INSIDE Haleigh Washington B10 player of week: page 4 Penn State is new football team this season: page 4 Editorial: Let’s take action to stop violence: page 3 What’s new to Netfix this October: page 2 Vol. 118, No. 32 Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 Checking in on the Heisman Trophy race By Andrew Rubin THE DAILY COLLEGIAN With the Heisman race com- ing into shape and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley in the thick of it, we are going to start doing a weekly update on where the top contenders stand. There is still a long season ahead and a lot can –– and will change –– but as college football approaches its midway point, it starts to become rare for someone to become a finalist and make it to New York without already having made a statement. Right now, Barkley is in front of the race after his awestriking primetime performance against Iowa in Week 4. As was expected with a deep quarterback class in college football, Barkley shares the leaderboard with a number of signal callers. Some preseason favorites, like USC quarterback Sam Darnold and UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, have had tough starts to their campaigns and dropped off the leaderboard. However, some surprises have taken their place, so here is the Collegian’s first Heisman check in of the season. Saquon Barkley, Penn State running back Barkley has already logged one of the best running back perfor- mances anybody will ever see, in the Nittany Lions’ 21-19 thriller against the Hawkeyes. Now, he’s added a kickoff return for a touch- down and a touchdown pass vs. Indiana in Week 5 to show his ver- satility. It’s hard to imagine that any player will have a more excit- ing highlight reel for the voters to see before they submit their bal- lots in December. Baker Mayfeld, Okla- homa quarterback Many already feel like Baker and Barkley are far away in front in this race. Mayfield has had as monumental a moment as any- one else in the pack when he led his Sooners into Columbus and topped Ohio State with a monster performance. In the defensively suspect Big 12, Mayfield should be able to put up gaudy numbers week after week. He also has the advantage of being a dual threat quarter- back, making him more difficult to game-plan for than Barkley. Mason Rudolph, Okla- homa State quarterback Rudolph has the same advan- tages of Mayfield by playing in the Big 12: subpar defenses to hang insane numbers on. But he also has the advantage of having James Washington, arguable the best receiver in college football. Washington is a matchup night- mare and already has 647 re- ceiving yards this season. With Rudolph’s cannon for an arm and a great group of receivers on the other end of it, he has a great chance to make it to New York City. Bryce Love, Stanford running back Love was an unknown just a couple of weeks ago. Now, he has taken LSU’s Derrius Guice’s place as the back trying to give Barkley competition at the top of the college football pecking order. Love has an insane 1,088 rushing yards in five games this season. His 11.1 yards per carry is even crazier. To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu. Camille Stefani/Collegian Saquon Barkley (26) gets tackled into Penn State’s bench during the game against Indiana on Sept. 30. Man charged after pointing gun outside of Beaver Stadium By Stephanie Panny THE DAILY COLLEGIAN On Saturday between 5:35 and 5:45 p.m., a Penn State police of- ficer responded to an alleged al- tercation involving a .357-caliber handgun, between a man, Aus- tin A. Swanger, and a woman in Lot 12 outside of Beaver Sta- dium. The man, Austin A. Swanger, was arraigned on Sunday, Oct. 1, before District Judge Allen Sinclair, and was charged with misdemeanor counts of terror- istic threats with intent to ter- rorize another, simple assault, reckless endangerment, harass- ment and disorderly conduct, according to court documents. The woman reported the two had left the Penn State football game after she confronted him about seeing a text message on his phone from an unknown number. After walking to Swanger’s ve- hicle, the woman said Swanger pulled the handgun from his car after getting inside the ve- hicle and allegedly pointed the gun at her while telling her to get in the car, according to court documents. She refused and walked to con- tact police. Swanger reportedly drove to her location, made a verbal threat toward the family’s ani- mals, and left. After troops went to Swanger’s location and took him into custody, police seized the handgun from the truck’s console. After consenting to an inter- view, Swanger allegedly acknowl- edged to having a verbal alterca- tion with the woman, admitted to possessing a handgun, to point- ing a gun in the woman’s “vicin- ity” and telling her to get in the truck, according to court docu- ments. Straight monetary bail was set at $50,000, and Swanger was taken to Centre County Correc- tional Facility, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 11. To email reporter: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @StephaniePanny. Alex Yuan/Collegian The Nittany Lion does push ups during the game at Beaver Stadium against Indiana on Sept. 30. Christopher Sanders/Collegian There is an increasing number of students who vape on campus. Vaping trend gains popularity on campus By Cissy Ming FOr THE COLLEGIAN There was a time when stu- dents might go out in public, vape and draw a lot of attention; how- ever, State College local and Val- ley Vapes employee Ryan Lun- sford said the “big white cloud of smoke has become a normal, everyday thing.” Since Lunsford began vaping four years ago, he has witnessed a dramatic evolution in public perceptions of his hobby as the numbers of vapers grew. During his five months at Val- ley Vapes — a downtown State College store specializing in e- cigarettes and vaping-related merchandise — he said the vast majority of his customers attend Penn State. Vaping, or e-cigarette use, in- volves the delivery of nicotine to the user’s lungs via the com- bustion of a solution containing the substance, possibly with additional flavorings. The com- bustion process produces water vapor, which inspired the collo- quial name “vaping.” While the percentage of col- lege students using cigarettes daily or every other day dropped below five percent in the Ameri- can College Health Association’s Fall 2016 survey, the numbers of students vaping increased. 2015 was the first time the survey in- cluded questions on vaping. Although regular cigarette smokers still outnumber vapers according to the ACHA data, the popularity of vaping on campus has led to discussions among Penn State administrators about how to best address the trend. To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu. ‘Sweet’ new musical coming to Penn State By Morgan Seiff FOr THE COLLEGIAN Musical lovers will be tickled pink about Penn State’s produc- tion of “Sweet Charity.” Step into the Playhouse The- ater and enter the rosy and whimsical world of Charity Hope Valentine. Sure, her job as a taxi dancer may seem sketchy, but charming, ditsy and optimistic Charity’s only dream in life is to find true love. “It’s really excit- ing to tell a story about a wom- an, and a really strong woman, especially right now,” said Erin Farrell Speer , director and third-year grad student study- ing for her MFA in Directing for Musical Theatre. “Sweet Char- ity” is her thesis production. In this female-forward story, the men go in and out of scenes, but the women carry the show from beginning to end. “It’s usually the reverse,” Speer said. “The male charac- ters are really well drawn and the women are kind of sketchily figured in, and it’s so exciting to be able to do something oppo- site.” The artistic direction is unde- niably girly. The set is a pink, ab- stract cityscape of NYC inspired by a Georgia O’Keefe paint- ing. “Charity drives the whole show. That’s why the design is so feminine,” said Speer. “Any time we enter into Charity’s fantasy world, things go pink,” added Richard St. Clair, head of Costume Design , who has been designing professionally for 30 years. He explained this as the actors were in the midst of a “quick-change” rehearsal, test- ing how fast they could switch outfits between scenes. To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu. Courtesy of Morgan Seiff Morgan Hecker, who plays Charity, sings during rehearsal. 2017 student court revealed By Shelby Kaplan THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Members of the Homecoming Royalty committee spent their Monday taking part in their yearly Court Crashes. A court crash is an event where committee members vis- it new homecoming court mem- bers and announce they’ve won and celebrate “Court Crash is most definite- ly my favorite event,” Royalty Director Anuja Jonnalagadda said in a press release. “The Royalty and Executive Com- mittees go to classrooms, club meetings, or lunches to surprise members of the Court through- out their day. We try to involve Court members’ close friends in this process so that the day is all the more special and meaningful.” Every year, the royalty committee selects stu- dents for the court, then via an online survey, Penn State Uni- versity Park seniors vote for 10 men and 10 women for the court. This year’s Student Court includes: Cayla Castells, Megan McCloskey, Kosar Abolhassani, Katie Jordan, Hannah Phol- mann, Aaron Blackney, Ryan Lennon, Alex Shockley, Jorge Zurita-Coronado, and Jon Muth. To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
Transcript
INSIDEHaleigh Washington B10
player of week: page 4
Penn State is new football
team this season: page 4
Editorial: Let’s take action
to stop violence: page 3
What’s new to Netflix this
October: page 2
Vol. 118, No. 32 Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017
Checking in on the Heisman Trophy race
By Andrew Rubin THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
With the Heisman race com-ing into shape and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley in the thick of it, we are going to start doing a weekly update on where the top contenders stand.
