Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> T H E 2 0 1 8 S E A S O N O n a typical Tuesday during the season, head coach James Franklin's news con- ference is followed by one featuring two of his players. Mostly, they're starters or standout second-stringers who come to speak at the dais. On Nov. 6, that wasn't the case. Once Franklin left the room, in walked Charlie Shuman. He's one of the tallest players on the team, standing 6-foot-8 and 324 pounds, but his greatest contribu- tions don't occur on game days. A former walk-on from Pitts- ford, N.Y., and a scout team mainstay, Shu- man practices against Penn State's starting defense on a weekly basis, helping players get ready for the upcoming opponent. But that's not all he does. "People don't realize the value that guy has brought to our organization," Franklin said after a recent practice this fall. His value extends beyond the bound- aries of the Lasch Building and the facili- ties. He also created a charitable foundation called Big Helping Little, which he began in high school. Aligning with some of Penn State's philanthropic efforts that were already in place, includ- ing THON, The Four Diamonds Fund and Uplifting Athletes, Big Helping Little as- sists in raising funds and building aware- ness for the fight against rare diseases. During his five years at the university, Shuman's charitable focus has only grown, and this fall he has seen it garner national attention. He has been featured many times on ESPN's college football coverage. Shuman has also twice taken part in the 46-hour dance marathon portion of THON and is thinking about doing it again in February. "I might," he said. "I might not." For Penn State's game against Wiscon- sin, Shuman and his teammates wore hel- met stickers representing THON, an idea that he had been advocating for almost three years. It's all been part of his college experi- ence. Speaking to reporters, he acknowl- edged that he could have gone to a different college and received more play- ing time, but his years at Penn State have left him with no regrets. "I had a scholarship offer elsewhere, and I ultimately made the decision to come here and it wasn't anything that [the other] program had done, but Penn State was my dream school and it's lived up to its expectations," Shuman said. "Not only the football program but all the experiences I've had on campus with THON, the organizations I've been in- volved with and being the president of SAAB [Student-Athlete Advisory Board]. It's made everything worth it." Shuman eventually earned a scholar- ship from Penn State, and earlier this sea- son against Kent State, he got on the field for some late-game action. It was the second time in the senior's career that he had an opportunity to play in a regular- season game, a total that ties the number of degrees he's on pace to obtain from PSU. In May, he earned a bachelor's de- gree in kinesiology, and he's now in grad- uate school for management and organizational leadership. But he's also still toiling away on the scout team at offensive tackle, working to sharpen the skills of the starting defen- sive line each night during the week. While the coaches have extolled his com- munity service efforts, Franklin also has saluted him and the team's other scout team players for the influence they've had on the practice habits of those around them. "I can guarantee you that Shuman and [Jason] Vranic and Frankie [Di Leo], those guys are going to leave this program hav- ing earned everybody's respect, and they're going to be able to come back to the Big Ten championship [reunion] and feel really proud of what they have ac- complished here," Franklin said. "Those guys have had huge impacts on how we practice and teaching the young guys how we do things. There's a culture now with those types of things. I think that's one of the biggest improvements in our program right now – the depth of our scout teams. The next step is the depth of guys who we play on Saturdays." ■ Shuman lauded as role model on and off field | SHUMAN A W A R D W A T C H Redshirt freshman wide receiver and return man K.J. Hamler has been selected as one of the five finalists for the Louisville Sports Commission's Paul Hornung Award. This is the second consecutive year in which a Penn State player has been named a finalist for the Hornung Award, which was established in 2010. Saquon Barkley won the honor last season. The award is given annually by the Louisville Sports Commission to the most versatile player in major college football. … Sen- ior quarterback Trace McSorley has been selected to the 2018 National Football Foundation's Scholar-Athlete Class for his performance on the field, in the class- room and in the community. He is one of 13 finalists for the 2018 William V. Campbell Trophy, which annually recognizes the top football scholar-athlete in the nation. Previously, McSorley was announced as a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the collegiate player of the year, and he is one of 15 remaining candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which salutes the country's top quarterback. ■

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