Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1537537
AUGUST 2025/VOL. 40, NO. 11 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 COORDINATOR 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 NATIONAL TITLE HOPES HEADING INTO THE 2025 SEASON … I think the expectations are a little out of whack, but I get it. People are thirsty. The fans and the media both. In assessing our actual roster, I see issues that could conceivably result in two losses in the regular season. (A fluke play or a bad bounce could even lead to a third loss; blasphemy, I know, but this is just my humble opinion.) I think some teams are going to be able to run the ball on us. We have had better, deeper units at both DL and LB. That opens us up to play-action, and then we could be in for some shootouts. ... Could we win it all? Sure. But when I look at this roster, I just don't see a team that screams NC or bust. — Trey- Bauer35 To even be in the conversation, #15 [Drew Allar] has to be better. That will be the telltale sign for me. He simply can't be the indecisive guy on the first series against SMU when he couldn't pull the trigger to a wide open Kaytron Allen. For all of the handwringing over the receiving corps last year, he was part of their struggles at times. … He cer- tainly has the tools. Time to put it all together. — gfour18 In my opinion, Nick Singleton has a higher ceiling that he hasn't even reached yet. He showed so much potential in his freshman year as a game wrecker. He was really good last year but still wasn't hitting the big runs often enough. Imagine if he could hit a big run or two every game and the difference that would make. Nick has crazy breakaway speed if he can just get in the open field. — EDHOLLAPSU Nick can be better at the margins, but it boils down to Drew being better IMHO. Avoiding the inter- ceptions on second and first down that ended the Oregon and ND games and making the accurate throw to Nick early against ND for six. Not bashing him at all, but it's those crucial moments where you need your experienced senior QB to do the right thing. — 432PSU I am going to give my hot take for the 2025 season. Here it is. Liam Clifford is better than anyone gives him credit for. He was open more than people think last year, and Drew did not throw him the ball. There, I said it. I have no idea whether Liam will have better production in 2025 than he did last season, but I think he's better than anyone gives him credit for. — Karl_Havok ON THE IMPACT OF THE HOUSE VS. NCAA SETTLEMENT … Pat Kraft has done yeoman's work getting our NIL to where it is, but now with revenue sharing, it takes some pressure off Happy Valley United. Our NIL collectives aren't going away. This is just a huge help to them. Being a rural university, we don't have businesses on every corner ready to donate $ like some of our rivals in metro areas, so this helps in that regard, too. — Kevin_14 I saw it reported that 70% of the current NIL deals wouldn't be accepted by the new college sports commission since they are thinly veiled pay for play. I hope this new commission is allowed to have some teeth and actually levels the playing field, but I'm not sure what's going to stop a private busi- ness from paying $1.8 mil for a single TV commercial, billboard, social media shout-outs, or wearing their T-shirts pregame. — LPShred It evens the playing field to some degree. But the top NIL schools will still very likely have the most money to work with. PSU needs to keep the gas on in that area. — PaulPosluvzme Just how refreshing is it to have a guy like Pat Kraft at the helm of our university's athletic depart- ment? He may not be perfect (e.g., the situation with men's and women's hoops). But I always feel like whatever the situation is, he'll address it and provide us with the best possible long-term outcome. — Michnit 4 A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 Fans are looking forward to seeing whether senior running back Nicholas Singleton can take another step forward after rushing for 1,099 yards last season. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS