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Penn State football: A dozen questions as the post-Paterno era begins

This year will be the most closely watched football season in the history of Penn State. The post-Paterno era comes with many questions. Here are 12.

4. Recruiting

  • By Ross Atkin Staff

How hard will it be to recruit new players to Penn State?

Probably not as hard as some might think. Yes, the program no doubt will struggle to woo the most-sought-after blue chippers, who want to play for highly ranked teams.  And, with the loss of so many scholarships, Penn State’s prospects are bound to decline. But there are several factors that may help the program to weather the storm and perhaps keep it stronger than expected. For example, the team has not been banned from appearing on TV, so players who matriculate to Happy Valley won’t have to worry about being invisible. Four games are already scheduled to be telecast this season. Also, home games will still be played in front of huge and enthusiastic crowds in the second-largest, on-campus stadium in the country (Beaver Stadium’s seating capacity is 106,572, second only to Michigan Stadium’s 109,901).  Then, too, tradition dies hard in the world of college football, and Penn State has one of the strongest gridiron traditions in the game, plus the university is well situated in one of the nation’s premier football states.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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