Some may have been surprised when Jordan Norwood announced his decision to play football at Penn State. Prior to the 2005 season, Norwood was a hometown hero best known for starring as the point guard on State College Area High School’s basketball team and leading the Little Lions to their. . . more
History’s rarest athletes have been defined by both the physical and mental gifts to meet and then exceed the hype that precedes them. Hailed as the nation’s top recruit and a difference maker when he bypassed more than 50 Division I offers to “go somewhere (I) can have an impact,” Derrick. . . more
Mickey Shuler has the skills and desire to make a name for himself as a Penn State tight end. He has good size, hands and work ethic, having worked hard in the weight room to add more than 10 pounds to his frame since arriving on campus. With top tight end candidate Patrick Hall and reserve Kevin. . . more
Deon Butler’s mother, Valerie, had a favorite saying for he and his brother, Lee, growing up: “Reach for the moon, and even if you miss, you’ll be a star.” Butler, a former walk-on defensive back, made those words prophetic in 2005 as he exploded onto the college football landscape as one. . . more
As a junior at Penn Hills HS, Anthony Morelli completed 78 passes over 148 attempts (53% completion percentage) for 1,880 yards and 21 touchdowns, while throwing only 9 interceptions. He averaged greater than 24 yards per completion. As a senior, Morelli was 96/184 for 1,649 yards, 15 TD passes and. . . more
Like an understudy in a Shakespeare play, Austin Scott learned his lines and knew them well. The curtain went up on the highly-anticipated 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl but, the play’s lead at running back, Tony Hunt, went down in the first series with an ankle injury. Like any good understudy, Scott. . . more
Jordan Lyons is hopeful that the 2006 season will treat him a little more kindly than his first two as a Nittany Lion. A standout prep quarterback, the talented athlete earned the opportunity to play in the 2004 season-opener against Akron as a true freshman and made one catch. But, two weeks later. . . more
Joe Paterno has coached and gotten to know hundreds of young men who have played football for Penn State during his 56 years as a member of the staff. He already has coached numerous sons of Nittany Lions who played for him during his 40 years as head coach. However, the 2005 season brought about. . . more
Dan Lawlor continues to make steady progress in his bid to earn more opportunities on offense and special teams. He provided depth last year at fullback and will resume his competition with returning starter BranDon Snow and Matt Hahn for playing time this fall. Lawlor has good size and skills and. . . more
In order to be a successful team in every sense of the word, most squads need to have a few hard-nosed, blue-collar, team-first, do-whatever-it-takes types that are willing to do whatever is needed to make contributions to the team’s success. Versatile running back Matt Hahn is one of those. . . more
The 2005 season was a productive year of learning for quarterback Paul Cianciolo. He had the opportunity to work with and observe Michael Robinson, the Big Ten Silver Football recipient as the conference MVP. The redshirt sophomore has a promising future and will look to challenge Anthony Morelli. . . more
When opportunity came knocking in the middle of the 2005 season, Rodney Kinlaw knew how to respond. Kinlaw had seen limited time as a reserve tailback, but when Derrick Williams suffered a season-ending injury at Michigan, the coaching staff tapped Kinlaw for kickoff return duty and he responded.. . . more
Kevin Cousins is the fourth former standout from Huguenot HS in Richmond, Va., to suit up for the Nittany Lions in the past decade. He joins wideout Bruce Branch, fullback Marcus McFee and linebacker Eric Sturdifen as Huguenot alumni who have matriculated to Penn State in recent years. Cousins is. . . more
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