Sunday, April 22, 2012

Penn State football leaving the past behind quickly

The massive fallout from the incomprehensibly awful Sandusky scandal will resonate throughout 2012 at Penn State. Just don't expect it to impact the football program very much anymore, despite what commentators are saying

"The dark cloud hovering over Penn State football," the announcer said.

"The team will continue to have to deal with huge distractions next season," the other announcer said.

This was Saturday, in the aftermath of the PSU spring game. Lots of major college football programs had spring games Saturday, so ESPN gathered whichever college football announcers weren't on a Caribbean vacation or watching Barcelona-Real Madrid to provide a few token comments on the culmination of spring football.

When the topic shifted to Penn State, they instantly cited a hovering "dark cloud" and "huge distractions."

Which begs this response: What rock have these guys been hiding under the past few months?

Penn State football under dynamic new Head Coach Bill O'Brien is sprinting away from the scandal like Usain Bolt and into a brand new era, clouds and distractions shrinking in the rearview mirror.

Penn State, on the other hand, will have to deal with the relentless repercussions throughout this year - the Sandusky trial, the controversy over the Board of Trustees' code of silence, the release of completed investigations, etc. And it will be a very big deal as it unfolds.

But Penn State football? It's moving on, thank you very much, as it has demonstrated the past several months.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Fearless NFL Draft projections for Penn State

The Nittany Lions figure to have a big impact in the NFL Draft ... maybe

A gaudy 10 Penn State players, or more, possibly could be drafted next week.

Or as few as two. That's how many Nittany Lions are on the draft bubble - about a dozen, which might be the most in the nation.

As many as 14 to 16 Penn Staters could receive NFL training camp invites. Perhaps 12 or 13 conceivably could get drafted, Yet it would be surprising if more than seven actually did get picked, and most likely it will be about five or so.

But who will those "five or so" draftees be?