Blue White Illustrated

T H E M O N T H I N . . . Reluctant to run much the last couple of years, even when receivers were covered, (Hackenberg) tucked the ball away and picked up a few yards several times Satur- day. "We're always encouraging our quarterbacks to go through their progres- sions," Franklin said, adding if the top three options aren't available, "go get us 4 yards and keep us on track. He's shown that." He's also kept his word and stuck with Penn State through two years of tough transition, and because of that, he de- serves to play well enough to make the 2015 season here his last. Nittany Lion fans should enjoy Christian Hackenberg while they can. NEIL RUDEL ALTOONA MIRROR [Joey] Julius punches his leg with a short chopping motion that's more like an at- tack on a victimized ball than some sort of be-the-ball symbiotic relationship you'd imagine from most ethereal-looking kickers. He even approaches the foot- ball like an old pro wrestler from the '60s, his arms churning slowly back and forth before he steps, like Doctor Big Bill Miller about to grapple with Cry Baby Cannon. DAVID JONES PENNLIVE.COM In the Football Bowl Subdivision last year, yards per attempt had a positive correlation with points per game and overall wins. For every additional one- yard per attempt, teams on average scored an extra 5.6 points or almost one more touchdown per game. Every additional one-yard per attempt was also associated with 1.9 more wins on average. Out of 128 FBS teams, Penn State ranked 110th in yards per attempt last season. For Penn State's offense to take the next step, it would need to find ways to deliver the football downfield to its receivers. This past weekend's Blue-White game did not show much progress in the Nittany Lions' downfield passing attack. Although a small sample size, only one of 25 completions in the game traveled more than 20 yards. ANTHONY PICARDI THE DAILY COLLEGIAN That was very unfortunate what happened up there. I still think he got a bad deal, got a terrible deal. ... He did what the head coach is supposed to do. He told the ath- letic director, and [the AD] and the president let it die down I guess, and of course it flared up later. He was a good guy, a good friend. I liked him. STEVE SPURRIER talking about Joe Paterno in an interview with TheState.com I think communication could have been handled a lot better. Certainly I could have done that a lot better. But the reality is it was a very, very difficult circum- stance for the university. I think the executive committee wound up in the right place. MARK EMMERT discussing the NCAA's sanctions against PSU Emmert claiming that the problem was "communication" is delusional. @NCAA didn't rescind sanctions over bad messaging – it was over bad acts. SCOTT PATERNO @ScottPaterno T W E E T S O P I N I O N S Q U O T E S 8 P.M. KICKOFF FOR PSU-OSU For the fourth consecutive season, Penn State and Ohio State will meet under the lights on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. The teams will meet at Ohio Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17. The Penn State-Ohio State clash annually is one of the nation's most highly anticipated contests. The teams have met every year since Penn State began Big Ten competition in 1993. As previously an- nounced, the Nittany Lions will host Rutgers in prime time on the Big Ten Network on Saturday, Sept. 19. The kick time is to be determined. ZETTEL UP FOR LOTT AWARD Sen- ior defensive tackle Anthony Zettel has been named to the preseason watch list for the 12th annual Lott IMPACT Tro- phy, as announced by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation. The Lott IMPACT Trophy honors the top defensive player in college football who makes the biggest impact for his team, both on and off the field. Zettel was the only FBS player to rank among the national leaders in sacks and interceptions per game in 2014. The athletic defensive lineman nabbed three interceptions, the most by a PSU defensive lineman since at least 1959, to tie for the team lead. Off the field, Zettel is among a group that helped the team complete a program-record of more than 1,900 to- tal hours of community service during the summer and fall of 2014. ASSISTANT COACHES SET FOR CARAVAN In addition to the head coaches of several Penn State varsity teams, eight assistant football coaches are scheduled to attend upcoming Penn State Coaches Caravan events. The ap- pearances are as follows: May 5, Lan- caster: John Donovan, Brent Pry; May 6, Baltimore: Charles Huff, Sean Spencer; May 7, Pittsburgh: Bob Shoop, Terry Smith; May 19, Philadelphia: Josh Gat- tis, Sean Spencer; May 19, Bucks Coun- ty: Josh Gattis, Sean Spencer; May 20, Morris County (N.J.): Ricky Rahne; May 21, Wilkes-Barre: Ricky Rahne. N O T E W O R T H Y

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