Blue White Illustrated

surgery but said he's eager for the young prospect to begin his college career. "We're really excited about his future here at Penn State," O'Brien said. "That's a very strong position for us. You're talking about some guys there who have played a lot of football for us, and then with the addition of him, that's one heck of a position for us coming back in '13." centive to tear them down," Freeman said. "Never let anyone tell you that something isn't possible." That mentality has helped him to win 12 medals in the past four World Twirling Championships, as well as the Collegiate Solo Championship as a Nittany Lion. Freeman was introduced to baton twirling at age 4 when he began going to his sister's competitions. He was intrigued from the start, and he begged his parents to let him take lessons. After some hesitation, they allowed him to practice baton twirling with his sister instead of baseball and basketball with his brother. Debbie Salem, his first and only twirling coach, said he was passionate about the sport when she began giving him lessons. He traveled two hours to practice with her. "Matt was so self-disciplined at his age," said Salem, who began working with Freeman when he was 9 years old. "You never had to tell him to practice. He always made time for twirling, even if it was 10 o'clock at night. If he hadn't practiced yet that day, he was doing it then. He had to fight his way to do it, and that meant giving up a lot of other things to pursue what he wanted most." Although he focused on twirling, he made time for other activities as well. No one outside his family knew about his hobby until he was GUARD The Nittany Lions return two standout starters here: senior John Urschel and redshirt junior Miles Dieffenbach. In his first season as a full-time starter, Urshel won first-team All-Big Ten honors and emerged as a diligent leader and an artful spokesman in postgame interviews. He's also doing more than his share to uphold the team's already sterling grade point av- in eighth grade, when he had to miss a track meet for a twirling competition. Freeman knew of the stereotypes that others would assign to a male in a mostly female pursuit. He didn't want to be judged as girly or homosexual, so he was tentative when his mother made him tell his track coach the real reason he would be missing a meet. When he confided in the coach, the man promised to keep his secret under wraps only if Freeman promised not to tell anyone that he, too, had a passion for baton twirling. The coincidence gave Freeman confidence to be more open about his involvement in the sport. Years later, when it was time to apply to colleges, Freeman had his sights set on Penn State. Salem said he appreciated the school's tradition. "Penn State always had very talented twirlers," she said. "Matt looked up to them and would follow their accomplishments as they happened. In the twirling world, he always heard how wonderful it was to twirl there." After being accepted to the school, Freeman had to audition for the position of feature twirler. (When a female holds the position, she is known as the Blue Sapphire.) The feature twirler leads the 12 majorettes and also does solo routines. Even though he had been a gold erage, having graduated last spring with a 4.0 GPA in mathematics. Dieffenbach started 11 games last fall at left guard and is no academic slouch, either. He has a 3.52 GPA and was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team. TACKLE With Donovan Smith returning for his redshirt sophomore season, the Nittany Lions should be just fine at medalist at the World Championships of Baton Twirling, Freeman was not confident he would win the position. "As a male contender, I thought it really ruined my chances," he said. But the spring before his freshman year, Freeman beat out his female competitors at the audition, becoming the first male feature twirler since John Mitchell in 1992. Having to re-audition each spring, he has earned back the title every time and plans to do so again upon entering his senior year. Freeman's favorite part of the job is the opportunity it gives him to be involved in campus life. He has twirled at the president's tailgate at The Penn Stater and judged Mr. and Mrs. Thon. Twirling also introduced him to his girlfriend, Meredith Semion, a majorette in the Blue Band. "What I love so much about twirling is that there are endless possibilities," he said. "The crowd always loves it, and it was just something that fit well with my personality." Salem said Freeman's warm personality has made him a popular figure in the sport. "There's nobody in the twirling community who doesn't know Matt," she said. "The way he once looked up to the older twirlers – now those young people are looking up to him. It's really what goes around comes around, and he deserves every bit of it."

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