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Penn State projected to land top five spot in first AP top 25 of the year: Newsstand

Greg Pickelby:Greg Pickel•07/15/25•

GregPickel

James Franklin Penn State
Dec 21, 2024; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin reacts during the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Penn State news, notes, and updates for July 15 include a new AP top 25 projection, headlines of the day, and more. College Football News’ Pete Fiutak put together his first projections of how the initial rankings could look. He puts the Nittany Lions at No. 4 behind Texas, Alabama, and Ohio State in that order. He has Georgia rounding out the top five.

“This year, Franklin has the team everyone will have to chase,” Fiutak writes. “He has the experience, the team, the schedule, and everything in place to do nothing less than get back to the Big Ten Championship, get back to the College Football Playoff, get back to the semifinals, and this year, play for the national title.

“So let’s put it this way. The bar for Franklin isn’t winning “the big one” after winning everything else. It’s getting Penn State to The Big One in Miami Gardens on January 19th.”

Penn State opens its 2025 season on Aug. 30 when it takes on Nevada. That means the Lions are in the midst of winding down this year’s summer workout program. Reporters were inside the Lasch Building Monday to see some of the work that is taking place before preseason camp kicks off.

“I mean, obviously, we’re deep into the summer, so this is week number six for us,” head strength coach Chuck Losey said. “This week is a high-intensity week where. We’re basically prepping for evaluation and test week next week. So that’s why you saw a lot of big lifts that you did today, especially on power movements. So we’re at the point in the summer right now, peaking from a power standpoint. We’re going to evaluate the guys next week, just to see what we’ve done over this cycle, and then we’ll be ready for fall camp.”

Headlines of the day

3 takeaways from Penn State football’s summer weight lifting availability: Pickel, BWI

How are Penn State transfers Trebor Pena and Amare Campbell fitting in with the Lions? Chuck Losey weighs in: Pickel, BWI

Three thoughts on Penn State’s 2026 class following the updated Industry Rankings: Snyder, BWI

Where do Penn State’s 2026 commits rank in updated Rivals300?: Snyder, BWI

TE Sam Faniel discusses Penn State offer and connection with Matt Henderson: Snyder, BWI

Quote of the day

“The camp was great. I didn’t really get to showcase everything I could do because I had a little injury with my knee. They didn’t really want me to do everything, but I tried my hardest to showcase what I could do with the ability that I had.

“As far as the offer goes, a school like Penn State means everything to me. Just for them to take that chance and see the potential in me, I’m really thankful for that. It also means a lot because my one of my friends that I used to play basketball with is Matt Henderson.”

2027 PSU TE target Sam Faniel to BWI.

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