On the eve of Thanksgiving, Ted Roof has dug deep into the south to find the thirteenth verbal commit for the Class of 2013. After visiting last Saturday for the Indiana game, defensive end Parker Cothren, from Hazel Green, Alabama, has switched his commitment to the Nittany Lions after originally choosing Purdue. Cothren is rated as a three star prospect by Rivals, and two stars by Rivals and 247 Sports. Aside from the Nittany Lions and Boilermakers, Cothren also had offers from South Alabama, Western Kentucky, Troy, and Arkansas State.
Senior cornerback Stephon Morris is usually one of the most outspoken members of the team, always wearing his Penn State pride on his sleeve. He was asked about senior day at the weekly press conference yesterday, and gave credit to his father, Joe Paterno, and his teammates for getting him where he is today. Here's Stephon Morris, just a few days before his last game in a Penn State uniform.
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.
Matt McGloin was named Co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after his record-setting performance on Saturday against Indiana that saw him throw for 395 yards and 4 passing touchdowns.
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 the perfect storm for irrelevance. A meaningless game in the national scene, a noon kickoff, and the weekend before Thanksgiving break had many people writing this game off. But as it turned out, it was one of the most newsworthy games of the year after senior leader Michael Mauti went down with a season ending injury. Here are my observations from the stands.