Success With Hyperlinking Has a Degree Of Some Sort

Along with two of our staff members (congrats again, Bill and Nick!), almost 100 Penn State student-athletes graduated this past weekend:

A total of 96 student-athletes, as well as 15 members of the cheerleading squad and six members of the three-time defending national champion Lionettes dance team, are on the approved to graduate list. The football and women's track and field teams lead with 10 student-athletes receiving their diplomas this weekend.

Among those who graduated were Maggie Lucas, Tim Frazier, Ed Ruth, and six Penn State football players who'll be returning this fall--Brad Bars, Jesse Della Valle, Miles Dieffenbach, Mike Hull, C.J. Olaniyan, and Zach Zwinak. Congrats to all the student athletes, and all Penn State students who walked across the stage last weekend!

Welcome to the real world. Yeah, it basically sucks.

After just two preseason games with the team that drafted her, the Phoenix Mercury traded new graduate Lucas to the Indiana Fever for a second round draft pick in 2015. Maggie was drafted 21st overall, and had averaged 8 points in two games in the WNBA Preseason Tournament (two losses for the Mercury).

In case you missed it, James Franklin got another recruit over the weekend. Lions 247 landed an interview with Ayron Monroe, whose older brother plays for Maryland (and who was recruited to the Terrapins by none other than Franklin, under then-HC Ralph Friedgen):

"I'm really excited. It was a close decision between Maryland and Penn State," he said. "Maryland didn't do anything wrong. It's a good school and they've got a good thing going on right now, but I just felt that Penn State was a better fit. Also, I just wanted to go on a different path that my brother is on."

In other recruiting news, Franklin isn't able to speak much about specific recruits due to NCAA rules and regs, but last week while speaking with media during the Coaches Caravan, he expressed that he wasn't concerned with recruits reneging on their commitments to Penn State. We should have more up about the DC (and State College) stops of the Caravan later on this week, including more in-depth quotes about the above, which was said in response to a question yours truly brought up after questions raised in Bud Elliot's recent piece on Franklin's success on the recruiting trail.

In scores of other games... David Taylor and new graduate Ruth represented Penn State (and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club) very well in NYC last week...Mike Poorman thinks that #Bortles could be spell success for Christian Hackenberg in the draft in a few years...ESPN's Big Ten Blog named Anthony Zettel their spring breakout player...Followers of Penn State recruiting should get used to early success on the recruiting trail...David Jones just laughs at the fact that Jim Tressel is the new president of Youngstown State.