The Weekend Ringer is a collection of Penn State stories from the previous week, hand-picked by Victory Bell Rings for your pleasure. This week’s Ringer is dedicated to the late Joe Paterno.
Nov 6, 2010; Joe Paterno after his 400th win in the game against the Northwestern Wildcats. Photo by Rob Christy-US PRESSWIRE
Paterno’s True Legacy- An excellent piece written by ESPN’s Rick Reilly on who Joe was as a person.
Skyler is the latest Penn State defection. Photo by: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
3 star QB Skyler Mornhinweg visited Florida last weekend and was scheduled to check out Virginia Tech this weekend. That visit will not happen. It was rumored earlier today that Sky had jumped ship then became official late this afternoon. According to SBNation, Florida had QB Paxton Lynch on hold, waiting on a decision from Mornhinweg. If Skyler said no to Florida, Lynch was visiting this weekend. If Skyler was on board, a scholarship offer would not be extended to Lynch. Mornhinweg waited until the last minute to essentially cancel Lynch’s visit. Continue reading this post »
The Penn State Family has turned Joe Paterno's statue into a shrine. Photo by Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE
Over the last few days, I have answered emails, messages and tweets about how disgraceful it is to support Joe Paterno. These people generally reference some non-fact about how Joe “knew about boys being raped and did nothing” or “hid this secret for his friend.”
I said this on Twitter but wanted to repeat it: If you knew nothing about Joe Paterno on November 1st, PLEASE do not pretend to be a historian on Joe Paterno now.
If you don’t know the story about Joe flying to Philadelphia every other week to visit paralyzed Adam Taliaferro in the hospital then you don’t know Joe.
If you’ve never read about Joe making the entire team clean the stadium for a season following a brawl involving several players, what exactly have you read? Continue reading this post »
Penn State is heavily pursuing Georgia Safety, Jordan Moore.
6’3″ 205 lbs
4.37 40 yard dash
Champion 55 Meter hurdler, once committed to run track at LSU.
OFFERS:
Arkansas
TCU
NC State
Michigan State
Auburn
Quite frankly, I’m surprised this kid is only rated as a 3 star recruit. Could be due to missing his junior season.
Blazing speed and a desire to hit. He could probably be moved to OLB like Gerald Hodges was if we had enough depth in the secondary.
I’m not a huge fan of the term “athlete” this late in the recruiting game, as it’s pretty clear what position kids are going to play by now. Wayne Morgan has made me say it, though.
Morgan played QB and Safety in high school and is rated as both a 3 and 4 star Safety AND a 3 and 4 star CB by different recruiting sites. He recently played CB in the Semper Fidelis All American Bowl and with his speed, that is probably where he will end up.
Morgan recently told the NY Daily News that he has been contacted by Penn State. Once thought to be choosing between Syracuse and UConn, he made it pretty clear that Penn State is in the picture:
“They were one of my favorite schools, growing up. I’m thinking about changing my mind. I’m talking to the coach from Penn State. I don’t really know what to think, to tell you the truth.”
Six recruits visited Penn State this past weekend. Four of them committed on Sunday, one committed earlier today and now, Ryan Snyder of BWI has reported that New Jersey’s Wendy Laurent has made it a perfect 6 for 6.
The 3 star interior offensive lineman had offers from UConn, Umass, Navy and Buffalo but after leaving Penn State, his mind was made up.
Welcome aboard, Wendy.
Bill O'Brien has one piece left to complete his puzzle.
It seemed all but certain that George Godsey, Offensive Assistant with the Patriots, would be joining the Penn State staff as a QB Coach. It was rumored and reported to the point that I thought it had happened. Last night though, O’Brien gave an interview and went out of his way to say that Godsey had NOT been hired. He added that the final spot would be filled after the Super Bowl and “could go one of two ways” He also backed off the idea that he would definitely be calling the plays.
This probably means that he will either hire a QB coach, and put the offensive coordinator duties on his own shoulders, or he will hire an OC, who would most likely call the plays.
So who are the candidates for this mysterious offensive assistant position?
Mark Whipple
Whipple has 30 years of coaching experience, including 15 years as a head coach. He is currently the QB coach of the Cleveland Browns and was the QB coach and Off. Coordinator at the University of Miami before that.
Whipple was rumored to be the leading candidate a few weeks ago, then reports came out of Cleveland that he was Penn State-bound. Those reports fizzled and Whipple remains with the Browns.
Whipple would likely command an OC position. Continue reading this post »