Penn State Sports Magazine
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M A Y 2 0 2 4 11 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M shown flashes. How is he going to be in the summer, when he's had really all spring and all of the early summer to grind on the playbook, grind on the installs, watch a ton of Kansas tape, watch a ton of Penn State tape? Where will those guys be? It's been good." Smolik's injury appeared to be the Nit- tany Lions' most significant health set- back of the spring. Franklin said prior to the Blue-White Game that the Nittany Lions had suffered "some bumps and bruises" during their offseason drills, but the only other players who were known to be recovering from serious injuries were junior offensive tackle Drew Shelton, true freshman offensive tackle Garrett Sex- ton and redshirt senior defensive tackle Alonzo Ford Jr. Shelton's injury had been confirmed prior to the start of practice. He was seen on campus during the winter with his arm in a sling, and Franklin acknowledged in March that the lineman had undergone surgery after the 2023 season. Franklin did not indicate that Shelton will miss time this fall and appeared at the time to hold out hope that he might be available for some portion of spring drills. Sexton, a January enrollee from Hart- land, Wis., was recovering from an injury he suffered during his senior season at Arrowhead Union High. Ford has yet to suit up for the Nittany Lions after transferring from Old Domin- ion last year. Coming off an honorable mention All-Sun Belt Conference season in 2022, he went down with an injury in preseason camp and missed the entire 2023 campaign. Franklin said in early April that the 6-foot-2, 308-pound Ford is "close to being back." "I think this summer he'll be full-go," Franklin said. "He's been great, but we haven't seen a whole lot. His attitude has been great, he's done really well in the classroom. He's obviously lived in the treatment room. The strength staff has been able to work with him, the trainers have been able to work with him. Every- body loves him. There's just not a lot that we've been able to see to this point, other than the stuff that we saw when we re- cruited him." ■ FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK Beaver Stadium Named Top College Gridiron Venue In fan balloting conducted by Jayna Bardahl of The Athletic, Beaver Stadium was named the nation's best college football venue. The Nittany Lions' home field edged out LSU's Tiger Stadium in the final vot- ing session after beating Michigan Stadium, Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium in earlier rounds. "Beaver Stadium's White Out sealed the deal, with voters calling the tradition 'chilling,' 'unparalleled' and 'the best show in all of college football,'" Bardahal wrote. "Still, this result feels like one of those games where the final score isn't telling of how close it was." Bardahl asked The Athletic's Penn State beat reporter, Audrey Snyder, to describe the game-day envi- ronment in State College. "Getting to Penn State's Beaver Stadium, about three hours away from Philadelphia and 2.5 hours from Pittsburgh, isn't the easiest trek for college football fans," Snyder noted. "However, the 107,000-plus behemoth of a stadium in central Pennsylvania has become a bucket list item for many college football fans, particularly those who want to attend the annual White Out game. Truly, it is worth the hassle of getting here to see it." — Greg Pickel FIU Added To Lions' 2025 Slate Penn State has completed the nonconference portion of its 2025 schedule, adding a game against Florida International on Sept. 6 at Beaver Stadium. The Conference USA foe joins Nevada (Aug. 30) and Villanova (Sept. 13) on the Lions' nonleague slate. Next year's clash will be only the second between the two teams. They first met in 2007, with the Nit- tany Lions rolling to a 59-0 victory at Beaver Stadium. Anthony Morelli threw 3 touchdown passes in that matchup, and running back Austin Scott scored two of the home team's 5 rushing touchdowns. FIU is coached by Mike MacIntyre, now in his third season. The Panthers finished 4-8 in each of his first two campaigns. — Greg Pickel Andrew Nelson To Direct Performance Program Former Penn State offensive lineman Andrew Nelson has been hired as director of performance sci- ence for the football program. Nelson will lead the Nittany Lions' wellness, injury prevention, recovery, physical preparation and performance initiatives. "I would like to thank Coach [James] Franklin for this incredible opportunity," Nelson said in a press release. "It is a tremendous honor for me to come back to a place I love and work for an incredible pro- gram I have a lot of pride in. I look forward to working with such a great staff and tremendous group of student-athletes." Nelson played in 33 games and started 28 for the Nittany Lions from 2014-17. He was a kinesiology major at PSU and later earned his master's degree in sports science and coach education from East Ten- nessee State. At ETSU, Nelson served as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant for football from 2019-21 and was later named lead performance coach for Olympic sports, a role he held for the past three years. He is currently finishing up work on his Ph.D. in sport physiology and performance. — Nate Bauer Beaver Stadium outpolled LSU's Tiger Stadium to take first place in The Athletic's fan ballot. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL