Blue White Illustrated

In spite of all the troubles it's faced in recent years, Penn State has done a great job of sending its seniors out right. Two years ago, the Nittany Lions ended their season with a 24-21 upset of Wis- consin on Senior Day at Beaver Stadium. Last year, the Lions lost in overtime to Nebraska on Senior Day, but they re- grouped brilliantly with another victory over the heavily favored, 14th-ranked Badgers, this one a 31-24 romp at Camp Randall Stadium on the season's final af- ternoon. Now comes Senior Day 2014. As was the case last year, there will be more football to play even aDer the home slate concludes; with six wins, the Lions are headed to a bowl game for the first time since the 2011 season. But the fact that Penn State's current season will continue into December doesn't make this week- end's game any less meaningful to the 17 seniors who will be bursting through the Beaver Stadium tunnel for the final time. "The last two years we were big under- dogs, and we came out on top both times," linebacker Mike Hull said. The goal this weekend will be "just to keep doing what we've been doing – working hard every week, focusing on our funda- mentals. Everything will take care of it- self when we're out there on Saturday." In addition to Hull, who ranks as the Big Ten's leading tackler heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Penn State will be honoring the following players: Adrian Amos, DeShawn Baker, Brad Bars, Bill Belton, Drew Boyce, Jesse Della Valle, Miles Dieffenbach, Sam Ficken, Ryan Keiser, Jesse Merise, C.J. Olaniyan, Devin Pryor, T.J. Rhattigan, Tyrone Smith, Deron Thompson and Zach Zwinak. Keiser and Zwinak will be out of action for Penn State's regular-season finale aDer suffering season-ending injuries. Keiser, a senior safety, was only recently released from the hospital aDer undergo- ing surgical procedures to deal with complications stemming from a rib in- jury he sustained in practice. His class- mates are eager to see him take his bows. Said Dieffenbach, "That'll be absolutely terrific to have Keiser out there. The stuff he's been through, it'll be a special mo- ment having him out there with us." Even more than the past two graduating classes, this year's seniors bore the brunt of the NCAA sanctions. When the NCAA handed down its penalties in July 2012, the team's underclassmen had no reason to believe they would ever play in a bowl game again. And yet only a handful took advantage of the transfer waiver that al- lowed them to leave without penalty. Coach James Franklin wasn't at Penn State for the first two sanction-inhibited seasons, but since arriving in January, he said he's gained an understanding of the impact this year's senior class has had on the program. "What these guys have meant, how they've stuck with this university and the football program and the community while also being tremendous leaders, tremendous ambassadors both on and off the field and in the classroom – it's significant. I think everybody in our pro- gram, all the players, kind of look up to them," Franklin said. "That's typically the case in most programs, but I think it's magnified, obviously, from what they've been through. "Mike Hull is a great example of that. He's hard-working, blue‑collar, humble, appreciative of everything that he stands for and everything this program is about. I'm just really, really proud of those guys, and I want to send them out the right way. I want them to have a great experi- ence." The Lions have gone 30-18 during the past four seasons despite facing unprece- dented obstacles. This year's seniors have contributed to three winning seasons and can ensure a fourth with an upset victory over the 10th-ranked Spartans. Hull said he's looking forward to the challenge. "We want to prove something every time we're out there, and this is a really good Michigan State team," he said. "We want to leave it all out there on Saturday. I know I do, and all the other seniors do. So it's going to be a really fun time." M A T T   H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M N O V E M B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 11 Senior send-off A tight-knit graduating class gets ready to say its goodbyes Steve Manuel HIT PARADE Hull has en- joyed a stellar senior season, ranking first in the Big Ten with 121 tackles.

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