There is still a long season ahead and a lot can –– and will change –– but as college football approaches its midway point, it starts to become rare for someone to become a finalist and make it to New York without already having made a statement.
Right now, Barkley is in front of the race after his awestriking primetime performance against Iowa in Week 4.
As was expected with a deep quarterback class in college football, Barkley shares the leaderboard with a number of signal callers.
Some preseason favorites, like USC quarterback Sam Darnold and UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, have had tough starts to their campaigns and dropped off the leaderboard.
However, some surprises have taken their place, so here is the Collegian’s first Heisman check
in of the season.
Saquon Barkley, Penn
State running back Barkley has already logged one
of the best running back perfor-mances anybody will ever see, in the Nittany Lions’ 21-19 thriller against the Hawkeyes. Now, he’s added a kickoff return for a touch-down and a touchdown pass vs. Indiana in Week 5 to show his ver-satility. It’s hard to imagine that any player will have a more excit-ing highlight reel for the voters to see before they submit their bal-lots in December.
Baker Mayfield, Okla-
homa quarterbackMany already feel like Baker
and Barkley are far away in front in this race. Mayfield has had as monumental a moment as any-one else in the pack when he led his Sooners into Columbus and topped Ohio State with a monster performance.
In the defensively suspect Big 12, Mayfield should be able to put up gaudy numbers week after week. He also has the advantage of being a dual threat quarter-back, making him more difficult
to game-plan for than Barkley.
Mason Rudolph, Okla-
homa State quarterbackRudolph has the same advan-
tages of Mayfield by playing in the Big 12: subpar defenses to hang insane numbers on. But he also has the advantage of having James Washington, arguable the best receiver in college football. Washington is a matchup night-mare and already has 647 re-ceiving yards this season. With Rudolph’s cannon for an arm and a great group of receivers on the other end of it, he has a great chance to make it to New York City.
Bryce Love, Stanford running back
Love was an unknown just a couple of weeks ago. Now, he has taken LSU’s Derrius Guice’s place as the back trying to give Barkley competition at the top of the college football pecking order. Love has an insane 1,088 rushing yards in five games this season. His 11.1 yards per carry is even crazier.
To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
Camille Stefani/Collegian
Saquon Barkley (26) gets tackled into Penn State’s bench during the game against Indiana on Sept. 30.
Man charged after pointing gun outside of Beaver Stadium
By Stephanie PannyTHE DAILY COLLEGIAN
On Saturday between 5:35 and 5:45 p.m., a Penn State police of-ficer responded to an alleged al-tercation involving a .357-caliber handgun, between a man, Aus-tin A. Swanger, and a woman in Lot 12 outside of Beaver Sta-dium.
The man, Austin A. Swanger, was arraigned on Sunday, Oct. 1, before District Judge Allen Sinclair, and was charged with misdemeanor counts of terror-istic threats with intent to ter-rorize another, simple assault, reckless endangerment, harass-ment and disorderly conduct, according to court documents.
The woman reported the two had left the Penn State football game after she confronted him about seeing a text message on his phone from an unknown number.
After walking to Swanger’s ve-hicle, the woman said Swanger pulled the handgun from his car after getting inside the ve-hicle and allegedly pointed the
gun at her while telling her to get in the car, according to court documents.
She refused and walked to con-tact police.
Swanger reportedly drove to her location, made a verbal threat toward the family’s ani-mals, and left. After troops went to Swanger’s location and took him into custody, police seized the handgun from the truck’s console.
After consenting to an inter-view, Swanger allegedly acknowl-edged to having a verbal alterca-tion with the woman, admitted to possessing a handgun, to point-ing a gun in the woman’s “vicin-ity” and telling her to get in the truck, according to court docu- ments.
Straight monetary bail was set at $50,000, and Swanger was taken to Centre County Correc-tional Facility, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The Nittany Lion does push ups during the game at Beaver Stadium
against Indiana on Sept. 30.
Christopher Sanders/Collegian
There is an increasing number of students who vape on campus.
Vaping trend gains
popularity on campusBy Cissy MingFOr THE COLLEGIAN
There was a time when stu-dents might go out in public, vape and draw a lot of attention; how-ever, State College local and Val-ley Vapes employee Ryan Lun-sford said the “big white cloud of smoke has become a normal, everyday thing.”
Since Lunsford began vaping four years ago, he has witnessed a dramatic evolution in public perceptions of his hobby as the numbers of vapers grew.
During his five months at Val-ley Vapes — a downtown State College store specializing in e-cigarettes and vaping-related merchandise — he said the vast majority of his customers attend Penn State.
Vaping, or e-cigarette use, in-volves the delivery of nicotine to
the user’s lungs via the com-bustion of a solution containing the substance, possibly with additional flavorings. The com-bustion process produces water vapor, which inspired the collo-quial name “vaping.”
While the percentage of col-lege students using cigarettes daily or every other day dropped below five percent in the Ameri-can College Health Association’s Fall 2016 survey, the numbers of students vaping increased. 2015 was the first time the survey in-cluded questions on vaping.
Although regular cigarette smokers still outnumber vapers according to the ACHA data, the popularity of vaping on campus has led to discussions among Penn State administrators about how to best address the trend.
To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
‘Sweet’ new musicalcoming to Penn State
By Morgan SeiffFOr THE COLLEGIAN
Musical lovers will be tickled pink about Penn State’s produc-tion of “Sweet Charity.”
Step into the Playhouse The-ater and enter the rosy and whimsical world of Charity Hope Valentine. Sure, her job as a taxi dancer may seem sketchy, but charming, ditsy and optimistic Charity’s only dream in life is to find true love. “It’s really excit-ing to tell a story about a wom-an, and a really strong woman, especially right now,” said Erin Farrell Speer , director and third-year grad student study-ing for her MFA in Directing for Musical Theatre. “Sweet Char-ity” is her thesis production. In this female-forward story, the men go in and out of scenes, but the women carry the show from beginning to end.
“It’s usually the reverse,” Speer said. “The male charac-ters are really well drawn and the women are kind of sketchily figured in, and it’s so exciting to be able to do something oppo-site.”
The artistic direction is unde-niably girly. The set is a pink, ab-stract cityscape of NYC inspired by a Georgia O’Keefe paint-ing. “Charity drives the whole show. That’s why the design is so feminine,” said Speer. “Any time we enter into Charity’s fantasy world, things go pink,” added Richard St. Clair, head of Costume Design , who has been designing professionally for 30 years. He explained this as the actors were in the midst of a “quick-change” rehearsal, test-ing how fast they could switch outfits between scenes.
To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
Courtesy of Morgan Seiff
Morgan Hecker, who plays Charity, sings during rehearsal.
2017 student court revealed
By Shelby KaplanTHE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Members of the Homecoming Royalty committee spent their Monday taking part in their yearly Court Crashes.
A court crash is an event where committee members vis-it new homecoming court mem-bers and announce they’ve won and celebrate
“Court Crash is most definite-ly my favorite event,” Royalty Director Anuja Jonnalagadda said in a press release. “The Royalty and Executive Com-mittees go to classrooms, club meetings, or lunches to surprise members of the Court through-out their day. We try to involve Court members’ close friends in this process so that the day is all the more special and meaningful.” Every year, the royalty committee selects stu-dents for the court, then via an online survey, Penn State Uni-versity Park seniors vote for 10 men and 10 women for the court.
This year’s Student Court includes: Cayla Castells, Megan McCloskey, Kosar Abolhassani, Katie Jordan, Hannah Phol-mann, Aaron Blackney, Ryan Lennon, Alex Shockley, Jorge Zurita-Coronado, and Jon Muth.
To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
lOcal The Daily CollegianPage 2 | TuesDay, oCT. 3, 2017
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Netflix: What’s coming and going in October
By Keith MeenanTHE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Netflix offers viewers the opportunity to binge some of their favorite shows commercial free.
It also offers a wide ranges of films for viewers, offering them to rewatch a classic or try something new. Unfortunately, due to the inherent nature of streaming rights, every month there seems to be a reshuffle of what is on and what is off Netflix.
Here is a highlight of what October will give, and take from Netflix.
TelevisionSo far in television, October has
taken some of its biggest binge shows.
For TV shows, we’ve lost “30 Rock,” “My Name is Earl,” “Friday Night Lights,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” “One Tree
Hill” and “The Wonder Years.” In the oncoming weeks, there
are several more shows to be lost.Some of the highlights are “The
Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven on “Stranger Things” poses at
the Golden Globes.
The mass shooting that occurred in the Las Vegas strip Sunday night has left us all speechless.
On Sunday night, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old retired accountant, broke his window on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and started shooting at those gathered for the Jason Aldean concert 400 yards away.
Paddock, who shot himself seconds before the police knocked down his hotel door, killed 59 people thus far and injured at least 527.
We are deeply saddened by this attack and our sympathies go out to all the victims and their families, and our condolences are with Las Vegas and the rest of the nation who has been shook from this mass shooting.
To believe that something so horrible could happen is not only incomprehensible, it’s absolutely appalling that this isn’t the first time we are faced with this situation again.
In our short life as college students, we have witnessed some of the worst mass
shootings in the U.S. and to know that it may not be the last is infuriating.
The one question that seems to resonate throughout our minds is, “why?”
Why would anyone do this? Why here? Why now? Why are mass shootings becoming a more common occurrence?
What’s even worse is the thought or the possibility of us being desensitized to all of these terror attacks. It’s as if the more they occur, the less we feel.
We get the news alert of another deadly attack and though it hurts and pains us, we go on with our lives and accept it.
Mass shootings, or terror
attacks in general, are becoming more common in our society and we fear that many people — ourselves included — are no longer surprised by them.
Though it is true that we must all eventually let go and move on, we mustn’t forget — especially our generation that has grown up with these horrible atrocities.
As college students, it’s easy for us to be preoccupied with our own lives and our own problems. Whether it’s stressing over school, studying for exams, completing projects or being consumed with all the other drama that college drowns us in, we can easily forget that there is a whole other world
outside of our own little bubble and instances like this pulls us back into the real world.
Though this may not be the last mass shooting we witness — and though we may feel completely useless because we don’t know how to stop these occurrences from happening, we cannot allow to have this defeatist attitude.
When will we realize that enough is enough? We are at the point where we need to realize that there is a problem going on in our country.
There is no need to advocate our own political beliefs on gun control because at the end of the day, it doesn’t really change anything. The gun by itself does not hurt anyone, it’s the person
behind the gun that causes the damage and that’s where the real problem lies.
We can’t pretend that there aren’t horrible people out there capable of causing those malicious acts of violence.
We need to realize that though we may think we live in our own safe little bubble, these attacks can happen anywhere and to anyone, including us.
They could happen in our hometown or even here at Penn State, and that’s terrifying to think about.
So let’s all work together to find a solution. No matter our political beliefs, positions or thoughts, it’s safe to assume that we are all against these violent incidents from occurring again.
We must take action and create change. It’s much easier said than done but that does not mean we should give up hope.
We can’t allow ourselves to become so desensitized that we don’t take action to put a stop to this.
Attacks like these remind us of our vulnerability and it is time we find a solution.
OPINIONLeen ObeidatBusiness Manager
Antonia Jaramillo Opinion Page Editor
Sam Ruland Editor in ChiefTuesDay, oCT. 3, 2017 Page 3
Time to take action against the violence
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Before the 2017 NFL season began, ESPN adopted a new model for broadcasting Mon-
day Night Foot-ball games. The network decided not to air the national anthem before games, despite hav-ing done so in previous years.
Last night, however, ESPN
elected to broadcast the national anthem and the ensuing moment of silence before the Monday Night Football game between the Redskins and the Chiefs.
The decision was made in response to Sunday night’s Las Vegas concert shooting, which, at the time of this writing, had killed at least 59 people, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history.
Undoubtedly, ESPN aired the anthem with a moment of silence to honor those who died in the shooting in front of the millions of viewers from across the coun-try. Nobody can rationally deny that ESPN was right in its deci-sion to broadcast the anthem and moment of silence.
The ceremony displayed the power of a unified nation in the face of evil. It was a proud moment for America at a time when politics has pulled many of us apart, specifically in regards to the anthem.
Much has been debated recently about the blending of sports and politics. From
professional athletes and coach-es to members of the sports media, scores of influential sports figures have spoken out about today’s political scene. ESPN, unsurprisingly, has been at the center of these debates.
The escalation of national anthem protests in professional sports has increased the volume of the purpose of sports and its figures: Are sports merely meant to entertain, or are they meant to serve as a reflection of the society in which we live?
Sports are enjoyable because of their humanity. They fea-ture humans showcasing their superhuman abilities, making us believe we can be superhuman too.
Think about the hundreds of children hurdling over air in their backyards pretending to be Saquon Barkley. Look at all the dads in their slow-pitch softball leagues sprinting around the bases with their knees on fire, fighting through the pain so they can experience the surreal sensation of scoring the winning run and leading their teams to victory.
They give us people, places and communities to support and a common cause to get behind.
Chanting and singing as one with 107 thousand Penn State football fans gives us a purpose, allowing us to believe we’re impacting the on-field spectacle, which has meaning only because we make it mean something to us.
They create role models for us and topics of conversation for
friends we wouldn’t have made without games to play and watch. Think of your closest friends and where you met them. If you remember grinding out a doubleheader on the diamond with them or standing next to them in the Beaver Stadium Student Section, then you owe that friendship to the humanity of sports.
The problem, though, is that we ignore the most important and universal component of the humanity across all sports. The spectacle of sports shades us from the countless and diverse humans who give sports any meaning at all.
And naturally, humans are political.
They care about the world around them and the societies in which they live. They speak out about the injustices they face and the joys they experience. They become angry when they feel cheated and grow desperate when they feel hopeless. They laugh when something’s funny and cry when they’re upset.
The “they” I’m referring to includes not just the fans, but also the reporters, the coaches, the front office officials, the referees, the TV networks and, of course, the athletes.
If we’re expected to believe sports are a form of entertain-ment and nothing more, then we’re forced to ignore their humanity. And sports are a heck of a lot more entertaining with the humanity in them.
If you want sports without
politics, you might as well teach robots to throw balls into baskets, but I doubt those assembled blocks of metal will wow you as they domi-nate the paint or swish 3s from downtown.
They won’t keep your eyes glued to the screen the way Michael Jordan did with the ball in his hands and the game on the line. And they sure as heck won’t inspire an entire commu-nity the way Magic Johnson did for those with HIV.
If they do, then we’ve got more pressing matters to wor-ry about than athletes kneel-ing for the national anthem or sportscasters calling our presi-dent racist.
Sports are entertaining and inspiring for the same reasons they are political. If sports lose their politics, they lose their humanity, which would strip them of their entertainment value.
So stop watching ESPN for politicizing sports. Throw out that LeBron jersey because he called Trump a bum. Boycott professional sports for kneeling during the anthem.
See how entertaining the world is without the joys of sports. Yep, it looks a heck of a lot like politics.
Matt Martell is a senior majoring in digital and print journalism and is a columnist for The Daily Collegian. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @mmartell728.
MY VIEW | MATT MARTELL
Sports are political for the same reasons they are entertaining
OUR VIEW
After the Las Vegas mass shooting that occurred Sunday night,
For the second time this sea-son, Haleigh Washington has been named Big Ten Player of
the Week.The senior
middle blocker s p e a r h e a d e d the Nittany Lion
offense this weekend, playing a big part in helping Penn State secure back-to-back sweeps against Illinois and Northwest-ern over the weekend.
This marks the seventh time Washington has earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors, and it’s the fourth time this season
a Penn State player has won the award.
Washington paced the Nittany Lions against Illinois as she fin-ished with 11 kills and a 64.7 hit-ting percentage. She also added four blocks and two service aces.
In the following match against Northwestern, the senior had 10 kills and a 47.4 hitting percent-age, while adding three digs and five blocks.
Her 55.6 hitting percentage on the weekend put her back into the No. 1 spot in the nation, as she leads all players with a 50.4 mark on the year.
The art of recruiting a championship soccer teamBy Thomas Schlarp
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
When coach Erica Dambach makes her consequential in-game adjustments, she has one of
the deepest, most talented rosters in the country at her disposal.
Seen by few and unacknowledged by many, the man behind that roster’s con-struction is recruiting coordina-tor Tim Wassell, who has helped the Nittany Lions dominate the recruiting scene both at home and abroad.
“He is far and away the biggest influencer on our recruiting,” Dambach said. “He starts the process, builds the relationship with the club coach-es and I give him full credit for the successes that have happened in our re-cruiting over these past few years.”
Wassell got his start with the women’s program eight years ago as a volunteer coach af-ter spending three seasons as the head coach of his alma mater Penn State Altoona’s men’s soc-cer team. As the head coach, Was-sel was named the 2008 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year.
Prior to coaching Wassell was the starting goalkeeper for Penn State Altoona, twice being named to the All-AMCC First Team.
His experience as goalkeeper
has allowed him to step into the role of the position coach for one of the nation’s strongest one-two goalie punch of Rose Chandler and Amanda Dennis on the wom-en’s team.
“The first time I watched him coach and spent some time with him,” Dambach said, “I knew he was a first-class individual and to-tal pro. He was working at Penn State Altoona. When we initially hired him as our volunteer coach, he put in just a ton of hours, a ton of work, driving and tireless in his work ethic.
While his elite level of goal-keeper training is unparalleled, Wassell’s true magic happens away from the field.
“He’s such a hard worker and does so much behind-the-scenes
work that no one sees,” sophomore goalie Amanda Dennis said. “It plays an amazing role in our growth.”
Since taking over as recruiting coor-dinator, Wassell has continued to bring in one of the coun-try’s top classes ev-ery year.
In 2014 and 2015, the Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania na-tive helped bring
TopDrawerSoccer.com’s second-rated recruiting class to Happy Valley. 2015 recruit Emily Ogle was named the Big Ten Fresh-man of the Year. Penn State’s most recent recruiting class is ranked as the fourth best in the country.
“Especially as a goalkeeper,
Tim did everything for me,” start-ing goalie Rose Chandler said. “I spent most of my time with him. He would even do video with me over the phone which was really helpful. He’s really engaged with all of our recruits and does a great job there. He’s responsible for all the good players we get here.”
But aside from pulling in play-ers from all over the country, per-haps Wassell’s most impressive achievement is the international brand he has helped to build.
Midfielders Laura Freigang
and Alina Ortega Jurado both hail from Germany and are far from the lone recruits in Wassell’s his-tory with foreign ties.
Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez of Costa Rica, a current midfielder for the Sky Blue FC in the Na-tional Women’s Soccer League and 2015 Mac Hermann Trophy winner, tops the list.
“Naturally we look at it like soccer is a global game, so let’s leverage that in some way,” Was-sell said. “While we’re not by the beach or any of those other plac-
es that international players are right away drawn to, I think the reputation academically and the reputation we have athletically draws them.”
Wassell also attributes the United States’ respect for wom-en’s sports as being a huge factor in attracting foreign players to the collegiate game.
“When the international play-ers see how the women’s game is supported here, it’s incredible,” Wassell said. “I remember when Alina and Laura for the first time saw our fields, they immediately started crying. They’ve never had women’s sports.
“We’re lucky because of our reputation and Erica’s reputa-tion. Players look at our environ-ment as a pathway to their senior national team.”
When Wassell reflects on the success of his stint at Penn State, he gives all credit to the head coach that has helped build such a strong reputation.
“When I look at my coaching career, Erica is far and away the biggest impact on me,” he said. “She’s an incredible mentor.”
As Wassell continues to develop the product on the field, the coach never grows complacent. He is al-ways looking for new ingredients to better the dish on Jeffrey Field.
“It’s been really cool to watch him grow and develop as a coach over these past few years, “Dam-bach said. “He has certainly taught me a ton. He’s what makes every day working here better. I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Penn State women’s soccer head coach Erica Dambach celebrates her
200th win as a head coach prior to the game on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
“He [Wassell]
has certainly
taught me a ton.
He’s what makes
every day work-
ing here better. I
couldn’t be more
thankful.”
Erica Dambach
Women’s soccer head coach
Let’s be Frank: Penn State Football has new identity
Editor’s Note: This is the 5th edition of our weekly editorial Let’s Be Frank, in which we will critique certain decisions made by Penn State football’s coaching staff in the game from the week before. In this edition, we will look at how the Nittany Lions have changed their game day identity thus far in 2017.
By Collegian Football StaffTHE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Let’s be Frank, the identity of a college football team almost al-ways changes over an offseason,
even when almost all of its key pieces are returning.
Penn State is a perfect example of that. The fourth-ranked Nitta-ny Lions are undefeated and on a roll, carrying over much of last year’s season-ending form. How-ever, the identity of the program on the field has changed.
The Nittany Lions are coming out of the gate flying and racing out to early leads. This comes after a 2016 campaign when they were outscored in the first half by 29 points. So far this season, Penn State has a plus-93 scoring mar-gin in the first half.
Remember the second-half team that had to climb out of holes numerous times? That feels like an old topic of conversa-tion already. The Nittany Lions weren’t exactly pulling away from significantly weaker opponents early on in their easier games a year ago. For example, they led
Kent State by only three points and Rutgers by nine at halftime.
Aside from the quick starts, there have been some offensive changes between the two seasons for Penn State. Last year, the Nit-tany Lions stretched the field ver-tically and hit downfield shots as well as anyone. They finished the year with 16.15 yards per comple-tion, good for fifth in the nation.
So far this season, McSor-ley’s yards per completion has dropped over three yards, to
12.88, which is a huge differ-ence. Instead of leading the FBS, his mark through five games ranks 50th. Somewhat –– and we stress somewhat –– methodical marches down the field have been as common as lightning strikes for coordina-tor Joe Moorhead’s offense this year. Going back to last year, methodical drives were a pretty rare sight for the blue and white.
To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
Caitlin Lee/Collegian
Haleigh Washington (15) taps the ball over the net during the women’s
volleyball game at Rec Hall on Saturday, Sept. 23.
Linsey Fagan/Collegian
Defensive end Ryan Buchholz (97) and offensive coordinator Joe
Moorhead sing the alma mater after defeating Akron on Sept. 2.
FOOTBALL
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Former Nittany Lions during week 4 of the NFLBy Tyler King
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Unlike other top college foot-ball programs, the former Penn State football players contribut-ing at the next level aren’t mak-ing headlines as star offensive players.
The former Nittany Lions play-ing in the NFL this season have been quietly solid contributors for their respective teams.
While we have focused solely on former Penn State players so far in this weekly series, one for-mer coach had a successful Week 4, breaking a franchise record in the process.
Bill O’BrienThe former Nittany Lion head
coach and his current team, the Houston Texans, dismantled the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, putting up a franchise-record 57 points and scoring a record seven touchdowns as a team.
The 57-point outburst shattered the previous record of 45 points. O’Brien and the Texans now have themselves a franchise quarter-back in former national champion DeShaun Watson and appear to be headed toward a season-long battle for the AFC South division title.
Chris HoganAs soon as Super Bowl LI hero
Julian Edelman went down with a season-ending injury in the pre-season, the Patriots became in need of someone on their roster to step up and fill his role.
Through the first four games of the season, Hogan appears to be that player.
After his performance on Sunday, in which he caught five passes for 60 yards and a touch-down, Hogan now has caught a touchdown in each of his last three games, giving him four on the season.
Robbie GouldWith a lack of playmakers on
offense capable of putting the ball in the end zone, the San Fran-cisco 49ers have been relying on the leg of Gould to put points on the board. That was most cer-tainly the case during the team’s overtime loss to the Cardinals on Sunday. Gould made all five of his field goal attempts, scoring all 15 of his team’s points in the game. He remains perfect on the sea-son, converting all 11 of his field goal attempts, with his longest field goal coming from 49 yards.
Anthony ZettelThere has been no former Nit-
tany Lion that has improved as much as Zettel has from last year to this year. After winning a start-ing spot on the defensive line in just his second season, he’s done nothing but produce.
To read full story, visit collegian.psu.edu.
Collegian file photo
Former head coach Bill O’Brien during a time out of the game against
Purdue at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, November 16, 2013.
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