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g yn wy ) D E E L B U O Y E U L B & T I H W 8 1 0 2 l Fal g n i en p O V P R R 5 W V H X * H [ X O H ' V O R R 3 U R R G W X 2 U R R G Q , H O E D O L D Y $ V H J D N F D 3 I O R * 6 6 4 ) ( 4 1 (8 g m o ege.c g l l o atec t s den ar g -2 D E T 5 5 2 2 E U L B & T I H W / / Ù 8 2 < 7 8 % R U O E V O L S N E E R G ! 6 6 4 ) 4 1 8 ( - 1 3 2 7 oad R lub C s Elk 0 1 3 7 2 8 6 1 A P g, ur b oals B E T , / ee ree Wee Fr Buf t Buf ast eakfa Br re y Br ay da kd e Wee ek et fe ff Monda F F L L P SHE P SHE O O T T G G IN IN UD UD L L C C IN IN S! S! D D N N RA RA B B 8 3 2 ) 4 1 8 ( - 1 0 0 3 m o c . sc da a m a r . w w w 5- y onday - 5 s Tues m pm 7p - 4 y day Frid - p 7p 20- s nk ri D All f f O % 0 5 F F L L P SHE P SHE O O T T G G IN IN UD UD L L C C IN IN S! S! D D N N RA RA B B pm 0 5 4 1 814) ( 7 t e e r t S n o t r e h t A h t u o S 0 8 6 1 A P ge, e l l o C e t a t S 235 814) -3009 m o c . s n a g rri a jh pj . w w w k e e s a W ay D 5 rs ~ e z i t pe Ap ar l l o D 1 0 8 m k season. Now it's easier for them to do that, and that's been popular." The changes are still coming, too. This year's calendar, which began Aug. 1 and runs until July 31, 2020, features two more notable changes. Come January, Penn State and other Football Bowl Sub- division schools will have only three weeks to ,nish their 2020 recruiting classes compared to four the year prior. However, the main change is the institu- tion of another dead period, which will begin Feb. 3 and run until March 1. Under James Franklin, Penn State has hosted at least one big junior day that month, plus individual visitors on the remaining weekends. Now, all those of those players, most of whom are under- classmen, will have to visit during the three weekends in January, when coaches are trying to ,nalize their cur- rent class, or in the ,rst few weeks of March, before spring practice begins. It will make those months even busier for coaches, but as Smith explained, it will also give the sta- some much needed time to focus on their current roster. "I like the NCAA establishing dead pe- riods," Smith said. "It allows us as coaches to grow closer to our players here on campus, and we love every op- portunity that we can get with our guys here. They are the most important thing to our program, and then, as we're re- cruiting these high school kids, they be- come the next-most-important thing to our program." Bowen added, "We're always looking for more time to focus on the guys we have already, and that's what a prospect is going to want when he does get on campus." The February dead period, he said, "gives us a good couple of weeks to be with our guys and prepare for spring ball. So that's a positive. To know that we're not going to have to also focus on hosting prospects, which takes attention away from your team, is a good thing." ■ NEW RULES Bowen said prospects have liked the rule changes that allow them to take their official visits in the spring. "It gives them a great opportunity to see some schools during the off-season," he said. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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