Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1535618
JUNE/JULY 2025/VOL. 40, NO. 10 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 Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Mark Panus BUSINESS ANALYST Sarah Boone CIRCULATION 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 WHETHER PSU'S 2025 OFFENSE COULD BE ITS BEST SINCE 1994 … I am supremely excited for the upcoming football sea- son. Looking at the offensive depth chart, I think every starter (with possible exception of unknown WRs) is slated for the NFL. We have not been this stacked since 1994 when every starter ended up in the NFL. Kerry Col- lins, Ki-Jana Carter and Kyle Brady were all taken in the first nine picks of the first round. Some might say our skill positions were better in 2016 with Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley, Chris Godwin and Mike Gesecki, but our current offensive line is light years ahead of where it was in the Saquon years. — Jason1743 The four you mentioned from 2016 are much better than the players on the current roster, and you also overlooked DaeSean Hamilton at receiver. Maybe Drew Allar becomes as good as, or better than, McSorley, but that hasn't happened yet. — Jersey Lion The jump between 1993 and 1994 was even bigger (15.5 ppg) than the one they'd need to make from 2024 to get to the '94 number. The '93 team averaged 32.3 ppg, with most of the same players on offense returning in '94. Probably the biggest difference between those two seasons was that the QB situation was in flux for a decent chunk of '93. I agree that it's highly unlikely they can duplicate '94 this season. The biggest difference between '94 and 2025 (besides the fact that college football is a different game than it was 30 years ago) is that the '94 team had Bobby Engram, probably the best WR in school history, along with a WR2 (Freddie Scott) who could really stretch the field. Hopefully, a field-stretcher type of WR emerges from the current group, but there's currently no candidate for an "all-time great" WR here. — DonQuixote In my opinion, the receivers are too important to gloss over when forecasting the best offense since '94. That being said, given that Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross in particular are on the smaller side, I'm hoping they can remind us all of the "Smurfs" receiving corps from my days at PSU with Derrick Williams, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood lighting teams up by being quick and reliable despite being undersized. — ehj5010 The question was SINCE '94, not if it compares to '94. There is an arguable case to be made it could be. — Harrisburglar It's no wonder there are so many emotional breakdowns here during the season. You people need to learn how to set reasonable expectations. — crftsy When we settle for a field goal on the opening drive against Nevada, I am going to want blood. — teddy97 ON WHETHER THIS IS A 'GOLDEN ERA' FOR PENN STATE FOOTBALL … Think most would agree PSU as a program — in terms of location, brand, tradition and (most important) re- sources — is a top-15, maybe top-10 program. (I personally have us at 13 ... with Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, Texas and Ohio State as the top five.) Anyway, is James Franklin not outperforming (even significantly outperforming) in terms of wins and development? And yet our fanbase boos him? We're pretty lucky to have the coaching staff we have, in my opinion. — KRich283 My deep observation is that PSU will always be playing catch-up to some in the Big Ten, and this is based on the location of our university. Do not underestimate the impact of the pastoral location of PSU. Whereas Ohio State is in the largest city in Ohio and Ann Arbor is 40 miles from downtown Detroit, PSU has to contend with the emptiness of Central PA. The lack of proximity to a large city, combined with the fact that PSU is not located in or near the state capital (unlike Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan State) seems to have an effect. — FirstNine Franklin is doing a great job and has restored Penn State football to prominence after the NCAA sanctions. That said, the golden era of Penn State football was 1968-94 under JoePa (two national titles and five undefeated teams). — GulfCoastLion 4 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 5 Kerry Collins led a Penn State offense that averaged 520 yards and 47.8 points per game in 1994. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS