been hired and fired, while NFL-caliber players have returned to teams Penn State will face in 2022.
Today’s BWI roundtable sees our staff pick the singular biggest change, either at Penn State or elsewhere, that has impacted the Lions so far in January.
What Penn State, college football change has impacted the Lions the most?
Pickel: I’ll go outside of the universe and say that what has happened elsewhere leads the way. That can be argued, of course, but it’s a different track.
Ohio State picked off the nation’s hottest defensive coordinator target of the cycle by hiring Jim Knowles. Minnesota has one of the country’s top backs back if he can return to health and form in Mohamed Ibrahim. The same goes for Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe.
On the plus side for Penn State, a Big Ten schedule change means the Lions no longer plays the Buckeyes and Michigan in back-to-back weeks, which is a major boon. Speaking of Wolverines, the next big change to watch is whether Jim Harbaugh will head back to the NFL.
Eckert: I’ll take the low-hanging fruit and go with the personnel changes on Penn State’s staff, specifically at defensive coordinator.
Top 10
- 1
SEC refs under fire
'Incorrect call' wipes Bama TD away
- 2
'Fire Kelly' chants at LSU
Death Valley disapproval of Brian Kelly
- 3
SEC title game scenarios
The path to the championship game is clear
- 4New
Chipper Jones
Braves legend fiercely defends SEC
- 5
Drinkwitz warns MSU
Mizzou coach sounded off
Nittany Lions fans know what Brent Pry brought to State College as PSU’s DC. He’d spent about a decade with James Franklin, and had led the Nittany Lions’ defense to become one of the best in the country in 2021. I think Penn State picked out a good replacement in Manny Diaz. But, that’s going to be a major adjustment over the offseason that has an impact on all areas of the program.
Adding in Stacy Collins replacing Joe Lorig as special teams coordinator, longtime strength and conditioning guru Dwight Galt III retiring, plus more, it’s clear staff turnover is going to have a major impact on Penn State’s offseason.
Bauer: I don’t want to come across as alarmist. But, what’s going on with NIL nationally doesn’t seem to be taking place at Penn State. Without a fundamental rethinking to how that side of the business is approached, competing is going to get that much more difficult.
This isn’t a fad. It felt in July as though some of the stories were novelty and short-lived. But the time since has demonstrated something else entirely. Programs taking an aggressive approach to NIL are creating avenues to enrich their student-athletes on a broad scale.
It’s not about the superstar, seven-figure deal. Those will always grab headlines, but when programs can enjoy an infrastructure that nearly guarantees compensation for its participants, it represents a massive advantage.
This is a bottom-line game in which the teams with the best players win the most games. Convincing those players to join your program is going to include NIL as a prerequisite. It might not be this exact moment, but punting isn’t an option.
