Nittany news and notes: Nike’s war on spatting, Penn State’s top 10 QB room, more

There were many fallouts from Penn State football's former team doctor Scott Lynch’s lawsuit against the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, a lawsuit that awarded Lynch $5.25 million. However, an unexpected one was Nike’s continued battle against spatting in college football. 

Spatting, the practice of taping a player’s feet and ankles around their cleats, has long been an issue for the apparel companies that partner with collegiate athletic programs. There were more than a few revelations throughout the lawsuit, including James Franklin’s interference with medical decisions in the program, but Nike’s stipulation in Penn State’s contract was a surprise. 

Franklin, concerned about keeping Nike happy, instructed Penn State’s medical staff not to spat athletes in accordance with the contract. Nike’s contract prohibited spatting so as not to cover up Nike logos on cleats, and throughout the trial, Dr. Peter Seidenberg revealed that a Nike representative spoke to a group of athletic trainers and listed the players who were spatted in the prior week’s game. 

With player safety always a hot topic in collegiate athletics, catering to an apparel company over your player’s well-being won’t be well-received. 

Penn State’s top 10 QB room

Drew Allar, the top quarterback in the 2022 high school recruiting class, had a divisive first season as the starter at Penn State, leading the Nittany Lions to 10 wins with 25 touchdowns to just two interceptions. However, Allar was far from dynamic, limited by his lack of elite athleticism and reluctant to push the ball downfield aggressively. With each passing week, the Beau-hive became more vocal in their support of the backup Beau Pribula an apparent Trace McSorley clone who dons the former QB’s No. 9. 

Allar enters the year locked into the top spot on the depth chart, but even with some disagreement throughout the fanbase after a generally underwhelming first season, the national media views Allar as one of the top returners in the country. 

Pro Football Focus put together a list of the top 10 quarterback rooms in the country and the Nittany Lions slotted in at No. 9 with PFF’s Max Chadwick saying Allar, “might be the most disrespected quarterback in the country.” 

More Penn State news

If you’re looking to plan a trip to Thanksgiving 2024, then the Penn State men’s basketball team just decided your ideal destination. Mike Rhoades’s Nittany Lions will compete in the Sunshine Slam on November 25-26 at Ocean Center at Daytona Beach. 

Penn State will match up with Clemson, San Francisco, and Fordham in the “Beach bracket” with Radford, Chicago State, Drexel, and Purdue Fort Wayne in the “Ocean bracket.” The two-day tournament will crown a champion in each bracket with semifinals taking place on November 25 and both championship games taking place the next day.