Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533674
1 6 A P R I L 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M They Said It "Penn State did not have a wide receiver catch a pass until the final play of the Orange Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Nittany Lions have everything needed to contend. Quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are back. But a critical question for Penn State in 2025 is the talent of its wide receivers. The Nittany Lions have added Troy transfer Devonte Ross and USC transfer Kyron Hudson. Ross was one of the most productive wide receivers in the nation this season, ranking in the top 20 in receiving yards with 1,043 yards on 76 catches with 11 touchdowns. Hudson was a productive wide receiver at USC, too, with 57 career catches for 655 yards in three sea- sons. Penn State can't stop there, though." — Pete Nakos, On3 national college football writer, on Penn State's biggest question mark this spring "The Nittany Lions have not won a national cham- pionship in almost four decades (though they did go unbeaten in 1994). But they now have one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football in Drew Allar, while Big Ten powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan are set to debut freshman passers. Last year's other Big Ten playoff teams, Oregon (Dil- lon Gabriel) and Indiana (Kurtis Rourke), graduated their star quarterbacks. Penn State also boasts the nation's top returning running back duo (Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen) and even swiped Jim Knowles from Ohio State after he coordinated the top defense in the country. The Nittany Lions will never have a better shot to win the Big Ten — and national title — than they will this season." — Jake Trotter, ESPN.com writer, citing Penn State as the FBS team with the most to prove this year "Singleton is one of two Penn State running backs who could have been on this list. The other is Kay- tron Allen, who also returns to the Nittany Lions to form the best offensive backfield in college football. Singleton's versatility, though, is what gave him the nod on this list over Allen and a bunch of other elite- level running backs." — Ari Wasserman, On3 national college football writer, after naming senior Nicholas Singleton to his Way-Too-Early 2025 All-American Team "I don't typically compare prospects to NFL Hall of Famers, but as Gronk isn't in the Hall yet, I'm making an exception because Warren is that rare and that good. The 6-foot-6, 256-pound Warren has the functional quickness and movement of a much smaller player, more in line with a 6-foot-3 tight end such as Sam LaPorta." — Matt Miller, NFLDraftScout.com writer, com- paring Penn State's Tyler Warren to former New England and Tampa Bay tight end Rob Gronkowski "I know what I signed up for. This s—t is hard, ex- cuse my French. But I know what I signed up for, and I know what to do. I know how to do this. I probably put a lot on me, and that's just how I am. … I told [athletics director] Pat Kraft, if you and Penn State are committed to me, we're going to figure this out and push this program forward." — Men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades after fin- ishing his second season at PSU with a 16-15 record and 6-14 mark in Big Ten play "We will go out and enjoy this one for a day, but then we are back at it. These guys worked all season for this, but we are excited to be able to go out and continue to compete at Big Tens and NCAAs later this season." — Penn State men's gymnastics coach Randy Je- pson, after his fifth-ranked team clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a 329.050- 328.850 win over No. 4 Nebraska on March 16 at Rec Hall "Defensive players impact the game just as much as the quarterback. All the teams that have won Super Bowls, they have that one standout player. I feel like I'm that." — Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter explaining why he believes that he's worthy of being chosen No. 1 overall in the upcoming NFL Draft PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS