Penn State wrestling in the latest rankings; Manny Diaz called potential candidate for SEC job: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for Nov. 15 include the latest wrestling rankings plus a nugget on Manny Diaz and more.
It’s time to dive into Wednesday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with wrestling. FLO and InterMat released their latest rankings ahead of another week of competition. Robbie Howard fell out of both outlets’ listings at 125 pounds following a 1-2 performance at last weekend’s Journeymen Collegiate Classic. At 133, Aaron Nagao is No. 3 per InterMat and No. 2 per Flo. Both have Beau Bartlett (No. 2 at 141), Shayne Van Ness (No. 2 at 149), and Levi Haines (No. 1 at 157) in the same spot as last week. At 165 pounds, transfer Mitchell Mesenbrink is No. 10 now, per InterMat, after a 3-0 performance at the Classic. Flo is not yet rankings him. From there, both outlets kept Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet at No. 1 in the 174, 197, and 285 pounds weight classes, respectively. Each has Bernie Truax IV at No. 2 at 184 pounds.
In other wrestling news, Van Ness is the Big Ten’s co-wrestler of the week. He won three matches at the Classic. All were by first period fall.
In other news, On3’s Andy Staples lists Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz as one of eight potential candidates for the open Mississippi State head coaching job. The Nittany Lion assistant is one fo 57 nominees for the Broyles Award. It goes only to the best assistant in college football.
“Diaz was Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator twice under [Dan] Mullen, and both tenures were successful,” Staples writes. “Also, Mario Cristobal’s first two seasons at Miami have shed new light on how difficult that job really is. Diaz was doing a better job there than most realized.
“Plus, he’s been excellent at Penn State. If the Nittany Lions had an offense anywhere near as good as their defense, they’d be national title contenders.”
Headlines of the day
Why Drew Allar needs to be top priority in Penn State’s search for a new offensive coordinator: McGonigal, PennLive
Penn State players react to Mike Yurcich’s dismissal, new Nittany Lion play callers: Pickel, BWI
James Franklin Remains ‘Hopeful and Excited’ for Penn State’s Future: Wogenrich, SI
T-Frank’s Film Room: Explaining how the Penn State plan put Drew Allar in a bind: BWI
College Football TV Ratings: Top 10 most-watched games of Week 11: Schultz, On3
Penn State football adds commitment from 2025 quarterback Bekkem Kritza: Fitz, BWI
Quote of the day
“I had a feeling, ever since I went up there the first time, that the vibe was different. I took a few other visits and stuff, checked out other schools, and realized that I wasn’t going to find it anywhere else like they do. The honesty and loyalty part, I’m not going to find that anywhere as much as I did at Penn State.
“Once I realized that, I started to connect more and more with coach [James] Franklin. We were on the phone probably every other day. All the coaches text me every day. It wasn’t just checking to see how I was doing on the field, but also off of it. How my life was going and things like that. Them doing that, it was a big difference maker for me.”
—New PSU QB commit Bekkem Kritza to BWI about his decision.
