Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1520787
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 4 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M FIVE YEARS AGO, 2019 The Nittany Lions' football recruiting class underwent some drastic revisions in June 2019, with 10 players committing and another four de-committing. With the 2020 cycle ap- proaching its midway point, the de-commitments provoked considerable angst among followers of Penn State's recruiting efforts. But if those fans could have seen a few years into the future, they might not have been quite so upset. One of the prospects who joined the class that month was a junior college safety from Trenton, N.J., named Ji'Ayir Brown. He had barely been recruited coming out of Trenton Central but had blossomed in two seasons at Lackawanna College, and James Franklin agreed to bring him aboard in the hope that he would follow the same track as Jaquan Brisker, another Lackawanna-to-PSU safety. These days, Brown is a starter in the San Francisco 49ers' secondary, having been drafted in the third round last year after an All-Big Ten career at Penn State. One of the other new additions to the class was a four- star offensive lineman named Olu Fashanu. A 6-foot-5, 300-pound standout at Gonzaga College High in Washington, D.C., Fashanu had just come back from his third visit to PSU when he made his announcement on June 3. "After our last two visits, we had a lot of information given to us, so my parents were just curious about a few other things," Fashanu explained. "Thankfully, all of our remaining questions were not only answered, but it was what me and my family were hoping to hear. My parents appreciated everything they had to say." Fashanu's decision paid off for all concerned. He became a consensus All-American at left tackle for Penn State, and on April 25, he and his parents celebrated at their home in Wal- dorf, Md., when he was chosen by the New York Jets with the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 10 YEARS AGO, 2014 Sprinter Mahagony Jones starred in one of the best perfor- mances ever by the Penn State women at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Coming off a first-place showing at the Big Ten meet a month earlier, the Nittany Lions tied for 12th in the team standings, the fourth-highest finish in program history. Jones was largely responsible for the 18 team points Penn State amassed at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. She finished fourth in the 200-meter race, seventh in the 100 and was part of a 4x400 relay team that placed fifth. The redshirt senior from Cleveland finished as a three-time first-team All-Amer- ican, while Kiah Seymour was a two-time first-team honoree after placing sixth in the 400-meter hurdles and anchoring the 4x400 relay team. Also, Laura Loht took fifth in the javelin. "It's amazing what the championships bring out," PSU coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "Just phenomenal perfor- mances, not just from Penn State but from everybody." 25 YEARS AGO, 1999 The Penn State women's track and field team finished in a tie for 24th place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Boise, Idaho. It was the team's best showing since 1984 when it tied for 20th. The Lions' highest finisher at nationals was Susanne Heyer, who captured fourth place in the 1,500-meter race. Heyer earned first-team All-America notice, as did two of her Penn State teammates. Deshaya Williams finished sixth in the discus, while Shakeema Walker placed eighth in the long jump. For Williams, the 1999 outdoor championships were the start of something big. She went on to win the NCAA discus title in 2003, becoming the program's first outdoor national champ since distance runner Kathy Mills won the 3,000- and 5,000-meter races in 1978. For coach Teri Jordan, however, it was the end of something big. Jordan, who had led the women's track and cross country programs since 1984, announced in July that she was stepping down. A three-time selection as the Eastern Track Coach of the Year, Jordan moved into an administrative role overseeing PSU's disability programing and helping run the just-completed Multi-Sport Complex. "Teri has had a wonderful career as a coach of track and cross country but has decided to channel her energies into these new administrative pursuits," then-athletics director Tim Curley said in announcing her retirement from coaching. "There has long been a need for a departmental program to offer persons with dis- abilities, and we are delighted that Teri will be focusing on coming up with an innovative plan to address that obligation." — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History A star offensive lineman at Gonzaga College High in Washington, D.C., Olu Fashanu was one of Penn State's most coveted prospects when he announced in June 2019 that he planned to join the Nittany Lions. PHOTO COURTESY FASHANU FAMILY