Black Shoe Diaries
DOMINATE THE STATE
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Only Xxavier Thomas Until Penn State Football
Xxavier Thomas was the No. 11 overall recruit from Pennsylvania in the 2025 class when he committed to Penn State. Despite his relatively high recruiting ranking, he only received offers from Penn State and Akron. Thomas committed to Penn State in December of 2023. He redshirted in the 2025 season and appeared in one game. […]
MMQB – The End is Nigh
At long last, the end of the 2026 off-season is upon us! We fans have endured more tumult than usual this past off-season, what with the coaching changes and the transfers and the stadium construction and so on. But we made it! This Saturday, the 2026-27 college football season officially begins at 12:00 ET with […]
Only Tony Rojas Until Penn State Football
Tony Rojas was the No. 8 linebacker in the 2023 class when he committed to Penn State. His breakout season in 2024 gave the fanbase optimism that he could be the next great linebacker at Penn State. The most notable play of his career so far was a pick six in the first round of […]
Only Peyton Falzone Until Penn State Football
A Nazareth, Pennsylvania native, Peyton Falzone was originally committed to Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class, but he opted to flip his commitment to Auburn last summer. He remained in the Tigers’ class until December 3, 2025, two days before Matt Campbell was officially announced as Penn State’s football coach. For a moment in time, Falzone […]
Fall Sports Update: Men’s Soccer Wins Dow’s Debut
Men’s Soccer (1-0) The men’s soccer team made a splash hire following Jeff Cook’s resignation when the Nittany Lions poached Rob Dow from Vermont. Dow led the Catamounts to an NCAA championship in 2024, giving Penn State optimism that he can reboot a program that had gone stale in recent seasons. The Nittany Lions opened […]
Only Keith Jones Jr. Until Penn State Football
Keith Jones Jr. did not receive a star rating during his recruitment, but he joined Grambling State as a member of the 2024 class. He redshirted for the entire 2024 season and did not appear in any games. During the 2025 season, he started twice and appeared in 12 games at wide receiver for the […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: #1 Tony Rojas
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second-place […]
Only Ji’Ayir Brown Until Penn State Football
Ji’Ayir Brown took an unconventional route to Penn State: a Trenton, New Jersey native, he was a three-star recruit out of Trenton Central High School, then spent two seasons at Lackawanna College, earning Northeast Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year and JUCO All-American honors before transferring to Penn State in 2020. After a light […]
Summer Summary: August 20th
Matt Campbell is focused on building his culture at Penn State. The Altoona Mirror has a preview of the team and season. The backup quarterback has recovered from open-heart surgery, and is ready to go this fall. A look at one of the probable starting wideouts. Everyone is a fan of Terry Smith, right? Some […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: No.2 Anthony Donkoh
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second-place […]
Only Josiah Zayas Until Penn State Football
Josiah Zayas comes to Penn State as a true freshman defensive back out of Piscataway, New Jersey. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound recruit played his final high school season at Piscataway after transferring from St. Thomas Aquinas, and his recruiting grade varies depending on the source. He’s listed as a three-star in some rankings, and a four-star […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: #3 Rocco Becht
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second-place […]
Only Max Granville and Ben Brahmer Until Penn State Football
Max Granville A four-star recruit out of high school, with an offer sheet that included Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn. He reclassified up a year, graduating early to enroll for the 2024 season instead of 2025. In high school, he had 38.5 sacks across his three-year career, including six strip-sacks in 2022; first-team all-state as […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players For 2026: No. 4 Marcus Neal Jr.
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a second […]
Penn State Debuts At No. 18 In Preseason AP Poll
Penn State will begin the season as a ranked team, as they’re No. 18 in the preseason AP poll. After a promising season that went off the rails in 2025, finishing the year unranked, the Nittany Lions are back in the top 25 for 2026 in Matt Campbell’s first year as the Lions head coach. […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: #5 Andrew Rappelyea
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points, a […]
Only Yvan Kemajou Until Penn State Football
Yvan Kemajou enters his sophomore season as one of the most experienced pieces of Penn State’s retooled EDGE room. The 6’3″, 254-pound Maryland native was a four-star recruit out of Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, ranked the No. 188 overall prospect and No. 21 defensive lineman nationally, with a senior season that included 40 […]
MMQB – QB Development
This past Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Green Bay Packers in the first game of the NFL preseason. The Steelers prevailed 28-9, and former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar played a large part in the win. The third-string quarterback in the game, Drew went 1o-of-13 passing for 153 yards and two touchdowns […]
Oh, Hello: Justin Larose Commits to Penn State Hockey
Penn State hockey’s 2026-27 recruiting class filled another forward spot with a commitment from Justin Larose: Larose has spent the last five seasons in the QMJHL. He played for the Victoriaville Tigres from 2021 until midway through the 2024-25 season, when he was traded to the Drummond Voltigeurs. With the Tigres, he was slow to […]
Only Tyrell Chatman Until Penn State Football
Tyrell Chatman arrives at Penn State as a true freshman defensive back out of Lincoln, Nebraska, where he starred at North Star High School. The 6’2″ three-star recruit was ranked the No. 3 prospect in Nebraska by both 247Sports and On3. He originally committed to Northern Illinois before flipping to Iowa State, then followed head […]
Only Carson Hansen Until Penn State Football
Carson Hansen spent his time at Iowa State gaining the top spot the old school way. He got 22 carries for 67 yards his freshman season, 151 carries for 752 yards his sophomore season, and, by his junior year, he took over the starting role, starting nine of the Cyclones’ 12 games last year. He […]
All the Penn State Players Named to Award Watch Lists
It’s watch list season! As of this publication, nine Nittany Lions have been named to 10 different watch lists (tight end Benjamin Brahmer received two nods thus far). See the full list below, and here’s hoping for the kind of season that ends with several Penn Staters bringing home hardware. K Ryan Barker – Lou […]
Only “The Number 22” Until Penn State Football
Joe Paterno was never fond of retiring jersey numbers, so it makes sense that only after his death did the Nittany Lions retire a one. It’s a good one too, given that it’s the number of Penn State’s only Heisman winner. John Cappelletti won the Heisman in 1973, leading Penn State to one of its […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: Daryus Dixson
The BSD staff recently voted for the top 10 Penn State players heading into 2026. The votes are dictated by how the players are expected to perform in the upcoming season, without factoring in long-term or NFL potential. Each member submitted a ballot with players ranked 1-10, with a first-place vote being 10 points. Up […]
Summer Summary: August 13th
Our fellow SB Nation site in Piscataway thinks the new head coach has an easy start to his Nittany Lion career. Mr. Campbell doesn’t quite see it that way. Here’s where several football players like to chow down. Also, some early standouts from fall camp. Penn State-Pitt soon? ICYMI, hockey’s reasons to be excited for […]
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