Ressurection: The Story of Penn State

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2015 SEASON RECAP

EMMANUEL BANKS, QB - OKLAHOMA
Emmanuel Banks received no playing time in his first year, and took a redshirt. In the offseason, he decided to transfer to the SEC and play for...Arkansas! Banks will sit out for one season, but will certainly occupy the starting spot as a third-year sophomore in 2017. His current OVR is 85.


ZACH HATLESTAD, QB - OKLAHOMA
Zach Hatlestad received little playing time in his first year, recording 18 tackles (one for a loss), .5 sacks, and five pass deflections. He did, however, contribute heavily in the return game, where he had 24 kick returns for 524 yards (21.8 avg), and nine punt returns for 66 yards (7.3 avg). His current OVR is 86. Oklahoma ended 2015 with a 5-7 (3-6) record, one of their worst records in recent memory as they finished dead last in the Big XII South despite a talented roster.


JAKE MOPROFIT, QB - WISCONSIN
Jake Moprofit received no playing time in his first year, and took a redshirt. In the offseason, he decided to transfer to the C-USA and play for...Western Kentucky! Moprofit will sit out for one season, but will certainly occupy the starting spot as a third-year sophomore in 2017. His current OVR is 85.


BRUCE BUTLER, HB - MICHIGAN ST.
Bruce Butler received a decent amount of playing time as the backup runningback, carrying the ball 104 times for 559 yards (5.4 ypc) and four touchdowns. He also had three catches for 15 yards and two touchdowns. His current OVR is 85. Michigan State ended 2015 with a 10-2 (7-2) record, just one win shy of beating out Wisconsin for the Big Ten conference championship. They appeared in the Discover Orange Bowl as an at-large bid, where they lost to Notre Dame 37-17. The Spartans finished the season ranked 11th in the country.


ROB ROY, WR - MARYLAND
Rob Roy received little playing time in his first year, recording 16 receptions for 194 yards (12.1 ypc) and a touchdown. He also had 25 kick returns for 529 yards (21.2 avg), and three punt returns for 29 yards (9.7 avg). His current OVR is 83. Maryland ended 2015 with an 8-4 (6-3) record, finishing second behind Notre Dame in the Big East South division. They appeared in the Champs Sports Bowl, where they beat Miami 28-21. The Terrapins finished the season ranked 19th in the country.


DREW BLADES, MLB - UTAH
Drew Blades received little playing time in his first year, recording 22 tackles (three for a loss), two fumble recoveries, and a touchdown. His current OVR is 86. Utah ended 2015 with a 6-6 (3-6) record.


DRAKE BRIDGEWATER, WR - LSU
Drake Bridgewater received no playing time at wide receiver in his first year, but did have three kick returns for 63 yards (21.0 avg). In the offseason, he decided to transfer to the C-USA and play for...Arkansas State! Bridgewater will redshirt this season, but will certainly occupy the starting spot as a third-year sophomore in 2017. His current OVR is 84.


KHRIS SHACKLEFORD, QB - VIRGINIA TECH
Khris Shackleford's college career began with a rocky start, as he completed just 167 of 349 passes (48%) for 1,992 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 16 touchdowns. His biggest asset was his speed, as he carried the ball 200 times for 696 yards and nine touchdowns. His current OVR is 85. Virginia Tech had a rough start, going 2-4 in the first six weeks before winning five of their last seven games down the stretch to finish with a record of 6-6 (4-5), which was good enough for second place in the ACC Atlantic division behind UConn. The Hokies appeared in the Advocare 100 Independence Bowl, where they beat Temple 35-14. Shackleford completed 11 of 27 passes for 158 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions in the game, and also rushed for 56 yards and two touchdowns off 12 carries.


JAMES GUTHRIE, K - NOTRE DAME
James Guthrie's college career began with a rocky start, as he hit just 15 of his 30 attempted field goals (50%), and 56 of 57 extra point attempts (98%). Notre Dame ended 2015 with a 9-3 (8-1) record, and beat Vanderbilt 38-17 in the Big East conference championship game to win the title. They appeared in the Discover Orange Bowl, where they soundly beat Michigan State 37-17. The Fighting Irish finished the season ranked 6th in the country.

[cf24]

I'm glad OU had a bad season .

[St. Francisco]

I'm glad OU had a bad season .

LoL, you'll be the only one actively rooting against yourself. :P

[St. Francisco]

The following teams have moved conferences, effective 2016:

San Diego St. to the PAC-10, Washington St. to the Mountain West

Wake Forest to the ACC, Duke to the C-USA

Southern Miss to the Big East, UCF to the Sun Belt

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YEARLY RECAPS
2012-2015

[St. Francisco]

The year is 2016, and the college football landscape has changed. The NCAA, the regulating body for college football, has seized control of the conferences to put an end to the yearly charade of teams swapping conferences like a carousel.

