As Penn State's first game of the college football season is just one week away, there have been mixed opinions about what the program can realistically get done in 2025. The team from head coach James Franklin to his players have confidence that they'll get over the hump, while the public is waiting for them to prove that.
Former Nittany Lion Micah Parsons continues to struggle with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, and it seems that the breaking point has been hit.
Penn State's wrestling program had a great show-out in the U20 World Championships, leading the way for Team USA to win the entire four-day event. In the meantime while waiting for Week 1 to arrive, catch up on all the latest football recruitment updates and get ready for the Nittany Lions' women's volleyball season.
Here's everything you missed:
Is Micah Parsons officially done with Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys?
The inevitability of the Cowboys trading Parsons is becoming a reality and very quickly.
Jones spoke to media on Thursday and said that Parsons' agent, David Mulugheta, has ulterior motives when it comes to negotiation contracts. He said that about all agents and that the contract he and Parsons discussed in March would guarantee him the most money of any defensive NFL player. However, if this were the case, answering Mulugheta's calls shouldn't be an issue.
It was clear that the way Jones spoke about Mulugheta not only was distasteful to Parsons, but was untrue. On social media just hours after Jones' interview, Mulugheta made a statement saying that he spoke to Jones or any other owner/general manager disrespectfully. Parsons doubled down on that and removed his affiliation to Dallas from his social media bios. Instead of reading "Penn state 2021" or "Penn State Graduate" along with the Dallas Cowboys, his bios only read his association to the Nittany Lions with "TBD" in substitution.
As of now, the Green Bay Packers seem to have the best chance at striking a deal with Dallas for the elite defensive end and are most likely to spend that kind of money to keep him as well.
James Franklin and Drew Allar express confidence for 2025 season
Franklin sat down with Josh Pate on Tuesday for his live show and talked about the expectations around Penn State football, but that all the pressure is just motivation for him and his team. He expressed confidence in his running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, defensive backfield, and quarterback. Franklin also praised how well coaching collaboration has been between offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, special teams coordinator Justin Lustig, and himself.
Drew Allar also spoke with Pate Tuesday evening. He said he was proud of his offseason strides and showing the country exactly what he's capable of under center this season. With the new wide receiver room, the third-year starting quarterback talked about his confidence in the three transfers and how he's developed good chemistry with them throughout the summer.
Confidence and belief is one thing, and the public is waiting for the Nittany Lions to prove that this offseason will turn the program into something special, something that will get over the hump.
Penn State football lands first CO'27 defenseman, but can't get a grip on quarterbacks
The Nittany Lions now have four class of 2027 commits, landing their first defenseman on Aug. 18. Gabe Jenkins is a Pittsburgh, Pa. native, but decided that Penn State was the place to be over the Panthers ' program. He said he felt like the explosiveness and aggressiveness of the Nittany Lions' defense was a good fit for him. After battling with Big Ten schools, they found their first win as Jenkins cancelled visits with other conference rivals.
Notre Dame and Michigan have had the upperhand on Franklin when it comes to quarterback recruits. Teddy Jarrard chose the Fighting Irish and Peter Bourque committed to the Wolverines despite Penn State targeting those two four-stars heavily. While Franklin wasn't alone in trying to flip four-star Brady Edmunds from Ohio State as Oregon also attempted, the quarterback made it clear that he wasn't budging from the Buckeyes.
The Nittany Lions also have many game day visits scheduled with class of 2026 and 2027 prospects. As they continue pursuing a five-star headliner in Immanuel Iheanacho, they have various rising juniors coming to see them in action. Jaden Baldwin, a three-star wide receiver, is one of them. He's a lean receiver with good body control and ability to explode on the field off the catch, which is something that Penn State can work with on the perimeter, especially when in need of reloading that position in the near future.
Penn State wrestling wins big at U20 World Championships
PJ Duke and Marcus Blaze won gold at U20 Worlds in the 70 kg and 61 kg men's freestyle weight classes, respectively. William Henckel, Connor Mirasola, and Cole Mirasola also medaled during the four-day event. Henckel won silver in the 79 kg weight class, Connor Mirasola won bronze in the 93 kg weight class, and Cole Mirasola won bronze in the 125 kg weight class.
College women's volleyball is back!
Penn State women's volleyball has its first match of the 2025 season Saturday, Aug. 23. First serve against No. 12 Creighton is scheduled for 5 p.m. and can be watched on FOX Sports 1.