Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/144988
AWARDS WATCH A school-record point total has lifted Penn State to its highest finish in the Learfield Sports Directors' Cup in 10 years and another top-10 placing. Twenty-one of the Nittany Lions' 31 varsity teams participated in their respective NCAA championships in 2012-13, giving Penn State 1,100.00 points and a sixth-place finish in the final Directors' Cup standings. Penn State's finish was its highest since it placed No. 5 in the 2002-03 standings. … Football standouts Zach Zwinak, Deion Barnes, Kyle Carter, John Urschel and DaQuan Jones have been named to the watch lists for an assortment of postseason awards. Zwinak is up for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the national collegiate player of the year. Barnes has been nominated for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Trophy, both of which recognize the nation's top defensive player. Carter is on the watch list for the John Mackey Award, which is presented to the nation's most outstanding tight end. And both Urschel and Jones are under consideration for the Outland Trophy, which is presented to the nation's top interior lineman. ZACH ZWINAK John Beale THE MONTH IN... TWEETS BLOGS OPINIONS Honored to be a [Big Ten] Medal of Honor recipient. Just trying to represent Penn State as best I can. @MATHMEETSFOOTBALL (JOHN URSCHEL) Jesse James is a defensive coordinator's nightmare. He's a giant with sure hands and good speed. No linebacker is capable of covering him, and he's significantly bigger than any corner or safety that he will come into contact with. BLACK SHOE DIARIES Unfortunately, ESPN and CNN won't have reporters covering today's Lift for Life event from 5-7 p.m. There won't be live cut-ins on national shows with constant updates and analysis of the good deeds, and no one should be surprised if the national media completely ignores Lift for Life. Good news doesn't sell, not in a society that craves salacious scandals. Certainly, what happened at Penn State is and always will be troubling and very sad, but it doesn't define the school or the people there. CORY GIGER ALTOONA MIRROR I was very optimistic compared to most at this time last summer about McGloin. That was because... he was being provided a framework by Bill O'Brien and Charlie Fisher to make quick decisions and limit errors. He was being taught how to avoid mistakes in high-pressure situations. But he could understand the teaching much better because he'd been through such situations. New college quarterbacks simply can't do that right away. ... So, I'd just caution all of you who are rightly enthusiastic about what O'Brien and Fisher can do with perhaps a higher skill-set quarterback to temper your expectations this season. Rookies need time. And nothing in a book or a tutorial replaces the experience gained when, as they say, the bullets start flying. DAVID JONES THE (HARRISBURG) PATRIOT-NEWS