Meanwhile, the Penn State Nittany Lions, a once-proud school, have just come out of their four-year punishment period for the unspeakable acts by Jerry Sandusky. Now, with new faces at every position, and a coach determined to leave the past behind and carve out his own legacy, we anxiously watch to see the ressurection of a football powerhouse...

[St. Francisco]

Sidenote: In the first four years, Penn State went from a five-star program to a two-star program.

[St. Francisco]

I'll be posting the CAP screenshots over the next few days. First up...

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2016 ROSTER PREVIEW
-OFFENSE-

QUARTERBACK
Junior Anthony Williams had a decent year in 2015, completing 50% of his passes for 2,145 yards, 17 touchdowns, and twelve interceptions in his first year as Penn State's starter. As one of the team's most talented players, one year of experience should pay dividends for him this season. Williams is a pure pocket passer, more than making up for his lack of speed with amazing power and accuracy behind each throw. Backing him up will be senior Steven Bench, followed by sophomores Chad Ashley and Myron Washington, and freshman Seth Duckett.

RECRUITING: Three-star prospect Rashaun Boone is a homegrown recruit, hailing from Lancaster, PA, and will most certainly be on the team's radar to fill the vacant roster spot left by the graduating Steven Bench.


THE BACKFIELD (HB/FB)
Senior Akeel Lynch carried the ball 171 times last year, rushing for 925 yards and nine touchdowns as he racked up 5.4 yards per carry. This year, the speedy senior will look to be the offensive workhorse while also leading the return game. Junior Gabe Alvarez, the heir-apparent to the starting job next season, should also receive a solid amount of playing time as the primary backup. Rounding out the depth chart are sophomore Mike Brown and freshman Derrick Jones, while true freshman Derrick Parrish will redshirt. At fullback, senior Jesse James will look to bulldoze his way through opposing defenses and clear a path for Lynch. Junior Lionel Whitworth will back him up.

RECRUITING: Lynch's graduation will leave an open spot at runningback, and the team will heavily recruit three-star prospect Chris Drew out of Ashtabula, Ohio. At fullback, two-star prospect and Pennsylvania native Reggie Corbett could step into the starting spot after a redshirt year if he commits to the team.


RECEIVING CORPS (WR/TE)
The team's wide receiver corps may not be the most talented group in the nation, but they're all young, and should progress into a fearsome unit as the years go by. Third-year sophomores Eric Jones and Michael Brown will occupy the starting spots, while junior Ben Warren will play slot receiver. Sophomore Jeff Moore and junior Darnell Rogers round out the depth chart, while true freshman Cody Poland and David Upshaw will redshirt. At tight end, senior Brent Wilkerson may have better hands than any of the team's receivers, and considering that senior tight end Kyle Carter led the team with 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns last year, look for Wilkerson to be one of Williams' favorite targets through the air. Sophomore Adrian Taylor will see playing time in two tight end sets, and true freshman Johnny Poland will redshirt.

RECRUITING: The Nittany Lions will look to fill the hole left by Wilkerson's graduation by landing three-star prospect John Colvin, a tight end out of Greensburg, PA who has displayed good hands in high school.


OFFENSIVE LINE
The middle of the line is young and inexperienced, but the two bookends at offensive tackle will hopefully gel this unit into a cohesive hole. Junior Richard Ryan will protect Williams' backside at left tackle, while senior Anthony Stacko will start at right tackle. True sophomore Markell Horne and second-year freshmen Marco Peterson and Dominique Lee will occupy the starting spots at guard and center. Third-year sophomore Lionel Wilkinson is the team's most talented backup, and will be groomed to replace Stanko in the starting rotation at right tackle next season.

RECRUITING: The Nittany Lions are hoping to land two prospects to add to the o-line next year, three-star prospects Jonathan Ferguson of Scotch Plains, NJ, and Jayson Collins of Streetsboro, OH.


TOTAL RECRUITING TARGETS: The offense as a whole is a very young group, so the team will only recruit six players to fill the gaps left by a few graduating players.

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2016 ROSTER PREVIEW
-DEFENSE-

DEFENSIVE LINE (DE/DT)
Penn State's defense is in stark contrast to it's offense, as eight of the eleven starters are experienced seniors. We start on the defensive line, where junior Aaron Young and true freshman Cory Hartman will look to apply pressure to opposing quarterbacks at defensive end. In the middle, seniors Derrick Dowrey and Brian Gaia are a pair of big bodies that will make running up the middle very tough for any team brave enough to try it. One of the team's most talented defensive lineman may be junior Thomas Ward, who will step into a starting spot at defensive tackle next season.

RECRUITING: The team is young at defensive end, but will need to add a pair of defensive tackles to offset the graduations of starters Dowrey and Gaia. Three-star prospects Rob Robinson of Camden, NJ and Nate Murray of Urbana, OH are likely very high on the team's list.


LINEBACKER CORPS (OLB/MLB)
All three of the team's starters at linebacker are seniors, but the players behind them on the bench are young and inexperienced for the most part. Dustin Silva and Nyeem Wartman are the starters at outside linebacker, while senior Sean Dickson and second-year freshman John Carpenter will play backup at the position. At middle linebacker, senior Greg Mitchell leads the charge, with freshmen Tiger Newton and Nate White playing backup. True freshman Alex Mixon will be redshirted in anticipation of competing for the starting spot in the middle next season.

RECRUITING: With four players graduating, linebacker will prove to be one of the team's most active positions as far as recruiting is concerned. At outside linebacker, the team has their eyes on three-star prospects and Pennsylvania natives Reggie Evans and Grant Brown, as well as four-star prospect Jerome Hunt out of Linden, New Jersey. At middle linebacker, look for the team to heavily recruit three-star prospect David Jones, also out of New Jersey.


CORNERBACK
The defensive secondary may be the most talented position on the team, and it all starts at cornerback, where a trio of seniors occupy the top spots. Gary Novak is the undisputed leader of the defense, and will play alongside Daquan Davis, while Seth Lewis will see a solid amount of playing time at nickelback. Junior Brandon Bryant, and sophomores Ryan Williams and Matt Dunlap are the cornerbacks of the future for the team, but won't see much playing time this year.

RECRUITING: Three-star prospects Brad Swain and Tony Brown are the team's top targets at cornerback, while two-star prospect Cedric Henry, a JUCO sophomore, will also receive quite a bit of attention from the Nittany Lions. All three recruits are coverage-oriented players.


SAFETY (FS/SS)
Despite limited playing time last season, Trevor Williams recorded 23 tackles, one sack, and two interceptions. Now as a senior, Williams will occupy the starting role at free safety. Playing alongside him will be junior Carlos Smith at strong safety, who beat out incumbent starter Brandon Smith in the spring. Freshmen Steven Graves, Kyle Smith, and Fred Wheeler are all waiting in the wings for their chance to climb the depth chart.

RERUITING: Penn State hopes to add one player at each position, and will target three-star prospects Jarvis Grant and Lance Horn, both of them Ohio natives.


SPECIAL TEAMS (K/P/RET)
Junior Pat Smith hit 92% of his field goal attempts two years ago, but saw his production fall off last season, making only 12 of his 22 attempts. In his third year as starter at kicker, he's hoping for a return to form. Sophomore John Williams returns at the team's starter at punter, and will look to improve upon his average of 38 yards per punt from a year ago. Senior runningback Akeel Lynch will lead the return game.

RERUITING: The team would like to carry three kicker on the roster, so look for them to target in-state prospect Victor Edwards.


TOTAL RECRUITING TARGETS: It will be a busy year for the team's recruiters on defense and special teams as they look to add twelve players to next year's roster.

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2016 TEAM SCHEDULE

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2016 TEAM ROSTER

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2016 DEPTH CHART

Emmanuel Banks (QB), Jake Moprofit (QB), and Drake Bridgewater (WR) will sit this year out due to transferring schools in the offseason.

Zach Hatlestad (CB) is #4 on the depth chart at kick/punt returner, so don't expect any playing time there.

In addition to being #2 on the depth chart at runningback, Bruce Butler (HB) will play #3 at kick/punt returner.

In addition to being #2 on the depth chart at wide receiver, Rob Roy (WR) will play #2 at kick/punt returner.

The NCAA preseason polls are as follows for the nine schools featuring CAPs:

5. Notre Dame (James Guthrie, K)
10. Michigan St. (Bruce Butler, HB)
23. Maryland (Rob Roy, WR)
34. Oklahoma (Zach Hatlestad, CB)
40. Arkansas (Emmanuel Banks, QB)
42. Virginia Tech (Khris Shackleford, QB)
55. Arkansas St. (Drake Bridgewater, WR)
60. Utah (Drew Blades, MLB)
70. Western Kentucky (Jake Moprofit, QB)

[St. Francisco]

[St. Francisco]