Ross Tucker 2019 Class Countdown Continues!

[KSN Jim]

Ross continues his countdown of the 2019 class. He's up to number 8 (Hakeem Beamon) 7 (Tyler Rudolph) and 6 (Michael Johnson Jr.) He's very excited about two of the three.
Hear his scouting reports here:
http://www.keystonesportsnetwork.com/category/ross-2019-recruit-countdown/

 

[mikemauti42]

Ross continues his countdown of the 2019 class. He's up to number 8 (Hakeem Beamon) 7 (Tyler Rudolph) and 6 (Michael Johnson Jr.) He's very excited about two of the three.
Hear his scouting reports here:
http://www.keystonesportsnetwork.com/category/ross-2019-recruit-countdown/

Awful rankings. Beamon and Johnson should have been 2 of the lowest rated. Yet, he thinks he ranked Rudolph too high. Rudolph will be best of this bunch by far. Not sure the other two ever get much playing time in their career

 

[Alphabets]

Awful rankings. Beamon and Johnson should have been 2 of the lowest rated. Yet, he thinks he ranked Rudolph too high. Rudolph will be best of this bunch by far. Not sure the other two ever get much playing time in their career

Cool opinion, man. Because, that's all it is. You know as much (or little) as Ross does. Fact.

 

[KSN Jim]

You're right. Whenever analyzing recruits it definitely is just opinion. However, after working with Ross for several years now, I've come to value his educated opinion. No one's perfect, but he has proven to be right more often than not.

 

[bsnyds39]

You're right. Whenever analyzing recruits it definitely is just opinion. However, after working with Ross for several years now, I've come to value his educated opinion. No one's perfect, but he has proven to be right more often than not.

Princeton Educated
NFL Veteran
Paid to voice his Opinion on both CFB and the NFL


Enough said

 

[jdog1124]

It amazes me how many PSU football fans are unaware of these podcasts. It’s required listening diehards. Love Ross’ rankings though he confuses me sometimes with his order. He loves everything about Devyn Ford but has him rated number 5? How is he not 1 or 2 given his love for his talent? All of the shows are worthwhile. Not just Ross’

 

[jdog1124]

Also having the podcasts on Spotify is awesome

 

[KSN Jim]

It amazes me how many PSU football fans are unaware of these podcasts. It’s required listening diehards. Love Ross’ rankings though he confuses me sometimes with his order. He loves everything about Devyn Ford but has him rated number 5? How is he not 1 or 2 given his love for his talent? All of the shows are worthwhile. Not just Ross’

First of all Jdog, thanks for the endorsement of our show.
As for Ross's rankings, I've heard similar takes. What happened is that he ranked players based on his previous film study. He then takes another look at players on the week we review them. Sometimes this is his first look at their senior tape and he will modify his opinion. Because of this, I'm going to schedule a segment after we are done with the countdown where he can go back and address the players he might change.
BTW, I was really excited about his take on Ford. He likes everything about him. We also had Ford on the show after he committed and he comes across as a very smart and genuinely nice kid.
For those who would like to hear the latest segment in Ross's countdown, here it is:
http://www.keystonesportsnetwork.com/tuckers-tape-2019-recruiting-class-rankings-5-3/

 

[KSN Jim]

Also having the podcasts on Spotify is awesome

It was actually the suggestion of someone on this board to put the podcast on Spotify. I'm glad we did. I've become a fan of Spotify.
You can also get all our stuff by downloading our APP. Just search on Keystone Sports on the APP store.

 

[Jaymar80]

Great stuff, as usual!

I'm a little surprised with his take on Beaman, although I always really liked his film! He's always making it miserable on the opposing O-Line, bc he's always somewhere different on the D-Line! I'm just a little worried he's not going to be able to gain the weight he needs to be a B1G D-Lineman, but maybe not quite quick enough to be an elite DE. I know his SPARQ scores were WAY better than I thought they were going to be, at the Nike camp last year!

Can't wait to hear how Ford is doing when camp starts to heat up a little! Seider has to be loving his RB room, I doubt he's ever had talent like this!

And Brent Pry has to be licking his chops with ALL the talent that he has to work with! LBU is going to be set for a while, we just keep getting one stud, after another! Parsons and Luketa last year(didn't forget about Katshir, just haven't heard much), this years class had Dixon and Smith, and now we have two studs committed, and will most likely land another blue chipper, or at least close to it! The DE position is getting just as ridiculous! And I think we're starting to get some depth at DT, still need another solid one for this years class, but we're getting there.

 

[burnsie1983]

I think its great that a nationally respected guy like Ross Tucker makes a weekly appearance on the Penn State show. I enjoy his perspective very much.

 

[KSN Jim]

Great stuff, as usual!

I'm a little surprised with his take on Beaman, although I always really liked his film! He's always making it miserable on the opposing O-Line, bc he's always somewhere different on the D-Line! I'm just a little worried he's not going to be able to gain the weight he needs to be a B1G D-Lineman, but maybe not quite quick enough to be an elite DE. I know his SPARQ scores were WAY better than I thought they were going to be, at the Nike camp last year!

Can't wait to hear how Ford is doing when camp starts to heat up a little! Seider has to be loving his RB room, I doubt he's ever had talent like this!

