Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
MARCH 2026/VOL. 41, NO. 7 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 Steve Manuel, Mark Selders, Frank Hyatt COVER PHOTO Iowa State Athletics DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller, Shelby Cragg F F F PUBLISHER Mark Panus BUSINESS ANALYST Sarah Boone CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Beverly Taylor ADVERTISING SALES Maria Taustine (502) 552-4390 CUSTOMER SERVICE Shelby Cragg, Macduff Henry, 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 922 Broad St., Suite D, Durham, NC 27705. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $75.00. 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 LOW-KEY FEBRUARY SIGNING DAY … Matt Campbell and his staff did a great job of rescuing the 2026 class from being an ignominious disaster, but it will leave a talent hole in the roster two years down the road. We'll see whether the portal will make that irrel- evant. — Old As Dirt Not gonna lie, it almost feels like "who?" with these sign- ees (Elijah Reeder exception). We're so used to knowing these kids for a longer period of time. Ah well, the new way of things. — lyndj This used to be one of the top CFB days of the year, full of drama and chaos. I know I'm not the only one who used to take off/play hooky on this day and follow the coverage. Flips and delayed commitments, fax machines and live announcements. Today used to be the culmina- tion of two or three years' worth of recruiting service refreshing, film scouting and hope. Now ... it's just an afterthought. — Pierogi Man, I remember back in high school, I'd wake up early (I live on the West Coast) to tune into ESPN's all-day coverage of NSD. Used to absolutely love it. — Seanie21 From the end of the season to today, there was so much build-up ... hype ... and sometimes disappointment. After NSD, there was a much-needed respite, but then spring ball was right around the corner. It's gone now. Sucks. — PSULion55 Very happy to leave this 2026 cycle in the rear view. Even before the coaching change, it was not a fun one. — psuhv610 ON THE NITTANY LIONS' 2026 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE … Looks to me about as easy as it can get. No Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Iowa or Illinois. Plus, we get most of the worst teams in the conference. Being a Frankenstein-constructed team trying to merge two potentially separate factions, we'll need all the help we can get. — BUFFLO LION That is as favorable a schedule as I can ever remember. And Wisconsin at home [on Sept. 26] seems like a really cool way to welcome Campbell to the Big Ten. — Paul Posluvzme It's the BIG Ten. There is no such thing as a cakewalk schedule. This is about as good as you could hope for, though. — carterlion84 I'm a tad annoyed about USC/Michigan back-to-back [Oct. 10 and 17], but let's just beat them both and be legends. Homecoming will probably be Wisconsin, so that's a nice matchup and a good chance of beautiful weather. An Oct. 10 White Out will be electric. … Can't ask for a better lead-in to Washington [on Nov. 7] than a bye week followed by Purdue. … Minnesota [on Nov. 14] is taking its annual place as the biggest trap game on the schedule. — drumsareout Perhaps the easiest schedule possible. Campbell should be thrilled. It's HILARIOUS that some are complaining about this Mickey Mouse schedule. — jmp You always want Rutgers [Nov. 21] and Maryland [Nov. 28] at the end. It's easy for travel, and both teams are usually disastrous and banged-up by then and easy fodder, especially the Terps. … Our schedule is very favorable. — psu08 I'm optimistic after seeing this schedule, but after this past season I'm not making any predic- tions. I'm gonna take it one game at a time. — powerof409pin Seven games without a bye, and the stretch of Wisconsin through Michigan will [decide] the season. I don't disagree that the schedule is not as difficult without Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State, but I also don't think it's a cakewalk. We'll see. I'd like to see them go through with no more than two losses. — Schoolie Does 10-2 get in the playoff against that schedule? I somewhat doubt it. — jdpsu07 4 M A R C H 2 0 2 6 Listed by Rivals as the nation's No. 205 over- all player and No. 24 edge rusher, New Jersey prospect Elijah Reeder is the highest-rated player in Penn State's 15-member 2026 recruiting class. PHOTO COURTESY ELIJAH REEDER