Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305106
of career fairs, internships and grad school, and they'll be doing it without the burden of having to pay back $100,000 or more in student loans. That's not nothing. But when you see the intense determi- nation that the Power Five leagues have displayed in their efforts to stage a sea- son in the midst of a global pandemic, you are reminded of just how much the schools and conferences owe to their athletes in the revenue-producing sports. That's not nothing, either. Even with Big Ten teams playing in virtually empty stadiums, the resumption of the season has allowed the league to gener- ate TV revenue again and will surely spare some nonrevenue programs from the fate that befell Iowa's swimming, gymnastics and tennis squads. For all the resources it requires, football is the foundation upon which a teetering Jenga tower of athletic and administrative in- frastructure has been stacked, and the players are what keep the whole thing from collapsing. Players like Freiermuth, for example. After detailing his decision to return, the All-America hopeful talked about the things he wants to accomplish this sea- son, like burnishing a statistical portfo- lio that already places him among the best tight ends in school history and contending for the Mackey Award. He gives every indication that he regards his college career as much more than just a stepping-stone. To those of us who enjoy the college game more than the NFL, guys like Freiermuth inspire a special kind of ap- preciation. It can't be easy to forgo the immediate gratification of a pro football payday, and we should applaud those players whose loyalty runs so deep that they're willing to wait. But we shouldn't be surprised or upset when other players choose to go a different route, placing financial imperatives at the forefront of their decision-making process. They're only following the lead of their athletic departments, all of which have their own bills to pay, books to balance and deadlines to meet. ■ LT Rasheed Walker Will Fries Des Holmes LG Mike Miranda Des Holmes Sal Wormley C Michal Menet Mike Miranda Juice Scruggs RG C.J. Thorpe Des Holmes Anthony Whigan RT Will Fries Caedan Wallace Bryce E6ner QB Sean Cli6ord Will Levis Ta'Quan Roberson RB Noah Cain Keyvone Lee Devyn Ford Caziah Holmes WR Parker Washington Isaac Lutz Justin Weller WR Jahan Dotson KeAndre Lambert-Smith Jaden Dottin WR Cam Sullivan-Brown Daniel George T.J. Jones TE Pat Freiermuth Brenton Strange Zack Kuntz DEFENSE DE Shaka Toney Adisa Isaac Nick Tarburton DT Antonio Shelton Fred Hansard Judge Culpepper DT P.J. Mustipher Hakeem Beamon Dvon Ellies Coziah Izzard DE Jayson Oweh Shane Simmons Smith Vilbert OLB Brandon Smith Curtis Jacobs Lance Dixon MLB Ellis Brooks Jesse Luketa Charlie Katshir OLB Jesse Luketa Lance Dixon Curtis Jacobs CB Tariq Castro-Fields Marquis Wilson Daequan Hardy Saf. Lamont Wade Ji'Ayir Brown Trent Gordon Saf. Jaquan Brisker Jonathan Sutherland Tyler Rudolph CB Joey Porter Jr. Keaton Ellis Daequan Hardy P Jordan Stout Levi Forrest Jake Pinegar K (FG) Jake Pinegar Jordan Stout Levi Forrest K (KO) Jordan Stout Levi Forrest Jake Pinegar H Jordan Stout Rafael Checa Levi Forrest LS Chris Stoll Michael Wright Max Chizmar PR Jahan Dotson Parker Washington Marquis Wilson KR Devyn Ford Lamont Wade Parker Washington * As of late October D E P T H C H A R T * O F F E N S E D E F E N S E S P E C I A L T E A M S OR OR