Penn State Football opened spring practice this week and would normally finish it off with a Blue-White game in front of an almost full Beaver Stadium, however that may not be the case in 2021
Penn State Football’s spring game plans are coming together, but as BlueWhite Illustrated is reporting, sources close to the situation are revealing, it won’t look much like past April Saturdays in Beaver Stadium.
According to sources, it will not look or feel like a traditional Penn State Football Blue-White Game. The spring game is tentatively set for Saturday, April 17th, but will not be televised and Penn State Football will allow only a very select amount of fans. Beyond players’ families, freshman on campus will be allowed entry to give them a taste of a Penn State Football game day experience. In addition to not being televised, media entry will not be granted, either.
Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic shut down all spring activities, but normally the spring game is a chance to pack Beaver Stadium with about 70,000 plus fans in April, bring prospective recruits to show them what a game day looks like and is usually televised on the Big Ten Network for those who can’t make the trip to Happy Valley.
This will come as a disappointment to some who maybe had plans to attend this year’s Blue-White Game, after earlier this week new guidelines were unveiled by Governor Tom Wolf, allowing up to 50% capacity at outdoor sporting events.
However, during Monday’s media session, head coach James Franklin talked about a potential spring game, but made sure to note that the focus right now is on next season.
"“I think for us, our entire focus is on what can we do to best position us for next year,” Franklin said. “We want to try to be able to get back as close to normal as we possibly can for next season and I think a lot of things are trending in that direction nationally as well as within our state. So that’s kind of our focus.”"
Even though all signs are trending in the right direction for potential full capacity crowds at Beaver Stadium come September, the athletic department and program do not want to put that at risk this April.
Franklin mentioned that Fridays and Saturdays during the spring would be for scrimmages like usual, which will most likely go a long way in determining a few position battles for the Nittany Lions and shaping any type of depth chart we may see at the end of spring practice.
This may not be the way some hoped the annual Blue-White Game would take place, however these are all positive steps that we may finally be on the other side of this pandemic and that a normal Penn State Football season is on the horizon.