Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993
Site Lines C O M M E N T S F R O M T H E L I O N S D E N A T B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M AUGUST 2022/VOL. 37, NO.11 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mark Panus, Chris Riffer WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITER Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Phil Grosz, Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Anderson, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Mark Selders DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship, Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Stu Coman BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Autry ADVERTISING SALES/MARKETING Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 877-630-8768 CIRCULATION MANAGER Sarah Boone CUSTOMER SERVICE Cathy Jones, Laura Thornton 800-421-7751 BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Company, 905 W Main St, Ste 24F, Durham, NC 27701-2076. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $59.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription informa- tion call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Dur- ham NC 27702. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF NEW ATHLETICS DIRECTOR PATRICK KRAFT NOW THAT HE'S ON THE JOB … I would be disappointed if he wasn't ambitious, but I think budget concerns are going to really limit what he can do. I suspect he'll find it harder to get people to open their wallets than he's expecting, but … he has to try, and take a different approach. It is refreshing to see someone at Penn State being honest and saying we're not as good as you think in a lot of areas. You can't increase donations if everyone only sees/hears the positives and thinks everything is fine, and that their money isn't needed. But he's running up against a decades-long culture (predating Sandy Barbour) who took that approach. — BlueBand I appreciate the attitude and openness. It is a refreshing change of pace. I think he will have success, but there's a lot of inertia in the fan base and university culture to overcome. It won't be an easy task for him. — PhillipintheValley Let's get moving forward with Kraft. We finally have a proven great AD. Let's all show our support and win some national championships on the football field. It all starts with this great 2023 [football recruiting] class we must build on. Let's shoot for a top-three class. — AK1967 He will push the envelope. He did at Temple and had mixed results. He thought he was going to get them a new football stadium and never got close — fell way short on fundraising goal and winning over alumni and neighborhood. He also made some mistakes with the basketball program. He made changes within the Temple administration that did modernize athletics. He also increased fundraising within the department. He is going to make some changes within PSU. There will be an emphasis on football, basketball and wres- tling. He is going to try to make major amends with the Pegula family. — Chester Copperpot ON RECEIVER PARKER WASHINGTON'S OUTLOOK THIS FALL … Am I the only person in the country that is not minimiz- ing the abilities of Parker Washington? Everybody is so obsessed with Jahan Dotson's departure, but I continue to be impressed by Washington's ball skills and his yards after catch. — LBUfanatic Maybe we think of Washington as a receiver who keeps the chains moving, which does not mean he isn't capable of scoring a lot. Every WR has a role within any offense, and if [coordinator] Mike Yurcich can spread the ball around to all those guys, in my opinion it could be a much better offense, scoring from all over. Dotson was/ is a tremendous talent, but Penn State still has a lot of talent it can use. — NLE24 ON THE WIDE RECEIVER GROUP AS A WHOLE … Other than Parker Washington, nobody has proven they can be reliable in this offense. I can't wait for the competition to begin. That said, this wide receiver group certainly has the potential to be the deepest in a while. KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Mitchell Tinsley, Harrison Wal- lace, Malick Meiga and Kaden Saunders will all get to prove they deserve playing time. And don't be surprised if some youngster not mentioned above gets a shot. There is a lot of potential in that room. — 1000 OaksLion Kaden Saunders is a wild card for sure, simply because by all accounts he runs good routes and is very elusive. My only concern is the physical toll, but I'd love to see [Penn State get him the ball] in space to get him into the flow and give a very nice change of pace. If the top three perform as you'd expect with another year, he doesn't have to feel the pressure or the wear and tear of the 50- or 60-snap pounding — yet. — Liondog123 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 Third-year sophomore wideout Parker Washington has been Penn State's second-leading receiver in each of the past two seasons. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL