When I first heard that James Franklin had plans for a sort of photo booth on the Coaches Caravan, I imagined an actual, arcade-style photo booth. Boy, was I wrong. Continue reading
Author Archives: Ryan Jones
Bright Lights & Buckeyes
Ohio State? Under the lights at Beaver Stadium? We’ll just leave this right here…
See you this fall.
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Under the Lights in the Big House
News today that the Nittany Lions will face the Wolverines in the first-ever Big Ten night game at Michigan Stadium reminded us of another game at the Big House, 20 years ago this fall. Continue reading
Sean Spencer Delivers
“Absolutely,” Sean Spencer says. “I remember it distinctly.”
He’s talking about The Hit, a game-defining play in what might be the most memorable game of his playing career. When we posted the video on Thursday, we promised to do some more digging on the specifics of that moment. We know that a couple of Spencer’s former college teammates found and uploaded the game footage. And we’re happy to report that Coach Chaos himself found time to tell us the story. Continue reading
VIDEO: The Birth of “Chaos”
Sean Spencer’s intensity is no secret. Turns out, the man they call “Coach Chaos” has been that way for years. Continue reading
Lion Eyes Are Smiling
It’s St. Patrick’s Day. Penn State opens spring practice this afternoon. And the Nittany Lions’ season opener in Dublin is just 165 days away. Surely, that’s sufficient reason to watch this… Continue reading
Truly Uplifting
Scott Shirley never imagined how far this thing might go. Continue reading
A Fond Farewell
We lost a great Penn Stater last weekend.
I knew Dolores Astheimer Young ’63 as Lorie, mom of Dave Young ’97, my friend and tailgating partner. She was a devoted wife, loving mother, and doting grandmother, and she was the proud matriarch of a terrific Penn State family. Continue reading
A Family Affair
We don’t usually cover recruiting here at the Blog, but this seems like an appropriate time to make an exception. We got an email Tuesday from Matt Hoffert ’01, a health and phys ed teacher and assistant football coach at Fairfax (Va.) High School—that’s Matt standing, above on the left. The photo was taken last week on National Signing Day; the smiling young man in the ball cap and tie is Nick Scott, a versatile athlete and member of James Franklin’s first Penn State recruiting class. He’s flanked by his parents, Irvin and Kisha. Continue reading
Signing On For A New Approach
Twenty-three years ago, almost to the day, a member of the Penn State football staff was asked about the potential of the Nittany Lions’ just-signed recruiting class, which many analysts were calling the best in the nation. His answer? Continue reading








