Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/109500
FOOTB AL L N OT EB OO K ��� Virginia has backed out of the second portion of its home-and-home series with the Nittany Lions. The game was slated for Sept. 14, 2013, in Beaver Stadium. Penn State confirmed it will fill the void in its schedule with a home game against Central Florida on the same date. Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner said Virginia backed out of its agreement in order to play a home game on the same date. He added that the game against the Cavaliers could be rescheduled. The Orlando Sentinel reported on Jan. 25 that Penn State will also visit UCF in 2014 as part of a home-andhome series, but a date for that game has yet to be announced. ��� Garry Gilliam has been granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. The senior offensive tackle ��� he was moved from tight end during winter workouts ��� will now be eligible through the 2014 season. Gilliam suffered a major knee injury in the Lions��� 2010 Big Ten opener against Iowa and missed the rest of the season, as well as the entire 2011 season. ��� Bill O���Brien announced during his national signing day news conference that former walk-on players Matt Lehman and Ryan Keiser have been put on scholarship. Lehman, a 6-foot-6 tight end, finished the 2012 season with 24 catches for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Keiser spent most of the 2012 season on special teams, serving as holder on PAT and field goals. He will be relied on for depth at the safety position in 2013. ��� Senior offensive lineman Eric Shrive has been named the 2013 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion. Shrive has raised nearly $70,000 for kidney cancer patients during his Penn State career. ��� Penn State���s Jordan Hill, Gerald Hodges, Michael Mauti and Matt Stankiewitch have been invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from Feb. 20-26. THE MONTH IN... OPINIONS We���ll never really know. That was one of the messages from the latest report that was dropped upon the national conscience. There is the unsteady and uncertain foundation on which [Paterno���s] legacy will likely forever stand. Another expose, another re-shoveling of the debris at Penn State. Here���s a guess at the impact. Those of you who heap the blame on Paterno still do. Those of you who intend to stand by him forever are even more determined to never leave his side. As for anyone still waiting and hoping for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing MIKE LOPRESTI USA TODAY but the truth, we���ll never get it. One man who would love not to be dragging the Paterno sycophants behind him is the successor to their hero. Bill O���Brien is a not only a smart guy, he���s savvy. He knows it would be counterproductive to yell out, ���Enough, already! Can we move forward, please?��� Even though I suspect he would love to. For those left heartbroken that Penn State���s good name has been smeared, I would suggest that the best course of corrective action would be to allow O���Brien to do what he���s been doing. Unfettered by the cackling magpies debating his predecessor���s legacy, unburdened by the yoke of constant regression. I can tell you from receiving the unsolicited opinions of those around the Big Ten and around the country that O���Brien is the best ambassador you could possibly hope for. DAVID JONES THE (HARRISBURG) PATRIOT-NEWS These reports have educational and intellectual value, particularly where the efforts of [former FBI special agent Tim] Clemente ��� who calls himself a ���survivor of childhood sexual victimization��� ��� are concerned. If they in any way help society protect its children, we should be thankful. It seems beyond doubtful, meanwhile, that the reports themselves will lead the NCAA to re-evaluate its position on Penn State. STEVE GREENBERG THE SPORTING NEWS After the Freeh report was released, the university accepted its findings and signed a consent decree accepting the historic NCAA sanctions. The Joe Paterno statue outside Beaver Stadium was hauled down and stuffed into storage. It all happened so quickly. But that speed forms the foundation of the Paternos��� rebuttal ��� the ���rush to judgment��� by the Board of Trustees to fire the coach in November 2011 was repeated by the board and then the NCAA after the Freeh report���s release. The family���s fight to rehabilitate Joe Paterno begins with this report, but it won���t end with it. Even armed with these experts decrying the injustice, the Paternos��� fight will be a slow, difficult slog. Americans don���t easily change their minds. DON VAN NATTA JR. ESPN.COM