March 2009 Archives

Football season is upon us again for the next month.

The first of Penn State's 14 spring football workouts will be held today -- and the last one will culminate in the annual Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium on April 25.

Certainly, it is an event worth planning for.

Consider that a record 73,000 fans showed up for tailgating -- and free parking, free autographs and free admission to watch the scrimmage last April. More than 40,000 have showed up 10 of the past 13 years.

Kickoff, by the way, is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Devon Smith was touted as arguably the fastest high schooler in the nation to sign on to play college football last month.

Is any more evidence needed now for the new Nittany Lion?

More and more, it seems as if the Nittany Lions may well have a special talent on their hands in linebacker Glenn Carson.

It's one thing to have national football recruiting gurus slobbering over you, giving you a prestigious four-star rating out of five. And it's impressive, too, to have scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, Boston College and North Carolina State.

But Carson, from Southern Regional High in New Jersey, has gone above that.

The football season doesn't begin for six more months.

The long list of college football awards won't be here until December.

But it's never too early, it now seems, to name "watch lists" for those awards that won't be announced for nine long months.

That brings us to the 40th Rotary Lombardi Award, which is presented to the nation's top linebacker or defensive lineman.

And the Lombardi's preliminary "watch list," complete with 48 names, was released on Tuesday.

Here are a few interesting notes regard some weight-gainers and weight-losers as the Nittany Lions head into spring practice in three weeks:

Start with promising defensive end Jack Crawford, the next star pass-rushing mauler. He has reportedly put on 14 pounds since Rose Bowl practices, bulking up from 248 to 262 pounds. When considering Crawford's position and outstanding work ethic, these seem like good pounds.

Go to sophomore offensive tackle Deon'Tae Pannell, who has added 18 pounds since bowl practices, going from 295 to 313. His weight now seems more in line with pushing for a starting spot on the line this fall, as he is expected to do.

Nittany Lion recruiting nuts know Glenn Carson is the only linebacker in the recently-signed, 27-member class of 2009.

And he's got lots of potential. He's a four-star talent who also had scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, Boston College, North Carolina State, Maryland and Rutgers.