Football
**BWI Live: A Penn State football podcast from Blue White Illustrated**

The leading Penn State football, wrestling, and recruiting podcast!

Latest Episodes:

BWI Live: Is Pat Kraft finally modernizing Penn State Athletics? May 17, 2023

Show notes

Penn State athletics made several major announcements over the last two weeks, mostly involving the state of program facilities. At the beginning of the month, the Penn State Board of Trustees approved several major construction projects, including a $700-million renovation to Beaver Stadium.

Today on the BWI Live show Nate Bauer and host Thomas Frank Carr discuss the future of Penn State athletics and what's to come for the iconic Beaver Stadium. They'll also discuss the recently announced game times and themes for the 2024 season, which were announced this week.

Join the show to discuss all this and whatever is on your mind! BWI Live airs starting at 10 am on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube so you don't miss notifications for live shows on the channel.

Penn State sets plans for Beaver Stadium Renovation

The general plan for how Penn State would renovate Beaver Stadium came out earlier this year, but the functional timeline for the project came earlier this month. Bauer and T-Frank will discuss the project's timeline and what fans can expect throughout the renovations. They'll also discuss how the university and athletic department came to the plan that they did. Bauer spoke with Athletic Director Pat Kraft after the renovation plans were approved to understand the how and why.

The duo will then preview the larger plan to upgrade the overall program facilities, including Jeffrey Field, the Greenberg Ice Complex, and more.

Lastly, they'll consider all of this information and examine how Kraft has done in the first year of his job. Has he lived up to his promises at the start of his tenure? What's next for the program under his leadership? Bauer will put all of this into context for the audience and T-Frank.

Next, Bauer and T-Frank discuss the 2023 Penn State game themes. While they're a secondary story, the White Out is a highly important event to Penn State fans. Once again, it won't be against either Ohio State or Michigan this year. Is that tradition over, thanks to TV game times? Bauer and T-Frank will debate the pros and cons of giving up those things for prime television slots.

Finally, they'll end the show by hearing from you! T-Frank and Bauer will close the show with the weekly BWI Mailbag segment. If you haven't, join Blue White Illustrated for 29.99 and get six months of access to the Lions Den Message Board, where you can ask a question for the mailbag each week.

Recruiting Show: Recapping how Penn State's top targets performed at the Baltimore Under Armour camp | Elite 11 Preview May 15, 2023

Show notes

The 2023 Under Armour Regional camp came to Baltimore on Sunday, and Blue-White Illustrated was there to see the region's top recruits compete. Today on the BWI Live Recruiting Show, Sean Fitz, Ryan Snyder, and host Thomas Frank Carr will discuss how Penn State's top targets performed at the event.

They'll also preview the next important camp coming to the region this weekend and any other relevant news from the previous week.

Join the show at 10 am on YouTube to ask questions of the panel and to have your thoughts heard. If you haven't yet, subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube and enable notifications so you don't miss any live shows or breaking news.

Penn State targets at the Under Armour Regional Camp

Fitz and Snyder set off to Baltimore this weekend to check out one of the biggest recruiting events in the region this season. They'll recap what they saw from some of Penn State's top targets, including Fateem Delane, Xavier Gilliam, Kenny Wooseley, DeAndre Cook, Chris Cole, and many others.

The group will discuss the players making an impact in the Class of 2024 and highlight younger players that will be major factors for the Class of 2024 and 2025. Can Penn State win out for the next round of regional superstars breaking out early in the recruiting process? Join the show to learn the next batch of important names in Penn state recruiting.

The group will discuss which players stood out at the event, their major takeaways from each group, and any surprises they saw during the day-long event.

Next, they'll review the recent recruiting news from the past week, including Penn State making the final cutdown for a critical 2024 defensive prospect.

Read and React

The Recruiting Show has followed Penn State's spring quarterback board update for the last several weeks. There's plenty of news to discuss this week, including an interview with 2024 quarterback prospect Ethan Grunkemeyer. Snyder spoke with the three-star quarterback on Friday and will share the highlights of his conversation. Grunkemeyer visited campus this past weekend, so Snyder got his impression about Penn State and Happy Valley.

Next, the trio will preview the Elite 11 camp coming to State College High School on May 21st. The trio will discuss the importance of the event being in State College and what the value of the passing camp is for offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich and head coach James Franklin.

BWI Live: Ranking the top five Penn State units heading into summer May 10, 2023

Show notes

Penn State football heads into the summer ready to make progress before the start of the 2023 football season. The team, led by quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, will need to work on its own to improve crucial areas before then. So, with the transfer portal closed and most additions made, which groups are the strongest heading into this time?

That's what the BWI Live show tackles today. Host Thomas Frank Carr and publisher Sean Fitz will rank the top five position groups on the team at this point in the season. They'll also cover the latest team news and take your questions throughout the show.

Join the program, starting at 10 am on YouTube! You can ask questions and have them answered live on air throughout the show and during the final segment, the BWI Mailbag. If you haven't yet, hit subscribe on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube channel so you don't miss any content this summer!

Penn State finally lands wide receiver

The long wait is over. Penn State's top portal acquistion, wide receiver Dante Cephas, joins the program this week. Fitz broke the news this week and spoke with Cephas recently. He'll give a brief overview of what they discussed and what you can find in his article from Tuesday.

Next, they'll cover the rest of the news from the last seven days, including the announced time of the season-opening game against West Virginia. Does this spell the end of the White Out as a marquee game against a top opponent on the schedule? Fitz and T-Frank will give their thoughts.

Top Five position groups

Now that the team has broken camp, it's time to check the health of the roster and which positions made the biggest strides over the last several months. Did the loss of Storm Duck remove the cornerback group from the top five strongest positions on the roster? Did the progress from freshman Tony Rojas vault the linebackers into that group? Fitz will reveal his rankings on the show and explain his thoughts.

Finally, Fitz and T-Frank will answer your questions during the BWI Mailbag. If you'd like to submit a question, join the show live on air and share your thoughts in the chat. T-Frank will pick questions from there to add to the prepared questions from Blue White Illustrated message board members.

Recruiting Show: Can Penn State finish the Class of 2024 stronger than 2023? May 08, 2023

Show notes

Penn State recruiting prepares for a busy summer on the BWI Daily Recruiting Show today. The Nittany Lions are out across the country scouting players in the Class of 2024 and beyond. It's also a transition period for the Penn State roster with graduation this past weekend. When do the rest of the Class of 2023 players pack their bags for Happy Valley?

Recruiting insiders Sean Fitz and Ryan Snyder discuss that topic and what else is new with Penn State football recruiting on the show. If you haven't yet, subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube to get notifications when the live show airs each week. The show starts at 10 am on Monday, so if you want to ask questions of the experts and interact with the show, feel free to join in!

Penn State Class of 2023 set to arrive soon

With the Penn State football team through spring football, the next wave of freshmen will descend on campus soon. So which players are coming with this group? As always, Fitz and Snyder discuss which players they're most interested in getting reports on this summer. Then, they'll review which players they think have the chance to contribute early in the second wave of 2023.

Next, they'll review the latest news on recruiting. West Virginia offensive lineman Robby Martin revealed his Top 8 schools this week, and Penn State was on the list. Can the Nittany Lions close with Martin? Do they want to? Snyder and Fitz will weigh in on the prospects fit with Penn State.

Read and React

Next, the group will discuss stories they wrote recently in this week's read and react. One of Penn State's top targets at receiver, Michigan native and River Rouge standout Nick Marsh, spoke with BWI this week. How is his relationship with the staff? Penn State needs to hit a home run at receiver this cycle, and landing the 73rd overall prospect in the On3 industry rankings would check that off the list. Snyder will discuss his thoughts on the relationship and where Penn State stands with Marsh heading into the official visit season in June.

Finally, the group will discuss the quarterback board as we head into the summer. While the names might not have changed, there's some more movement with one of Penn State's recent offers at the position. Check out the show to find out which quarterback is visiting campus this month.

BWI Live: Transfer portal update May 03, 2023

Show notes

Penn State football is in offseason mode, but that doesn't mean the news stops. Today on the BWI Live show, reporter Greg Pickel and host Thomas Frank Carr discuss the most recent news from the transfer portal and more.

They'll also discuss Penn State wrestling with Pickel, who is Blue White Illustrated's wrestling beat writer. He'll discuss the team's recent commitment and what happened at the USA Wrestling freestyle tournament this past weekend.

If you haven't yet, subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube and enable notifications so you don't miss any live content! Greg and T-Frank will take questions from and interact with the chat throughout the show. Be a part of the fun, starting at 10 am on YouTube.

Penn State still trying to tweak roster

Penn State has been active in the portal since it opened back up for the spring window. Pickel will break down what he knows about the recent portal recruiting visitors on campus. The Nittany Lions offered Louisiana cornerback Trey Amos this week and previously hosted defensive back Donovan Callis. What do he and T-Frank make of these offers? Find out when they discuss that topic to start the show.

Next, they'll dip into wrestling news and discuss the team's latest commitments and offseason tournaments.

NFL Draft recap and preview

Before reviewing the NFL Draft, Pickel and T-Frank dive headfirst into the way-too-early mock drafts for 2024. While it's far from a scientific look at next year's draft, it does set the stage for which players are expected to have big seasons in 2023. They'll highlight the Penn State players who show up early on the list.

The duo will then shift to a quick review of this year's draft. Where were they correct? What did they get wrong? Penn State had six players drafted on days two and three of the event last weekend.

Finally, they turn the last word over to you, the audience in the BWI Mailbag. T-Frank and Greg will take questions from the live chat, as they do each week. They will also have select questions from the Blue White Illustrated message board as well.

Recruiting Show: Penn State recruiting roster reset, interview with Garret Sexton May 01, 2023

Show notes

Penn State football picked up another recruit from Wisconsin on Friday when four-star running back Corey Smith committed to the program. With 13 players in the class, the BWI Live: Recruiting Show will reset the class and see what the Penn State coaching staff has accomplished with a half-full class. Host Thomas Frank Carr and industry insider Sean Fitz break that down and more.

Also, stay tuned for a snippet of an interview with one of those players, three-star offensive tackle commit Garrett Sexton. You'll get a sneak-peak at an exclusive interview that Blue White Illustrated did with Sexton.

As always, join the show to get your thoughts and opinions heard. BWI Live airs at 10 am on YouTube each Monday. Subscribe to Blue-White Illustrated on YouTube so you never miss any of our live coverage!

Penn State has 13 commits, what's next?

With 13 players committed to the Class of 2024, the Penn State staff is likely halfway done with this cycle. While this will be one of the bigger recruiting classes, according to Blue White Illustrated's experts, this is an excellent time to reset and review the work so far.

T-Frank and Fitz will break down the strengths and weaknesses of the group, including players and positions that don't have any commitments so far.

Related: What does landing Corey Smith mean to Penn State?

They'll also see how Penn State's latest commitment, Corey Smith, fits into the group. Smith committed to the Nittany Lions on Friday as the second running back in the class.

Read and React

Next, the duo will single out two players from the group to discuss in detail. Last week, T-Frank wrote about the talent and potential of the team's tackle prospects, Garrett Sexton and Eagan Boyer. T-Frank thinks they represent a particular moment in Penn State recruiting that hasn't been accomplished very often under head coach James Franklin. Next, he and Fitz discuss the upside and possible issues each player might face.

Next, you'll get a special preview of T-Frank's conversation with Sexton, who spoke with BWI's film analyst this past weekend. You can see the full interview later Monday on Blue White Illustrated. If you haven't yet, subscribe to premium content so you have access to the interview.

Finally, T-Frank and Fitz will wrap up the show by discussing any upcoming events or offers that have materialized since the show last week.

BWI Live: Penn State NFL Draft preview Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

Only one more day remains before the 2023 NFL Draft. Penn State's NFL-bound hopefuls will find out their fate over the next three days of draft selection in Kansas City. Today on the BWI Live Show, Thomas Frank Carr and Greg Pickel will predict where Penn State's top-seven players in this cycle will go by round and pick.

They'll also discuss the latest news in Penn State sports, including Storm Duck heading back into the transfer portal and wrestling picking up a commitment this week.

Check out the full show and join in the conversation at 10 am on YouTube! If you haven't yet, subscribe to Blue-White Illustrated so you don't miss any live content.

Penn State loses Duck to Portal

It was a surprise announcement last Friday that Duck only lasted one semester with the Nittany Lions. The fifth-year defensive back didn't win a starting position outright this spring and decided to find a place where he could get more playing time. How does that move affect Penn State? Also, can Duck quickly find a spot to contribute with less than six months to integrate into a new defense?

Pickel and T-Frank will discuss this situation from both angles and find out where Penn State goes from here. They'll examine the depth chart left after Duck's departure and discuss if the portal could help them find more talent to replenish the depth chart.

Next, they'll dive into the main event of the show. T-Frank and Pickel will discuss Pickel's mock draft, where he predicted the landing spot for every Penn State player in the 2023 NFL Draft. The duo will take you through each selection and why Pickel thinks they'll end up where they do.

Finally, the show concludes, as it always does, with the BWI Mailbag. The last word each week belongs to the audience. T-Frank will take questions from the live chat, the BWI message board, and other submissions as well. Join the show to get your questions and thoughts heard on the show!

Recruiting Show: Penn State raiding offensive linemen from Wisconsin Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

Penn State football recruiting is on a run, and commits are coming in hard and fast. Today on the Blue White Illustrated Recruiting Show, the leading industry insiders, Sean Fitz, and Ryan Snyder, discuss what's happening with host Thomas Frank Carr. They'll break down Penn State's surprise commitment from Monday morning, what's to come with other top targets and more.

Subscribe to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube and allow notifications so you don't miss any breaking news or live shows from BWI. Stay up-to-date on Penn State recruiting content!

Also, if you'd like to voice your opinions, join the live show at 10 am to ask questions and share your thoughts with the crew on YouTube.

Penn State lands top offensive tackle target

Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein has been busy since the Blue-White Game. In the last nine days, he's secured three prospects at his position, including Wisconsin native Garrett Sexton. The 6-6 converted quarterback is the first pure tackle prospect of the group after interior players Caleb Brewer and Donovan Harbour committed to the program last week. They join 215th overall prospect Cooper Cousins, who committed to the program over a year ago.

What impact does Sexton have on the group, and what does the trio think of his film? First, Snyder, Fitz, and T-Frank will discuss Sexton's impact and upside. Next, they'll discuss how Sexton's recruiting story went with Penn State and then look to what's next with the offensive line class.

From there, they'll stay in Wisconsin and discuss the upcoming commitment from four-star running back Corey Smith. Will Penn State be the pick? Finally, Snyder and Fitz will discuss how likely Harbour's teammate is to join the Nittany Lions.

From there, they'll dive into other news from the week, including quarterback Michael Van Buren's top three, and preview the official visit season.

Next, Fitz and Snyder will react to some of the interviews they've done with players since the last show after the Blue-White Game in this week's installment of read and react.

They'll pick from several topics to give some extra context to their reporting from earlier in the week.

Currently, Penn State sits 10th in the On3 team rankings with the addition of Sexton to the Class. Penn State has four four-star players, according to the Industry rankings. Sexton, ranked much higher in the On3 internal rankings, is a three-star in the Industry comparison and sits at 427th overall.

BWI Live: Penn State Blue-White Game recap | portal outlook Apr 19, 2023

Show notes

Penn State football concluded spring practice with the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon in front of a soggy but enthusiastic crowd. To put a bow on spring football and give their thoughts on the game, the BWI Live crew of Sean Fitz, Nate Bauer, and Thomas Frank Carr discuss what they took away from the game. They'll also look ahead in recruiting and the transfer portal.

They'll also take your questions throughout the show and answer fans' questions when they open the BWI Mailbag. Join the show at 10 am on YouTube to be part of the action! Also, subscribe to Blue White Illustrated wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube so you don't miss any content from our team.

Putting a bow on Blue-White Weekend

The BWI Live Recruiting show discussed the positive momentum coming out of the weekend on that side of the equation. Today, the group will discuss how the spring session went for the current team. T-Frank will lead a discussion about what Fitz and Bauer saw when they watched the game on replay.

Of course, the group will tackle the quarterback performances from the weekend and discuss how the offenses fared against Penn State's ferocious defensive line. They'll also pick out the most underrated performance of Saturday that they think deserves attention.

Penn State in the portal

You can't make a transition in college football seasons without discussing the transfer portal. Are there more players on the way out for the Nittany Lions? How will Penn State navigate scholarship limits for the year while trying to add players? Fitz and Bauer will discuss the delicate dance teams must perform at this time of year to maximize their chances of winning next fall.

They'll discuss all of that in the context of what head coach James Franklin said during his post-game press conference Saturday.

BWI Mailbag

Finally, the trio will turn the show over to the audience for the final portion of the event. If you want to get a question on the show, join BWI Live and submit a question in the live chat to have it answered during the mailbag. They'll also take select questions from the mailbag submission thread at bluewhiteillustrated.com.

If you haven't yet, sign up for just $29.99 and get premium access to the mailbag thread and insider information from now until the start of the regular season in September.

https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/join/?plan=annual

Recruiting Show: Recapping Penn State's Blue-White Weekend Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

By all accounts, it was another successful weekend for Penn State football's Blue-White Game. The Nittany Lions hosted over 80 prospects during the weekend and capped the event with two commitments on Saturday and Sunday. Today, the BWI Live: Recruiting Show looks back at the weekend to get you the details you missed.

Industry insiders Ryan Snyder and Sean Fitz discuss Wyomissing offensive line prospect Caleb Brewer's commitment and the 2025 commitment for Arkansas native and top-200 running back Kiandrea Barker. They'll also discuss the feedback they got from prospects they talked to after the event and some general feedback from the staff.

If you haven't yet, subscribe to Blue-White Illustrated on YouTube and enable notifications so you don't miss any of our live shows!

Penn State gets a pair of commitments

The action started Saturday evening after the Blue-White Game concluded when three-star athlete Caleb Brewer committed to the Nittany Lions. The 6-4, 280-pound tight end from Wyomissing played with current Nittany Lion's offensive lineman J'ven Williams last season and now joins him a year later. While he runs routes for Wyomissing, the Pennslyvania native will play guard for Penn State at the next level. So what sort of athlete is he? Fitz, Snyder, and T-Frank will discuss his skills and fit with Phil Trautwein's group.

Next, they'll do the same with Barker and his commitment on Sunday. The 2025 running back is the 161st player in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. So, what sort of player is he? The trio will break down some of his skills and discuss the long road ahead for Barker to make it to Happy Valley.

Reaction from other prospects

Snyder reached out to several of Penn State's top prospects in attendance over the weekend to gauge how the visit went for them. He shares some of their feedback on the show. For the rest, join Blue White Illustrated right now, and get access to premium content.

Finally, BWI's experts will tackle the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions already had one player enter after the game when reserve tackle Jimmy Christ put his name in for transfer. So how will head coach James Franklin and his staff attack the portal? Join the show at 10 am on YouTube to find out.

The staff will also answer select questions throughout the show so join the live event and get your thoughts about recruiting heard!

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