Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526526
O C T O B E R 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 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M They Said It "I want to be the guy that sets the tone offen- sively. I want to show emotion and passion for the game, but I'm never going to dip down. I'm going to be steady the whole time. But I'm going to definitely celebrate when things do go our way, because this is what we worked for since January. To come out here, have a fun time and be explo- sive — we're going to celebrate it as a team." — Junior quarterback Drew Allar following Penn State's 34-12 season-opening victory at West Virginia "This win felt different than last year's at home over the Mountaineers. West Virginia sought to build mayhem by creating a de facto playoff environment. Which it was Friday and early Saturday. Then Penn State squeezed the life from the building with those touchdowns to end the first half and start the second. The stadium was about half full after the delay. By the end, Penn State fans were singing 'Country Roads.'" — Mark Wogenrich, SI.com "The Nittany Lions haven't been able to get over the hump, going 0-6 against Ohio State and Michi- gan over the past three years. Saturday's explosive performance in Morgantown showed why this sea- son could be different. "Penn State's revamped offense under new coor- dinator Andy Kotelnicki impressed in a 34-12 victory over West Virginia. Kotelnicki came from Kansas with hopes that he could help generate more chunk plays for an offense that ranked 97th last season in plays of 20 yards or more. In the first quarter, quarterback Drew Allar connected on a 50-yard touchdown strike to Harrison Wallace, setting the tone. … Behind Allar and Kotelnicki, this Penn State offense appears to be for real." — Jake Trotter, ESPN.com "I know he's extremely hungry this year with as much time as he's invested to really help this team as much as he possibly can, help the defense as much as he can, and also to have a big year for himself and his family. You guys are going to be continuing to talk about him a lot this year. I think there will be a lot of conversations about him on a national scale as well. "Those guys are hard to find, guys who have a chance to be physical against the run and be disrup- tive as pass rushers. His length is an issue for people. I'm really proud of him. I think he's going to have a big year." — James Franklin, talking to reporters about super senior defensive end Smith Vilbert, who had a sack and a forced fumble against West Virginia after playing in only one game the past two seasons "Joe Paterno's best years spanned multiple gen- erations, and Penn State has been good enough in recent years to stay on this list. Like Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions need to make the expanded CFP and win some games to stay on the list." — On3 commentator Andy Staples, explaining his placement of Penn State on his list of nine "blue blood" college football programs "I want to bring some of that gymnastics — maybe a backflip or handstand. I want to have fun with it." — Former PSU gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, winner of two bronze medals at the recent Paris Olympics, promoting his upcoming appearance on "Dancing With the Stars" Junior running back Nicholas Singleton gave Penn State a 27-6 lead over West Virginia with a 40-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL "Getting the dirty runs, they're obviously good runs, too. Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider is always talking about, 'Don't be mad if you're only getting like 2 yards, 4 yards, 5 yards. They keep piling up, and eventually they'll break out." — Junior running back Nicholas Singleton, who had 114 yards on 13 carries against West Virginia, including a pair of 40-yard bursts