Zach Berger

The second-ranked recruit in the nation and the top defensive back recruit will make his decision official on May 26th live on ESPNU, according to ESPN. Jabrill Peppers was sought by just about every college football program in the nation, but he's down to a short list of just six schools and Penn State is on it along with favorite Michigan, Stanford, Rutgers, Notre Dame, and LSU.

An Irish college football team, the University College Dublin Emerald Isle, are facing criticism for deciding to wear Penn State football jerseys in a game last night against American opponent Ohio Northern University, according to the Patriot News. The Irish team did not have enough jerseys to clothe their roster for the game, and it seems that Penn State was nice enough to lend them attire for the game.

The reunion was made official yesterday when Hodges and Mauti both inked four-year rookie deals with the Vikings. Hodges is expected to make around $2.5 million over the course of the four years, similar to the contract that the player drafted in the same spot received last year. The terms of both contracts are currently unknown. Hodges was the first Viking draft pick to sign this offseason.

Jay Paterno seems to always say the right things at the right times. Throughout the entirety of the events that have unfolded since the scandal first became news at Penn State, he has been nothing but professional, well-spoken, and timely with any and all comments that he has offered. Nothing has changed, as was evident in an article released yesterday by CBS Sports detailing an interview with Jay Paterno on a number of topics...

Bill O'Brien has been keeping busy on the second Coaches Caravan, a dinner and meet-and-greet tour on which O'Brien and other Penn State athletic coaches get a chance to interact with fans and alumni. There was a video released by Fight On State following a recent stop on Penn State's DuBois campus of O'Brien's speech, the second-to-last destination on this spring's Coaches Caravan.

A new report by Louis Freeh, commissioned by Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts, is facing similar scrutiny to his Penn State report after a response was released by former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

A few weeks of rumors were officially confirmed today, and the news will result in changes to the Big Ten football divisions and schedule. Penn State will be playing in the Big Ten East along with Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Rutgers, and Maryland.

Nike co-founder Phil Knight -- who had a close relationship with Joe Paterno as a result of Nike's coach retreats -- has reversed course today on his opinion following yesterday's release of a Paterno family critique of the Freeh Report, admitting that he had not read the report in full before releasing a statement condemning Paterno this past summer.

Real, homemade gameday food isn't as hard as you might think. You can make it yourself. It will be delicious. Your friends will be extremely impressed. You'll have a full stomach. Your Super Bowl party will be the best between University and Atherton. But how? That's where me and my esteemed colleague Catie Simpson come in.

While the rival Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers do open their lockout-shortened seasons this afternoon in Philly, make sure to stay on your couch and tune in to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia at 8 p.m. for the first annual Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the University of Vermont Catamounts, taking place in the Wells Fargo Center following the Pens-Flyers game.

Just two weeks ago, Penn State was trailing Kentucky and rival Nebraska in a vote for the EA Sports NCAA Football 14 cover. Instead of enshrining just one player on the cover as they have in past years, EA will be putting an entire university's football team on the 2014 cover. 32 teams have endured the first round of voting to move on, and EA is again asking for fans of each remaining school to participate in a vote, asking, "Which school do you want to be on the cover of the next NCAA Football?"

The cover photo for the legendary EA Sports video game series NCAA Football is always a popular topic. Previous covers include Robert Griffin III, Tim Tebow, Reggie Bush, and even Mark Sanchez (lol). But this year, EA Sports is doing things a little differently. Rather than feature an individual player, the video game empire will feature an entire team on the cover based on a fan vote -- and all 126 BCS schools have a chance.

One of the unsung heroes of any organization is the vice president, often overshadowed by his or her running mate upon election to office. Penn State's student government is no different, with the vice president routinely taking on the brunt of the executive work as delegated by the president. The current stalwart holding that position is UPUA Vice President Katelyn Mullen. I got a chance to catch up with Katelyn and discuss her role in student government, her cameo on an MTV reality show, and all things veep-related.

Last night's University Park Undergraduate Association general assembly meeting was certainly eventful. There was Christmas music blasting before the meeting began. There were assembly members in red and green, including Diversity Committee Chair Dutch Markward, who wore Christmas-themed suspenders. There was legislation to give a ton of your student activity fee money to Movin' On because they can't afford the acts that they want. There was even a new Academic Affairs Committee Chair elected. Now that I have you hooked, read on.

The Diversity Awareness Task Force was formed, holding its first meeting last night, with about 30 students in attendance. The meeting was mostly organizational as the task force wanted to establish the essentials of the diversity issue at Penn State, the best ways to tackle those problems, and what committee breakdowns would be best fitted to handle them.

In response to rising tension about racism at Penn State sparked by the Chi Omega photo that has become national news, the University Park Undergraduate Association will form a focus group to discuss race issues on campus.

To gauge what Penn State students think about race and cultural issues, UPUA has released a diversity survey. Read more about it after the jump.

A group of approximately 75 students of all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds filed into last night's UPUA meeting to speak about the Chi Omega racially insensitive photo, which has become national news over the past two days.

Bob Witt, a Penn State alumnus, has set up his lighting display to synchronize with recordings of the Penn State Blue Band.

The Maxwell Football Club will hold their annual awards banquet in Atlantic City this coming March, and at the event they will be honoring and recognizing the Penn State Nittany Lions senior class for their spirit and leadership as was announced by the group on Monday.

The University Park Undergraduate Association is looking into the idea of a small sustainability fee that will be paid along with tuition, an addition to already existing fees such as the student activity fee, facilities fee, and technology fee.

Penn State Men's Hockey faced off against the top-ranked, undefeated Arizona State Sun Devils club hockey team this weekend in an exhibition series, splitting the series as each team won a game.

Last night, the Big Ten Conference annual football awards were announced, and Penn State made a killing both with the individual award winners and the All-Big Ten Conference coaches' picks.

You might be wondering why Keegan Michael-Key -- known for his Comedy Central sketch show Key & Peele and his time on MAD TV -- is the latest subject for an Onward State 10 Questions post. What you didn't know is that Key is a Penn State alumnus, earning a Masters degree at the School of Theatre in the early '90s. I got a chance to catch up with Key to talk about his show, his memories of Penn State, and more. Read on.

Kelly Burns, a Penn State alumnus has put together a Facebook event entitled "Fight On Frazier", an attempt to "boost the morale of Tim Frazier and his family as he works to recover from his injury."

Despite reports that Mauti's time as a Nittany Lion has officially come to an end, it seems that he might be eligible for a sixth year with the team under the NCAA's medical redshirt rules.

When there's a conference shakeup like this, you can't help but wonder how the additions will effect Penn State. Here's a look at some of the pros and cons that come with the new-look Big Ten Conference.

Kelly Burns, a Penn State alumnus, has put together an event called Morale For Mauti, an effort to boost Mauti's spirit as he deals with this injury, whatever the extent of it may be.

It was fitting that a quarterback and wide receiver who have had such a strong connection all season long would both reach milestones on the same day. Matt McGloin and his number one target, Allen Robinson, both set Penn State records in today’s game against the Indiana Hoosiers, treating those that stayed for the game to an explosive offensive performance in a 45-22 Penn State victory.

That's right. Whether or not you made it here on purpose, you are now reading the weekly UPUA recap, and I implore you to read on. There's legislation about i>clicker rentals, a presentation about commonwealth campuses, a policy allocating money for encampment, and more!