chance to prepare himself for his role as
the feature back.
His solid performance vs. BC may not
have been a coming-out party, but his
productivity over Penn State's :nal four
games – a 98.5-yard average and three
touchdowns – oer he arrived in University
Park in the summer of 2012, the NCAA
handed down its unprecedented sanctions
against Penn State's program. Players were
given permission to transfer without
penalty, and Lynch had options. In addition
to Penn State and Boston College, he had
been recruited in high school by Iowa. In
fact, the Hawkeyes had been among his
:nal choices. So, once he was granted the
option to leave, Iowa shot to the top of
his list. He went so far as to begin :lling
out the transfer paperwork.
But in the end, he chose to stay. And as
he relished the Nittany Lions' :rst bowl
victory in four years, arms still tired from
waving that huge blue ;ag, Lynch talked
about how glad he was that he didn't
follow through.
"I can't really describe it," he said. "You
just feel like this was the place for you. I
just truly believed that when I made the
decision to stay here, instead of going to
Iowa, I made the right decision. The grass
isn't always greener on the other side. It
depends on where you water it. I de:nitely
water my grass at Penn State."
And when he looks ahead to next season,
the grass looks even greener.
"Everything happens for a reason," Lynch
said. "There's a reason why we stayed at
Penn State. There's a reason why we be-
lieved in it. It's coming out to show true.
This [was] the sanction era, and it's de:-
nitely over. So, we just have to continue
to move forward and bring guys in, and
guys have to step up."
■
enn State :elded the second-
youngest team in the Football
Bowl Subdivision this past fall,
and there were a few moments when
its lack of experience and depth were
clearly evident. OK, more than a few.
Penn State :nished its season ranked
last in the Big Ten and 110th in the
country in scoring o tackle
Donovan Smith.
What follows is a brief look at how
the Nittany Lions' position groups are
shaping up with winter workouts un-
der way and spring practice on the
horizon. Note that the lists of return-
ing players include only scholarship
players and key walk-ons. Also, the
lists of arriving players include those
who redshirted as true freshmen this
past season.
QUARTERBACK
RETURNING Christian Hackenberg,
Trace McSorley
ARRIVING Tommy Stevens
DEPARTING D.J. Crook, Michael
O'Connor
ANALYSIS It's no secret who the
starter will be. Given a month to recu-
With most players back,
Lions poised to build
|
P
ANALYSIS
POSITION BY POSITION
