A Big Week for Penn State Football
With football season approaching faster each day, fans have good reason to be extra excited for the 3:30 p.m. home kickoff against Kent State on Saturday, September 3rd.
To add to the excitement, Penn State Football was home to a lot of great news this past week pertaining to players old and new.
To get things started, former walk-on kicker Sam Ficken was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Monday after an agonizing wait post-tryout this past June. Ficken has had a less-than-fairytale story to tell of being recruiting in the NFL; he had brief trials with the Chiefs, the Cardinals, and was passed up by the Steelers. However, Ficken, as fans know, is not one to give up on a dream, and his chance on the big stage has finally arrived. Way to go, Ficken!
Penn State added to its list of committed recruits this week as well, adding two stellar names to the list of future Nittany Lions.
The first up-and-comer to commit to Dear Old State is three-star safety Brelin Faison-Walden, who hails from Greensboro, NC. Faison-Walden had over 20 offers from some of the top football schools in the nation, including Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, and Virginia Tech.
Just days later, four-star safety Jonathan Sutherland announced his hard commitment to Penn State, joining Faison-Walden as the sole two safety commits for this recruiting cycle. Sutherland is currently ranked in the top 25 best safeties in the country and in the top ten for the state of Virginia. Sutherland turned down offers from Pitt, Rutgers, and Michigan State, realizing that it truly is always the best choice to choose the Nittany Lion life.
To wrap up this extremely successful week for Penn State Football, the program held its annual Media Day, where head Coach James Franklin gave a press conference.
“There’s an excitement for the season. All the hard work and preparation that has put in, there’s an anticipation and there’s a confidence right now,” said Coach Franklin. “I feel great about our team and the commitment and the work ethic and the leadership we’ve had.”
With a statement like that, how could we not be excited for the season ahead!? See you in just a few short weeks, Nittany Nation!
To add to the excitement, Penn State Football was home to a lot of great news this past week pertaining to players old and new.
To get things started, former walk-on kicker Sam Ficken was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Monday after an agonizing wait post-tryout this past June. Ficken has had a less-than-fairytale story to tell of being recruiting in the NFL; he had brief trials with the Chiefs, the Cardinals, and was passed up by the Steelers. However, Ficken, as fans know, is not one to give up on a dream, and his chance on the big stage has finally arrived. Way to go, Ficken!
Penn State added to its list of committed recruits this week as well, adding two stellar names to the list of future Nittany Lions.
The first up-and-comer to commit to Dear Old State is three-star safety Brelin Faison-Walden, who hails from Greensboro, NC. Faison-Walden had over 20 offers from some of the top football schools in the nation, including Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, and Virginia Tech.
Just days later, four-star safety Jonathan Sutherland announced his hard commitment to Penn State, joining Faison-Walden as the sole two safety commits for this recruiting cycle. Sutherland is currently ranked in the top 25 best safeties in the country and in the top ten for the state of Virginia. Sutherland turned down offers from Pitt, Rutgers, and Michigan State, realizing that it truly is always the best choice to choose the Nittany Lion life.
To wrap up this extremely successful week for Penn State Football, the program held its annual Media Day, where head Coach James Franklin gave a press conference.
“There’s an excitement for the season. All the hard work and preparation that
With a statement like that, how could we not be excited for the season ahead!? See you in just a few short weeks, Nittany Nation!
