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Black Shoe Diaries

https://www.blackshoediaries.com/ | 315 entries published

DOMINATE THE STATE

Latest Entries

South Carolina Reportedly Targeting Stan Drayton

The dominoes continue to fall. As the staff takes place, a third coach is now reportedly leaving for another opportunity. Ty Howle is leaving for Virginia Tech, Jim Knowles is not being retained, and, Stan Drayton is reportedly headed to South Carolina. Drayton is a highly respected running backs coach, he has an expansive resume […]

about 3 hours ago | 0 reads

Jim Knowles Will Not Join Matt Campbell’s Staff

It’s official. As part of new Penn State head coach Matt Campbell’s staff moves, another piece of the puzzle has been set. Earlier reports suggested Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock would follow Campbell to Penn State, leaving the question of whether it would be as an analyst or a coordinator. It appears we have […]

about 3 hours ago | 0 reads

Midweek Musings – New Offense?

Penn State head coach Matt Campbell was officially announced this past week, and the new regime takeover has begun. Penn State still has a bowl game to play, but we’re already starting to see staffing changes happen. First, Ty Howle has left Penn State to join James Franklin at Virginia Tech as his offensive coordinator. […]

about 9 hours ago | 0 reads

Report: QB Coach Danny O’Brien Leaving For Virginia Tech

Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that Ty Howle is following James Franklin to Blacksburg to become the Hokies new offensive coordinator. Well, you can add another Nittany Lions assistant making the move to Virginia Tech as quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien is reportedly joining the Hokies as well. A former quarterback for James Franklin at Maryland, […]

about 12 hours ago | 0 reads

Penn State 72, Indiana 113: Flush It

Penn State played one of those “burn the tape” types of games, where everything went right for the other team, and everything that could have possibly gone wrong for the Lions did. It all started when Indiana made its first five threes of the night, which also happened to be their first five shots of […]

about 19 hours ago | 0 reads

Penn State vs. Indiana Preview: Big Ten Action is Back

What to Watch For Prediction This feels like the perfect get-right game for a slightly reeling Hoosiers team, and the 15-point spread feels just about accurate. Still, I’m interested to see how some of Penn State’s younger and less experienced players perform in a true hostile environment. But I’m expecting Mike Rhoades’ squad to get […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Report: Ty Howle Hired as Offensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech

Penn State football’s Ty Howle is reportedly following James Franklin to Virginia Tech and receiving a big promotion in return. Howle, who has served as the Nittany Lions’ tight ends coach since 2021 and co-offensive coordinator since 2023, will now be the Hokies’ offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He is also expected to […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

This Week In Happy Valley: A New Era Begins

The Campbell family gets their first look at Beaver Stadium. Matt Campbell cites Cael Sanderson as he made the tough decision to leave Iowa State for Penn State. Zane Durant has opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl. Penn State hockey prepares for tough second half during long break. Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith were named […]

NFL

1 day ago | 0 reads

Blessed & Honored: Bouncing Back

Penn State In the Mix for Elite QB 2027 four-star quarterback Israel Abrams is now on Penn State’s radar following Matt Campbell’s hiring: Abrams is the No. 3 quarterback in the 2027 class as of today. The most recent projections had Abrams heading to Iowa State, but with Matt Campbell now at Penn State, the […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Nittany Lions in the NFL 2025: Week 14

Here’s a list of the current Nittany Lions in the NFL listed by 53-man roster: *Just a reminder that again this season, I will not include players like Juwan Johnson and KeAndre Lambert-Smith that did not finish their college career at Penn State* Arizona Cardinals: Blake Gillikin, PJ Mustipher Atlanta Falcons: Arnold Ebiketie Baltimore Ravens: […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

BSD YouTube Show: Recapping Matt Campbell’s Press Conference

The Matt Campbell era is upon us in Happy Valley! We discuss Campbell’s opening presser on Monday afternoon, and look ahead to what comes next the following days and weeks. We’ll be live at 7 p.m. EST. We’ll get the audio from the show onto Apple and Spotify as well for tomorrow.

2 days ago | 0 reads

Mondays with Matt: Welcome!

Matt Campbell met the State College media for the first time on Monday afternoon. We will work on a better name and see what words stand out the most over the coming years. But, as always, you can read the full transcript with Campbell, AD Pat Kraft, and university president Neeli Bendapudi HERE. Or, read […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

Penn State a Slight Underdog Against Clemson in Pinstripe Bowl

Penn State will head into the Pinstripe Bowl as a slight underdog against Clemson, according to FanDuel. The Tigers are a 2.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions when the teams meet in New York on December 27. It took Penn State until the last week to get their sixth win and gain bowl eligibility. Following […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

BSD Roundtable: Grading The Matt Campbell Hire

Well, that was one hell of a coaching search, wasn’t it? After 54 days, Penn State finally secured its new head football coach, signing former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to an eight-year deal. I think all of our thoughts about the hire are different before the Sitake Debacle and after the Sitake Debacle, […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

Possible Iowa State-to-Penn State Assistant Coaching Moves

Penn State will formally introduce new head coach Matt Campbell later today, and while there is plenty to celebrate, hiring Campbell was just the first step in what will be a supremely busy offseason for the Nittany Lions. Next on the docket for Campbell and his Penn State program: who will be on the coaching […]

NFL

2 days ago | 0 reads

MMQB – Let’s Go Bowling

With the conference championships being played over the weekend, and the playoff bracket being set, the rest of the bowl games were allotted over the weekend. Turns out Penn State is headed to the Pinstripe Bowl, and will face Clemson as its opponent! Given how things looked in early November, I have to feel like […]

NFL

2 days ago | 0 reads

Paying It Forward

After the announcement that Kalani Sitake would be staying at BYU, a number of their fans flocked to the internet and donated funds to the State College food bank in a “trolling” effort to remind the Penn State faithful they won in the end. This is the kind of playful bragging that actually make the […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Penn State Headed To Pinstripe Bowl, Will Play Clemson

Sunday, December 7 Update: Brett McMurphy confirms it’ll be Clemson. The Nittany Lions will officially find out tomorrow where they are headed for bowl season, but according to a report from On3’s Brett McMurphy, Penn State will take on an ACC opponent in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Pinstripe Bowl is set for Saturday, December 27 […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Wrestling Preview: #1 Penn State vs #14 Lehigh

Lehigh is, most often, the second best squad in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and this year is no different, despite losing a number of multi-year starters (and ranked wrestlers) to graduation and former #1 Ryan Crookham to continued rehabbing of last year’s injury. The Mountain Hawks gained a key assistant coach in two-time NCAA champ […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Conference Championships Open Thread

It’s Championship Saturday! Hang out with us while we watch all of the conference champions be crowned, and see how each game impacts the College Football Playoff! On the docket we have: Let’s see how it all shakes out!

4 days ago | 0 reads

Wrestling Postview: #1 Penn State 43, Drexel 3

Penn State dominates in Philadelphia for the second time in 2025. Penn State traveled to Philadelphia on Friday night to take on the Drexel Dragons. The Nittany Lions returned to the City of Brotherly Love nine months after setting the NCAA tournament scoring record back in March. The Drexel Dragons were heavily outmatched, but anything […]

5 days ago | 0 reads