Blue White Illustrated

ons ��� tight end Matt Lehman and safety Ryan Keiser ��� who were put on scholarship recently. It���s possible that a few of the players who are out for football this spring won���t be back in the fall. So the total number of scholarship players on the roster this year may fluctuate until preseason camp opens. The one certainty is that Penn State will have to figure out a way to do more with less. O���Brien is accustomed to working with NFL-sized rosters, but he���s also accustomed to having a practice squad and a waiver wire at his disposal when injuries strike. Also, in the pro game, everybody has the same number of players. That won���t be the case at Penn State. But while the Nittany Lions are going to be bringing in fewer players the next few years, they are continuing to recruit blue-chippers. Recent verbal commitments from Delaware linebacker Troy Reeder and Virginia athlete Nick Scott illustrated yet again the Lions are still going to have a chance at landing players who like the direction of the program under O���Brien and want to be part of a new era. ���What we���ve found is that many, many top-notch student-athletes ��� not just in Pennsylvania but in the Northeast and some in the South ��� still have a big-time interest in our program,��� O���Brien said. ���They come from families that believe in great education in combination with great football. And then they come onto our campus, and that���s what���s been neat, to look at their reaction when they step on campus and see our stadium and our weight room and meet our coaches and our families and our players. The one big issue is that we can���t sign as many people, we can���t have as many scholarship players as other [schools]. But we can still attract quality players, quality students and high-character guys to Penn State.��� 5 How will Ted Roof���s departure affect the defense? Hard to say. But if there are any schematic changes in store, they will most likely stem from the team���s personnel losses ��� five starters from Blue-White Weekend schedule announced The Nittany Lion Club will host its annual Blue-White Event at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the Blue-White Game on Saturday, April 20. The breakfast will feature coach Bill O���Brien and the 2013 football senior class. Tickets for the event, which is open to the public, are $20. To purchase tickets to the Nittany Lion Club Blue-White Event, call 814-865-5555, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Blue-White Game will kick off at noon in Beaver Stadium and air on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. Stadium parking lots will open at 8 a.m., and stadium gates A, B, C and E will open for fans at 10:30 a.m. There is no admission or parking fee. Doors for the Nittany Lion Club Blue-White Event will open at 8 a.m., and the program will begin at 8:30 a.m. The arena floor seating will be first-come, first-served. The last year���s defense are gone ��� not from the change in leadership. New defensive coordinator John Butler was on staff last year as coach of the secondary, and he will continue to work with the cornerbacks. (He will not oversee the special teams. Sharing that job starting this spring are running backs coach Charles London and linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden.) Amos said he wasn���t surprised by Butler���s promotion after watching how detail-oriented he was last year in coaching the defensive backs and special teams. ���I was excited that it was my coach who got the job, and I was happy��� because of the things he was already doing within the defense,��� Amos said. ���He knows what everybody is supposed to do. He���s just everywhere. Coach Butler is everywhere. It was a good thing that he got the job.��� Amos said that while he didn���t know what to expect heading into spring practice, he wasn���t anticipating big event ticket includes continental breakfast, the opportunity for photos with the Nittany Lion and cheerleaders, and the opportunity to talk with coaches and studentathletes from various sports. Numerous events are set to take place on campus during BlueWhite Weekend, including the NCAA Men���s Gymnastics Championships, which will be contested April 19-21 in Rec Hall. In addition to the men���s gymnastics team, the Penn State baseball, field hockey, men���s golf, softball, men���s tennis, women���s tennis and men���s volleyball teams will be competing at home during the weekend. Many fan favorites will return for Blue-White Weekend, including Friday���s Wingfest and fireworks, the Nittany Lion Club���s Blue-White Event on Saturday and Sunday���s Beaver Stadium 5K Run/Family Fun Walk to benefit Special Olympics. changes. ���We expect pretty much the same defenses and things like that,��� he said. ���But we���ll see come spring ball exactly what���s going to happen.��� With Butler taking on new responsibilities, the most recent addition to Penn State���s staff, Anthony Midget, will oversee the safeties. Before joining the Lions in February, Midget spent five seasons at Georgia State, including the 2012 season in which he served as defensive coordinator. He was a thirdteam All-America defensive back at Virginia Tech and played on the Hokies team that faced Florida State for the national title in the 2000 Sugar Bowl. Speaking to goPSUsports.com, Midget described his coaching style as ���a little intense.��� ���I demand that my players be the best,��� he said. ���That���s my job, to maximize their talents while they���re here. If I don���t do that as a coach, I���ve done them a disservice.��� Sounds a lot like Butler, doesn���t he?

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