Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 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, 2020 After months of uncertainty, the Big Ten announced on Aug. 5 that it would play a 10-game football season in 2020 consisting entirely of conference clashes. The decision brought the league into alignment with the rest of the football world, which was following through with its tentative plans to restart at both the Power Five and NFL levels. But the Big Ten's plan lasted all of six days. On Aug. 11, the league announced that it wasn't going to play a season af- ter all. Explaining their abrupt change of heart, Big Ten officials cited concerns about whether teams would have the testing capacity to be able to contain the spread of COVID-19. The dithering would continue for an- other month, but one Nittany Lion opted out even before the Big Ten pulled the plug. That player was consensus All- America linebacker Micah Parsons, who announced Aug. 6 that he would be for- going his junior season to prepare for the NFL Draft. "My dream was to receive a degree from a prestigious institution and prepare for an opportunity to play at the highest level, the NFL," Parsons explained. "My oppor- tunity has finally arrived." 10 YEARS AGO, 2015 James Franklin was preparing for his second season as the Nittany Lions' head football coach in August 2015. The first season had gone about as well as could be expected given the hardships that Frank- lin and his staff had inherited. The Li- ons went 7-6 with an overtime win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, the team's first postseason victory since the 2009 season. That performance had inspired hope heading into Year 2. Christian Hack- enberg was back for his third season as starting quarterback, and the Lions also returned two promising sophomore pass catchers in tight end Mike Gesicki and receiver Chris Godwin. On defense, there were rising stars at all three levels, from safety Marcus Allen to linebacker Bran- don Bell to defensive tackles Austin John- son and Anthony Zettel. PSU even had a buzzworthy former walk-on named Carl Nassib set to start at defensive end. "There are so many positive things fall- ing into place for Penn State right now," Franklin said at media day. "We've got momentum, and we have to capitalize on that momentum. You think about last year, and there were so many unknowns sitting in this press conference talking to you guys. We weren't able to go to a bowl game last year when the season started. We got that opportunity back. We weren't able to have a full 85 scholarships. ... We have the opportunity now to get as close to 85 as we can. "We go and play in a bowl game, and we play well. We retain our entire staff. We go out and battle in recruit- ing and do some good things there. We have a great offsea- son in terms of academics, community service and de- velopment. So, yeah, there are just a lot of positive things." 25 YEARS AGO, 2000 Penn State was widely seen as a team in decline in 2000. That was largely because its two best players — defen- sive end Courtney Brown and linebacker LaVar Arrington — had been taken with the first two picks in the NFL Draft the previous April, and seven other defensive starters were gone as well. There was also plenty of uncertainty on offense, even with seven starters back. Senior Rashard Casey was projected to replace the graduated Kevin Thompson at quarterback, but that succession plan came into question in May when Casey and a friend were charged in his native New Jersey in connection with the assault of an off-duty police officer. Even though Joe Paterno vowed to let Casey play while awaiting the resolution of his case, the situation cast a shadow over the team's preparations when preseason practice began. It all came to a head in the Kickoff Clas- sic on Aug. 27 when 16th-ranked USC thumped the No. 22 Nittany Lions, 29-5. The Trojans outrushed Penn State 164-6 and allowed Casey to complete only 7 of 24 passing attempts for 106 yards. An er- rant pass by Casey in the second quarter was intercepted and returned 43 yards for a touchdown by USC safety Troy Pola- malu. "This was a tough outing for him for a lot of reasons," Paterno said. "He had a tough preseason." The Lions' on-field struggles contin- ued in the months that followed, with the team finishing 5-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play. It was only the second losing season in Paterno's 35 years as head coach. As for Casey, the charges were dropped in November, and in 2003 he settled a lawsuit against the Hoboken Police De- partment for an undisclosed amount. — Matt Herb This Month In Penn State Athletics History TixManJim@gmail.com www.TixManJim.com at A consensus All-American as a sophomore in 2019, line- backer Micah Parsons announced in August 2020 that he was planning to skip his junior and senior seasons to enter the NFL Draft. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL