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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.
- The Nittany Lions return to the practice field on Monday afternoon for their
first of 15 spring practices. Penn State
practiced indoors on Monday with helmets and shorts. The Lions are back on the field Wednesday and
Saturday this week. Take a look through
some sights and sounds from the first practice of 2013.
VIDEO: Practice I Sights & Sounds | Coach O'Brien Press Conference Transcript | Practice I Photo Gallery UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Football is back in the air in Happy Valley. Head coach Bill O'Brien and the Nittany Lions took the field on Monday afternoon for the first of 15 spring practices. The Lions will practice three days during the first week of spring drills, which culminate with the annual Blue-White Game on April 20 in Beaver Stadium.  The Lions made good progress in the winter strength and conditioning program,
and Coach O'Brian and the staff are excited to see how things translate onto
the field during the spring practice season."We are very excited," O'Brien said. "I've personally been on the banquet circuit for a few months, and the coaches have been recruiting. We have been able to meet with our players over the last couple weeks. They have been in the weight room. They have been working hard. And now it is time to transfer all of that out onto the field. So we are really fired up about the start of practice." With 33 days between the first practice and the Blue-White Game, O'Brien and the staff have long list of items they are looking to accomplish during the 2013 spring practice season on both sides of the ball. "Number one, offensively, we have to make sure that the quarterbacks progress throughout the spring," O'Brien said. "We know that these are good guys who have worked extremely hard, and we know they are smart guys. At the end of 15 practices, we want to make sure they have a good grasp of the offense. "Defensively, I know Coach Butler and his staff are going to look at a lot of different packages. The foundation will stay the same, but they are going to look at a lot of different ways to utilize the talent on that side of the ball. Then, we are going to work special teams every single day. At the end of spring, we will have a bunch of reps on punt, punt return, kickoff and kickoff return. Hopefully that will bode well for use heading into the summer for us to gauge where we are as a football team." O'Brien and the coaching staff are entering season two at the helm of the Nittany Lion football program. With a full season under their belts, the outlook at the start of spring practice season number two is different than it was last year. "It's a lot different, in many ways," O'Brien said. "For me personally, I have a lot more comfortable feeling with our players and their skill sets and their academic situations and their personal lives. And I think our staff feels the same way. We all feel more comfortable at Penn State. The players are more comfortable in the system. We are just really looking forward to working with this group." The emphasis during spring practice is on individual technique, improving fundamentals and consistency for the Nittany Lions. Additionally, the Nittany Lion coaching staff will examine different players in different positions. Among the position changes, Garry Gilliam moves to offensive tackle this spring. O'Brien also said that redshirt freshman Malik Golden will spend time as a defensive back and receiver during the spring, and senior Nate Cadogan will spend time on the defensive line and offensive line during spring practice. "For our staff, it is important for our coaching staff to take a good look at different guys in different positions and find out how to utilize our talent best so that we don't waste a lot of time in training camp doing that," O'Brien said. Ultimately, O'Brien wants to see the team improve each day and play consistent during the spring practice season. "I want to see consistent play; I don't want to see up and down play during the spring," O'Brien said. "I know that when we walk off the field after every spring practice, usually the offense or the defense played a little bit better than the other side of the ball. I understand that. But I want to see consistent play. I want to see the quarterbacks play consistently well, especially Steven (Bench) and Tyler (Ferguson). I want to see those guys play well. Defensively, I'm looking forward to seeing how the depth develops and see who can rise up and help us there. And then in special teams, I am really looking forward to seeing how our specialists improve and to see who can help us on special teams." Coach O'Brien Press Conference Roundup Look for continuing coverage throughout the day and the rest of spring practice as the Nittany Lions return to the field for the first time in 2013. Follow GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony Pro Day Photo Gallery UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Lasch Building Weight Room and Holuba Hall were hubs of activity on Monday for Penn State's annual Pro Day festivities, as the Nittany Lion football indoor practice facility played host to workouts for draft eligible seniors and free agents in front of NFL scouts from 23 different teams.  The Pro Day schedule included film study, scout meetings with coaches,
Wonderlic testing, team testing, player interviews, height, weight, reach
testing, flexibility testing, 225-pound bench, physical testing on the practice
field and individual player/group workouts.The physical testing on the practice field included two 40-yard dashes, two 20-yard shuttle runs, two 3-cone drills, one 60-yard shuttle run, two broad jumps and two vertical jumps. After going through the physical workout, the participating draft eligible seniors worked out in positional drills on the field. The participants on Monday consisted of the following 14 draft eligible Penn State seniors: QB - Matt McGloin and Shane McGregor, RB - Michael Zordich, OL - Matt Stankiewitch, Mike Farrell, DL - Jordan Hill, Pete Massaro, James Terry and Sean Stanley, DB - Stephon Morris and Jacob Fagnano, LB Gerald Hodges and Michael Yancich. All-America Michael Mauti was also at Pro Day. In addition to Pro Day, Stankiewitch, Hill, Hodges and Mauti all participated in the NFL Combine festivities in late February. Looking to improve their numbers from the NFL Combine, Stankiewitch tallied a broad jump of 7-foot-8 in Indianapolis two weeks ago. The All-Big Ten center set a goal of 8-feet in the broad jump, and he eclipsed the mark with an 8-foot-2 broad jump mark on Monday. Hill improved in the broad jump from 8-foot-8 at the Combine to 9-foot-3 on Monday. Former Nittany Lion great Derek Moye headlined the list of players who ran routes during the quarterback drills. Evan Lewis, Christian Kuntz, Brian Irvin and graduate assistant coach Steve Williams also caught passes from McGloin and McGregor during the QB drills. Representatives from 23 of the 32 NFL teams were in attendance at Penn State's Pro Day. The list included the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers and eight of the 12 NFL Playoffs from 2013 - Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien was in attendance for the Pro Day festivities, in addition to each member of the coaching staff and strength and conditioning staff. Several former Nittany Lion were among the observers, as well, including Josh Hull from the St. Louis Rams and Nate Stupar, who is a member of the San Francisco 49ers practice squad, Chima Okoli and D'Anton Lynn. Follow GoPSUsports.com's Tony Mancuso on Twitter @GoPSUTony VIDEO: Michael Mauti & Jordan Hill Interviews | VIDEO: Coach O'Brien Press Conference
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -
Head coach Bill O'Brien and the 2013 Maxwell Award winners addressed the media
and met with local reporters on Friday morning.
Watch to hear an update from the Maxwell Awards where O'Brien will be
recognized as the Collegiate Coach of the Year on Friday night and some of
Coach O'Brien's thoughts on the upcoming start of spring practice.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -
GoPSUsports.com talks with Nittany Lion junior Eric Shrive at the 2013 Maxwell
Club Awards. Shrive was recognized at
the Maxwell Awards as the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Award winner
for his efforts in helping raise nearly $70,000 to benefit the Kidney Cancer
Association.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -
GoPSUsports.com talks with former Nittany Lions Michael Mauti and Jordan Hill
about the 2012 senior class being recognized at the Maxwell Awards Gala for
their commitment, leadership and outstanding effort in 2012, last season, the
NFL Combine and preparing for the next level.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
GoPSUsports.com sat down with new Penn State safeties coach Anthony Midget for
a one-on-one interview with the newest member of the Nittany Lion coaching
staff.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Penn State Athletics was heavily involved with the 41st IFC/Panhellenic
Dance Marathon (THON) held at the Bryce Jordan Center this weekend.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Head coach Bill O'Brien took the stage at THON on Sunday afternoon, urging the dancers to push through the "fourth quarter" of the 46-hour marathon. O'Brien spoke before a capacity crowd inside the Bryce Jordan Center. Take a look.
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