Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
MAY 2025/VOL. 40, NO. 9 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Stu Coman Cathy Jones 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, Frank Hyatt, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTO Steve Manuel DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Mark Panus BUSINESS ANALYST Sarah Boone CIRCULATION Tristin Shears, Beverly Taylor ADVERTISING SALES Maria Taustine (502) 552-4390 CUSTOMER SERVICE Lauren Gordon, Shelby Cragg, Cathy Jones (800) 421-7751 BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Co., a division of On3 Media, Inc., located at 905 W. Main St., Suite 24F, Durham, NC 27701. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $68.00. 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 correc- tions/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription information call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. 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 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ON PENN STATE'S MOVES IN THE SPRING TRANSFER WINDOW … I hate to say it, but the loss of JB Nelson won't be a big deal. Cooper Cousins and Vega Ioane are eventual NFL guards, and there is very good depth in all positions. I feel badly for any kid who has worked hard and overcome injuries but eventually needs to leave the program. But that is the nature of the sport. Nelson wasn't going to start, and there are other, younger players ready to provide depth. [Coach Phil Trautwein] has put PSU in great shape along the O-line. — SJLuvsLions I disagree. Without [Nelson], there's a big drop-off in experience and proven ability at guard and left tackle. There are guys [with great] potential, but until they prove it on the field, you don't know how they'll hold up in a game. One more injury and you've got two guys with little to no experience starting. I guar- antee the coaches are not happy about this development. — PhillipintheValley I wasn't expecting Jon Mitchell [to leave], but honestly, he was going to be fighting for backup time [at cor- nerback] in 2026 let alone this year. Still, he was a high-level recruit and will get picked up somewhere. Ta'Mere Robinson leaving kinda stinks. ... Hopefully, [freshman linebackers] Anthony Speca and Alex Tatsch can get more work this summer. — JKlee717 Man, spring practice used to be fun — reading about who's competing for a job, young guys coming up, older guys turning a corner. Now it's just bracing yourself for critical hits to the roster. Please do not take this as criti- cism of the BWI staff. You guys do great work covering all of that. Just speaking from my perspective, it's hard to care about anything else except roster retention these days. This sport so badly needs an overhaul. — RRG523 Part of the fun of following college athletics is the roster building, culture building, etc. Fans are going to start to lose interest if they have to root for a different group of mercenaries every season. — Taycro ON THE NITTANY LIONS' APPEARANCE IN THE MEN'S FROZEN FOUR … This team embodied PSU work ethic. I never post, but I love this team. The coach is all PSU, and these kids are so special. Guy [Gadowsky] should stay as long as he wants. I've had so much fun watching them play this year. I'd say they're overachievers, but they earned every single thing they got. FIRST PSU TEAM IN THE FROZEN FOUR!!! And beyond well deserved, our hockey team is here to stay! — ViewAskew11 Well, I really thought PSU was going to pull it out [against Boston University in the semifinals]. They played the right game, a great game, against a superior opponent. Needed the puck luck and didn't get it. So proud to be a Penn State hockey fan. It's not the destination, it's the journey, and this was one special journey. We Are… — 432PSU I've watched hockey since the early Flyers years, early '70s, and those goals that come from a loose puck skir- mish around the net go a long way. We had a few of them, but their goalie was very good and looked confident around the net. We also had a couple breakaways that didn't end well. But we were right there with BU, and I couldn't be more proud of the PSU hockey team! It took an empty-net goal with a minute to go for BU to clinch the win. — BrianS Obviously disappointed in the end result, but as others have said, what a run and a [literal] banner year for PSU! I can see why so many college hockey fans make the pilgrimage to the event every year, even if their team isn't participating. Looking forward to next season already and can't wait to see the team make it to their second Frozen Four, hopefully in the near future. — pennstater97 This Frozen Four thing is okay. Would recommend. — Fox Chapel Lion II 4 M A Y 2 0 2 5 Offensive lineman JB Nelson played in 31 games and made eight starts in three seasons at Penn State after arriving from Lackawanna College. He entered the transfer portal in April. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL