Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1488968
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 JANUARY 2023/VOL. 38, NO.5 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mark Panus, Chris Riffer WEBSITE PUBLISHER Sean Fitz WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITER Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Daniel Althouse, Bill Anderson, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics 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, Crystal Clayton 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 ON PLAYERS LIKE JUNIOR CORNERBACK JOEY PORTER JR. OPTING OUT OF BOWL GAMES … I understand the concern about sustaining a significant injury in a bowl game and that having an impact on the draft. But why would you play Kent State or Rutgers or Akron or any other game that has little significance? The chance of injuries is certainly a factor anytime you go on the field, including practice. Why would you not want to showcase your skills in the Rose Bowl or any other New Year's Six bowl where the attention of all scouts would be focused? Even for Joey Porter Jr., this is where your skills should be highlighted — against the best of competition. — Sunset 43 Who was that Notre Dame linebacker [Jaylon Smith] who blew out his knee in a bowl game or the Michigan tight end [Jake Butt] who hurt his knee in a bowl game? Ask them why players opt out. Unless you're playing in a playoff game, why would you NOT opt out? — waltpsuscranton Joey Porter Jr. has played in 34 games for Penn State in his four years with the program, why would he need this game to show anything? C'mon, man, he already has all the tape that NFL scouts need. His draft stock is not going to increase or decrease because of this game. — BrNittanyLion Players like Porter have plenty of tape for the scouts. Adding another 30 plays in the Rose Bowl isn't going to move the needle noticeably. It's good tape, spanning several years. So, what's the upside? Hard to measure. The downside of a Jaylon Smith injury? Massive. Many millions of dollars, and potentially career-threatening. There's even the small risk of some bad tape being added to the reel. It's the equivalent placing a huge bet with unbalanced odds. You get a $1 payout on a $1,000 bet, but your odds of losing your $1,000 are actually much higher than 1 in 1,000. In the cold, harsh reality of things, you'd be dumb to gamble in that casino. — PSUFANinVA The players who need to showcase their skills will play. Those who don't won't play. Seems like a pretty simple concept. Porter is a first rounder in mock drafts — what exactly does he gain by showcasing his skills for the scouts in this game? Now, think about what he risks should he get hurt. Then ask yourself again to see if you can understand the opt-outs of bowl games. — Ohio_Pirate Joey would be an idiot if he played in this bowl game. — WestHallsLion ON PSU DEFENSIVE BACKS IN THE UPCOMING NFL DRAFT … I think it's huge for the program to finally have an elite cornerback that the NFL covets. Porter wasn't always a shutdown guy, but he has tremendous traits and the ability to press. With the NFL being a wide receivers' league now, it's critical to have a guy like Porter who can match up with these stud pass catchers. Kids should be targeting PSU as a current top-tier DB program. Who would've thought!! — TomPSU823 Someone is going to absolutely fall in love with Ji'Ayir Brown. I'm not sure what kind of pro he'll be, but he's going to test well, he'll interview well and his film is rock solid with a large sample size. — porcupine ON HOW THE NITTANY LIONS' 10-2 REGULAR SEASON GRADES OUT … I'm pretty hard on James Franklin and a certain quarterback, but on the other hand, most teams do not have to play two top-four teams in their division. B+ seems about right. — Stephen Light My prediction was 6-6 or 7-5, and boy, they exceeded my expectations. I'd say it was a really good season based on my expectations. James Franklin surprised me yet again. He's just got to keep the momentum and coaching staff together, and we should start winning our fair share of Ohio State and Michigan games. A huge NIL budget would also do wonders. — Niftylion One could argue B or B+, but I do think the coaching staff was a B+ and did the best with the talent they had. I also think they played enough kids to prepare the team for next season. Michigan kicked our butts on the line of scrimmage, but other than that day, we performed well. Shame we self-destructed in the fourth quarter against the Buckeyes or we might be in the playoff. Let's go, State! Looking forward to 2023. — GeorgiaLion 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 After three seasons as a starting cornerback at Penn State, Joey Porter Jr. announced in December that he planned on entering the upcoming NFL Draft and skipping the Lions' bowl game. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE