Black Shoe Diaries
DOMINATE THE STATE
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Only Saquon Barkley Until Penn State Football
So Penn State does have two #26s on the team this season, but they are both returning players: RB Cam Wallace and LB Cam Smith. So since those two are a bit known around here, I decided to take the liberty to profile a former 26 — Saquon Barkley. How freaking awesome was this guy?! […]
Penn State’s Top 10 Players for 2026: Carson Hansen
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 […]
MMQB – TEU?
For the better part of two decades – longer than that, for sure, just so the old heads don’t start yelling at me – Penn State has churned out tight ends at the highest level. Jesse James, Mike Gesicki, Pat Freiermuth, Brenton Strange, Theo Johnson, and Tyler Warren continued a nearly continuous run of NFL-level […]
Only Omarion Davis Until Penn State Football
We are 27 days away from Penn State football, and we have another newcomer to profile. Donning the 27 this season is Omarion Davis, a sophomore safety originally from Charlotte, NC. Davis spent his freshman season at Boston College, where he played in all 12 games and had two starts. He finished the year with […]
Only Bryson Williams Until Penn State Football
We are four weeks away — FOUR WEEKS! — from Penn State football. Today, we have another new face on the roster #28 Bryson Williams. Williams comes from Nebraska where he was a three-star prospect in the 2026 class. Rivals had him ranked as the No. 32 overall safety. He originally committed to Iowa State […]
Penn State Hockey Preview: Goaltenders
Goaltending has been a positive for Penn State hockey the last two seasons. Despite breaking in two new starting goalies last year, the Nittany Lions found two solid options and spent most of the season rotating between Kevin Reidler and freshman Josh Fleming. Reidler left for the NHL and third stringer Chris McFayden ran out […]
Only D’Antae Sheffey Until Penn State Football
We are 29 days away from Penn State football, which means we get to profile a Townie: running back D’Antae Sheffey. A three-star prospect in the 2026 class, Sheffey was committed to Syracuse for much of 2025, but he decommitted right around Thanksgiving and went unsigned during the early National Signing Day period. He was […]
Josh Reed Returns To Penn State Basketball For 2026-27 Season
Thanks to the injunction that allowed class of 2022 athletes a 5th season of eligibility, Josh Reed decided to return to Penn State for the 2026-27 season. A 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, Reed spent last season in Happy Valley after spending his first three seasons at Cincinnati. With the Nittany Lions, Reed was one of the […]
Summer Summary: August 6th
Let’s continue talking about uniform patches, shall we? Can the Nittany Lions make it to the CFP this season? Going to the other side of the spectrum…is Penn State overrated? Some questions facing the football team as the season approaches. I’ll give you one guess which position has the biggest chip on their shoulder. Elsewhere […]
Only Christian Askew Until Penn State Football
It’s getting closer and closer…we are now within a month from Penn State’s first game of 2026! September 5, 2026, will also mark the date of Christian Askew’s first game as a Nittany Lion. Askew joins Penn State as part of Matt Campbell’s first recruiting class after taking over as head coach. The three-star prospect […]
Happy Valley Rewind: Penn State-Purdue 1999
Happy Hump Day, BSD-ers! While we don’t have a live YouTube Show for you tonight, we do have a brand new Happy Valley Rewind episode. Our latest rewind goes back to 1999 to talk about Penn State’s epic road showdown at a Drew Brees-led Purdue team, in a game that featured multiple defensive scores, multiple […]
Penn State Announces Stripe Out Game for Week 1
Beaver Stadium will be looking extra sharp for the 2026 season opener against Marshall. The week one contest, set for Saturday, September 5, 2026, will be the annual Stripe Out game, with each section decked out in white or blue. The Stripe Out seat map will be released in the near future, so fans can […]
Penn State Hockey Preview: Defensemen
Penn State hockey struggled defensively last season and lost veterans Carter Schade, Jarod Crespo, and Cade Christenson from the roster. Scoring is never a problem for Guy Gadowsky’s teams, but the defense is always a wild card. Any improvement on the blue line would help Penn State contend against the top teams in the Big […]
The Best Big Ten Game of the Week for all of 2026
WEEK 0 (Aug. 29) San Jose State at USC This is the pick by default as USC is the only Big Ten squad appearing in week 0. San Jose State is coming off a 3-9 season which ended on a four-game losing skid. I don’t expect them to put up much of a fight against […]
Camp Is Here: Penn State Football Practice Starts Today
Folks, we have made it. Football season is just around the corner as Penn State starts its fall camp today. There’s so much different with this Penn State football program from the last time we saw them. Stalwarts of the program like Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and Dani Dennis-Sutton are gone. The iconic […]
Only Marcus Neal Until Penn State Football
We’re down to just 31 short days until Penn State and Marshall kick off the 2026 season! If you are ranking the many newcomers on the Penn State roster, Marcus Neal may be at the very top. The safety is coming off a wildly productive sophomore year, and could be one of the Big Ten’s […]
Penn State Football Ranked No. 17 In Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Penn State football checked in at No. 17 in the preseason Coaches’ Poll earlier today: The Nittany Lions will start outside the top 10 for the first time since 2022. In total, eight Big Ten teams are ranked in the poll, with Ohio State and Oregon taking the top two spaces. Defending national champion Indiana […]
Only John Klosterman Until Penn State Football
We’re down to 32 days until the start of the 2026 Penn State Football season! John Klosterman is one of the many Iowa State transplants to follow Matt Campbell to Happy Valley. Klosterman is set to begin his fifth-year senior season, and will be one and done as a Nittany Lion. He has been with […]
Penn State Hockey Preview: Forwards
There are just 67 days until Penn State hockey’s season opener against UConn. The roster has taken shape, and after experiencing heavy turnover at forward in the offseason, Penn State will have a blend of veteran pieces and fresh faces. First Line Dane Dowiak-Reese Laubach-Justin Poirier Reese Laubach has been one of the more underappreciated […]
MMQB – Would You Rather
We are in the home stretch of the off-season, with preseason camp getting going, and the first college football games happening at the end of this month! There’s been a lot of hemming and hawing on how Matt Campbell’s team will look this fall, and I still plant myself firmly in the “offense will be […]
Only Alexander McPherson Until Penn State Football
We’re only 33 more days away from Penn State’s week one clash with Marshall! Another day of the countdown, and another new face for the Nittany Lions. Alexander McPherson comes to Happy Valley after spending his freshman season at Colorado. Her performed quite well for just his first season out of high school, ending the […]
Only Chris Fileppo Until Penn State Football
We’re down to just 34 days until the start of a brand new season of Penn State Football! Chris Fileppo is one of the many new faces to join the Nittany Lions in 2026. He began his career at West Virginia, but decided to return to his home state after one season as a Mountaineer. […]
Oh, Hello: Kohyn Eshkawkogan Commits To Penn State Hockey
Penn State hockey picked up its fourth defenseman of the 2027 class with a commitment from Kohyn Eshkawkogan earlier on Saturday: Eshkawkogan hails from Ontario and finished his first two seasons in the OHL with 73 points (12 goals, 61 assists) in 120 games with the Ottawa 67’s. His 53 points in 68 games during […]
Only Blaise Sokach-Minnick Until Penn State Football
We are now just five weeks away from Penn State kicking off the 2026 season against Marshall. Let’s mark the occasion by honoring one of the most underappreciated positions in football – the long snapper. Blaise Sokach-Minnick is entering his fifth season with the Nittany Lions, and his patience looks to be rewarded with a […]
Former Penn State Great Michael Mauti Set To Join Matt Campbell’s Staff
You can’t keep him away for long! Michael Mauti is set to join Penn State’s staff under Matt Campbell as Director of Football Engagement. The Penn State athletics website already reflects the change, showing this had likely been in the works for some time. Mauti, a former All-American, has been a vocal advocate of the […]
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