Success with Hyperlinking is Raising Banners

Tonight at 7 p.m. the Penn State Men’s Ice Hockey Team will play their home opener at Pegula Ice Arena against American International. The defending Big Ten Champions will be hoisting their championship banner along with an NCAA Tournament banner after making their first appearance in the postseason last year.

Today is Big Ten Media day as basketball season nears; follow @BSDtweet for our live coverage of the event. In the meantime, here’s a primer on what to expect from the Nittany Lions’ offense this year.

Head football coach James Franklin was interviewed on NFL Media’s Move The Sticks podcast this week speaking about Saquon Barkley’s recruitment, and how they coaching staff works to maximize his potential within the Penn State offense. It should come as no surprise that Franklin views Barkley as the best player in college football. Regarding Saquon’s work ethic:

Well, he sets the tone for our whole organization. I mean, literally, we stopped testing him on testing day because at some point how much you’re squatting and how much you’re power cleaning and benching, you’ve proven the point alright! You don’t need to do anymore. But he’s such a competitive guy, he gets in there and everybody’s max testing and he wants to jump in as well. I think the biggest thing is when you see him in persona and you look at his lower body, from his waist down, it’s freakish. I mean, it really is. You’re talking about a guy who is going to run 4.3. And I don’t really believe 4.3 guys exist but he’s going to run 4.3. He’s one of these guys, whatever you put on the bar he’ll bench, squat or power clean. You know he’s just really, really gifted. He really is in so many different ways. He’s thrown a touchdown pass, he’s got touchdown receptions. He’s a guy you could use like a Marshall Faulk and line him up as a wide receiver in the slot. That’s something I talked to him about for the last two years in the summer that that’s something he really needed to work on. Whether we were going to use him at that or not because it’s going to be important for his future. He’s a hard-working guy who gets the big picture what we’re trying to do from a team’s perspective. But he also understands the impact it’s going to have on his future.

“...line him up as a wide receiver in the slot.” Hmm.

In another NFL.com feature, Kimberly Jones looks at Barkley’s Heisman hopes and what his draft stock is looking like as we head into the second half of the season.

If you missed the news, ESPN’s College GameDay will take place on Penn State’s Old Main Lawn this Saturday from 9 a.m. - noon. Be sure to show up early so you can get your Black Shoe Diaries signs on camera during the show.