Okay… so the beginning of June does not mark the most active time in Penn State sports, but as always, there is news to report.

Football

It’s safe to say that the Lions are poised to strike in ’09.  With a spiffy 11-2 record and a Rose Bowl berth under their belts (let’s block out that stinger of a Rose Bowl), the Lions continue to garner pre-season attention.  ESPN’S Adam Rittenburg counted five Nittany Lions among the top 12 players in the Big Ten.

On the recruiting trail, PSU inked three of the best lineman in Western Pennsylvania in Miles Dieffenbach, Tom Ricketts, and Luke Graham, stealing them away from Pitt to bolster the class of 2010.  These upcoming recruiting classes promise to be brimming with offensive talent allured by the success of the Spread HD offense last season.

Wrestling

Cael Sanderson continues to amass talent for his team at Penn State.  This time, he added his brother, Cody Sanderson, and his associate head coach at Iowa State, Casey Cunningham, to his coaching staff.  It was with these components that Sanderson steered his alma mater back to national prominence.  Let’s hope he can do the same with the Nitts.

Miscellaneous

This week, 253 Penn State Student Athletes were named to the Academic All-Big Ten Honor Roll, tying the second-highest total in school history from 2004-2005.   Overall, PSU leads the conference with 3,312 selections since the inception of the award.  Among those honored were senior two-sport standout Paul Cianciolo, track and field senior Emma Schmelzer, and first team All-American middle hitter Max Lipsitz of the men’s volleyball team.

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