Blue White Illustrated

THE CLASS OF 2008* NAME Brandon Beachum Jack Crawford Mike Farrell D'Anton Lynn Pete Massaro Michael Mauti DeOn'tae Pannell A.J. Price Matt Stankiewitch James Terry Brandon Ware Mark Wedderburn Mike Yancich Michael Zordich POS LB/RB DE OL DB DE LB OL WR OL DT DT TE LB LB/RB HT 5-11 6-6 6-5 6-1 6-4 6-2 6-5 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-4 6-6 6-1 6-1 WT 216 255 285 177 240 215 300 175 295 310 358 235 216 220 * List does not include walk-ons. Heights and weights are as they were reported by BWI when the class signed in 2008. part in a variety of student groups and nearly won the title of Homecoming king a few weeks ago. He has danced in THON. He has written profiles of Penn State athletes for the Centre Daily Times. He was one of the players who spoke to the crowd at Old Main in January the night of Paterno's death. McGregor said he saw his role as be- ing no different from that of a starter. That role: "Do your job as best you can every day, whether it's writing plays on a board to signal them in to Matt during the game or impersonating the other team's quarterback in prac- tice. I just want to do that as best I can. If you have a whole team of guys doing that, your team is going to be special." Heading into his final game, McGregor had attempted one pass in his career (which he completed) and had scored one touchdown on a 3-yard run against Indiana State last season. But he ful- filled his dream of playing for a big- time program. "I knew coming here that the odds would be against me as far as playing time goes, but I wanted to take that chance anyway," he said. "And I would never go back and do it again differ- ently. The experiences I've had here off the field, on the field, the things that I've learned, the things I've been exposed to that have helped me grow as a person have been phenomenal. The education I've gotten – not just in the classroom but in life – has been a big part of that. It's been great." Even though the freshman class of 2008 was one of Penn State's smallest, the Senior Day introductions that pre- ceded the Wisconsin game were ex- pected to be lengthy. That's because eight recruits from the 27-member class that followed ended up seeing action as true freshmen in 2009. Among the players who were slated to be in- troduced to the crowd were some of Penn State's best: Morris, Jordan Hill, Gerald Hodges and Sean Stanley. The players who were preparing to wrap up their college careers on Sat- urday against Wisconsin were the ones who helped Penn State survive the most challenging period in its history. They held the team together amid pre- dictions that it would splinter following the announcement in July of far-reach- ing NCAA sanctions. Penn State fans appreciated their determination, and so did the coaching staff. Said O'Brien, "I'm proud to be their coach." HOME Cardinal Mooney High St. Augustine Prep Shady Side Academy Celina High Marple Newtown High Mandeville High Wylie E. Groves High South Lakes Blue Mountain High Brandywine High Harrisburg High Cardinal O'Hara High Trinity High Cardinal Mooney High SCHOOL Youngstown, Ohio Richland, N.J. Pittsburgh, Pa. Celina, Texas Newtown Square, Pa. Mandeville, La. Birmingham, Mich. Reston, Va. Schuylkill Haven, Pa. Wilmington, Del. Harrisburg, Pa. Springfield, Pa. Washington, Pa. Youngstown, Ohio

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