Penn State Saturday six-pack: Shout out for an assistant on a roll; gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday, and more

Welcome back to the Penn State Saturday six-pack, Lions fans.

This week, we’re covering plenty of ground. Topics include former players gearing up for the Super Bowl, an assistant coach on a recruiting role, men’s basketball in action, and more.

Let’s get to it.

1. A shout out for a Penn State assistant

Penn State fans had high hopes for Phil Trautwein, the recruiter and the coach, when he was hired away from Boston College to join the Lions in Jan. 2020.

Results have been mixed on the field. Up-and-down offensive line play has been at times a staple of the James Franklin era throughout a trio of coaches that included Herb Hand, Matt Limegrover, and now Trautwein.

It’s fair to say that the talent level has been upped in the room since the former Florida Gator came aboard. Results on game day must follow, but there’s a lot to be said about how the position group has already been retooled and will be shaped for the future.

Since the start of 2022 alone, Trautwein, in conjunction with Franklin and the staff, have reeled in late Class of 2022 signee Vega Ioane in addition to Class of 2023 commits Anthony Donkoh, a three-star from Virginia, and Jven Williams, a four-star from Reading. So far, four future offensive linemen are part of Penn State’s No. 4 class per the On3 Consensus Team rankings, including No. 30 overall junior and second-ranked guard Alex Birchmeier. Oh, and there was the not-so-small matter of landing coveted Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad, who could be a starter inside this fall.

Development must come next. But, the effort of late is worth highlighting.

2. Will Virginia be the Pennsylvania of the 2023 cycle for the Lions?

The On3 database now has sortable player rankings by position and also state.

It is mighty interesting to check out where things currently stand in Virginia.

At this early juncture, Penn State holds the commitment of the state’s top-ranked 2023 player in Birchmeier. The No. 4 player there, athlete Mathias Barnwell, is also part of the Lions’ class. So, too, are the eighth- and ninth-ranked players in Joshua Miller and Donkoh, respectively.

It’s a strong start that might only get better with time. BWI recruiting expert Ryan Snyder already has an RPM prediction logged in favor of four-star linebacker and No. 6 Virginia junior Tony Rojas one day picking the Lions. PSU is right in the mix for the state’s second-ranked player in four-star end Cameron Seldon, as well.

Pennsylvania powered Penn State to the No. 7 spot in the On3 Consensus Class of 2022 rankings. It might do so again. But, Virginia could also be the state that pushes the Lions up the team standings the most in this cycle.

3. Penn State makes list of schools with most players invited to the NFL Combine

It’s debatable what it says and doesn’t say. In reality, it might not suggest a whole lot at all. But, while scrolling the list of players invited to the 2022 NFL Combine, one thing stands out: Penn State is among the schools that will be most represented at the annual scouting event.

To the surprise of no one, Georgia leads the way with 14. Alabama and Oklahoma come next with 11, while LSU and Texas A&M have nine former players on the list.

Next up is Penn State with eight. It’s a mark matched only by Ole Miss, Arizona State, Cincinnati, and Michigan.

The Lions have tested well at the gathering of pro personnel over the last number of years, and that shouldn’t change with Dwight Galt off to retirement and Chuck Losey taking his place.

The invited Penn State contingent includes receiver Jahan Dotson, offensive Rasheed Walker, defensive ends Arnold Ebiketie and Jesse Luketa, linebacker Brandon Smith, corner Tariq Castro-Fields, safety Jaquan Brisker, and punter Jordan Stout.

Want to discuss the latest Penn State news with other Lions fans? Join BWI for just $1 to gain one year of access to The Lions Den forum and all the latest insider news, recruiting updates, and more!

4. Gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday

Two Nittany Lions will be on the field when Super Bowl 56 kicks off.

Nick Scott and Grant Haley both play for the Los Angeles Rams, who are four-point favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Both former Penn State players have roles with the NFC champs. Scott, in particular, has had some highlight-reel moments during the team’s playoff run.

It’s the 51st Super Bowl featuring PSU alums. Scott and Haley hope to be 46th onetime Lions to earn a ring.

The game starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

5. This weekend’s Penn State Athletics schedule

Penn State wrestling has a well-earned and probably much-needed weekend off. It doesn’t mean there are no Lions in action today and Sunday, however. Far from it, in fact.

Coach Micah Shrewsberry men’s basketball team takes the floor at Minnesota on Big Ten Network tonight. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. The women’s hoops team, then, is in action on Sunday at Rutgers. That starts at 2 p.m. on BTN+.

The full weekend Penn State Athletics schedules can be found here.

6. Final thoughts

Enjoy the weekend and the Super Bowl, Penn State fans! Before we know it, spring practice will be here.

Some final thoughts for this installment of the six-pack:

–I don’t think it can be understated how important it was for Penn State to land Nourzad. It was a fight until the end, but the Lions prevailed. Spend some time reading Ryan Snyder’s profile on the lineman if you haven’t already.

–Social media quick hits can be misleading. But, based on what was out there after the Senior Bowl, it seems clear that both Luketa and Ebiketie raised their draft stock during the all-star game in Mobile, Ala.

–Speaking of the draft, a bunch of former Penn State players have interesting possible landing spots in the latest media mock drafts.

–In case you missed it, the Lions have hired three new off-field analysts, including Dan Connor. Read more on that here.

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