And Brent Pry has to be licking his chops with ALL the talent that he has to work with! LBU is going to be set for a while, we just keep getting one stud, after another! Parsons and Luketa last year(didn't forget about Katshir, just haven't heard much), this years class had Dixon and Smith, and now we have two studs committed, and will most likely land another blue chipper, or at least close to it! The DE position is getting just as ridiculous! And I think we're starting to get some depth at DT, still need another solid one for this years class, but we're getting there.

I'm also anxious to find out about Ford. I was high on him already but Ross's scouting report raised my expectation level even higher. Going to be interesting to see how they split up the carries.

 

[Judge Smails]

I'm also anxious to find out about Ford. I was high on him already but Ross's scouting report raised my expectation level even higher. Going to be interesting to see how they split up the carries.

As I've mentioned before, I really like hearing Ross's take on the different prospects. It gives him more credibility when he is mixing positive and negative reviews.

We've all seen how some players just play faster than their 40 times. Ross raved about how fast Ford was on the field. Blazing speed. However, his electronic times at the Opening weren't eye opening. 4.63 40, 4.33 shuttle, 31.7" vertical. I'm not very worried about that because 1) Barkley had a slower 40 as a HS prospect and 2) Deej is the best in the business at lowering those 40 times and increasing the explosiveness of our players.

But that was interesting to me with how Ford's off the field speed measurements didn't match Ross's observations of his film.

 

[lbujoe33]

I think its great that a nationally respected guy like Ross Tucker makes a weekly appearance on the Penn State show. I enjoy his perspective very much.

I agree. I really like his take on recruits as opposed to some of the other former 5 star athletes on this board. He said Devyn Ford is a division prospect at 4 positions.

 

[81b&w]

I'm also anxious to find out about Ford. I was high on him already but Ross's scouting report raised my expectation level even higher. Going to be interesting to see how they split up the carries.

I re-watched Ford's Hudl after listening to Ross, and he's right. Ford showed some great skills in different positions and is very physical. Ford has a great smile in every picture you see of him and doesn't seem like the same kid I saw laying on some serious licks. He looks like a serious gamer and appears plenty fast

 

[KSN Jim]

Jim, would you say your podcast gave similar coverage to Micah Parsons choosing PSU as you did to Fleming choosing Ohio State? Segments dedicated to just that occurrence?

I'm not sure. I feel like we did because they were both highly rated PA HS players that most felt were "must gets". Not to mention that they were (are) the biggest story during the off-season.
I'm curious as to why you are asking. Do you feel that we are giving more emphasis to one or the other?
Also, I hope you're not getting tired of hearing about Fleming because we are going to be committing a segment with Ross, Bob and Andy later this week to him. We are going to look at the commitment from both a PSU perspective and the player perspective.

 

[Judge Smails]

I'm not sure. I feel like we did because they were both highly rated PA HS players that most felt were "must gets". Not to mention that they were (are) the biggest story during the off-season.
I'm curious as to why you are asking. Do you feel that we are giving more emphasis to one or the other?
Also, I hope you're not getting tired of hearing about Fleming because we are going to be committing a segment with Ross, Bob and Andy later this week to him. We are going to look at the commitment from both a PSU perspective and the player perspective.

Yeah, I'm tired of hearing about Fleming. Would like to talk about recruits that are still on the table for PSU. At this point, it's crying over spilled milk. And I think 4x more attention has been paid to PSU losing Fleming on your show than landing recruits like 5 stars Ricky Slade, Lance Dixon, Brandon Smith, etc. You know your business and I'm sure you wouldn't be doing it if it didn't generate traffic. Overall, you do a great job and I don't miss a segment (soundcloud). But it seems like overkill and helps produce the "this is a disaster" effect that Pickel loves to talk about.


5-Star WR Julian Fleming Picks OSU over PSU, Others
June 3, 2019

PSU News & Notes Pt. 2: Stevens To Miss. St. A Mistake? Latest On Recruit Julian Fleming
May 23, 2019

PSU News & Notes 5-20-19 Pt. 2
May 20, 2019
Dustin and Greg talk the latest on top recruit Julian Fleming (pictured) and PSU’s visit weekend!

PSU News & Notes 5-16-19
May 16, 2019
Andy and Bob talk recruit Julian Fleming and his college announcement May 31st,

Is 5-Star WR Julian Fleming A Must-get For PSU?
May 13, 2019
Jim and Dustin discuss if Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming is a must-get for PSU’s 2020 class!


2020 Recruiting Priorities
May 1, 2019
Greg gives his 5 recruiting priorities for the 2020 class! Download KSN Podcast: Recruiting Priorities

 

[KSN Jim]

Yeah, I'm tired of hearing about Fleming. Would like to talk about recruits that are still on the table for PSU. At this point, it's crying over spilled milk. And I think 4x more attention has been paid to PSU losing Fleming on your show than landing recruits like 5 stars Ricky Slade, Lance Dixon, Brandon Smith, etc. You know your business and I'm sure you wouldn't be doing it if it didn't generate traffic. Overall, you do a great job and I don't miss a segment (soundcloud). But it seems like overkill and helps produce the "this is a disaster" effect that Pickel loves to talk about.


5-Star WR Julian Fleming Picks OSU over PSU, Others
June 3, 2019

PSU News & Notes Pt. 2: Stevens To Miss. St. A Mistake? Latest On Recruit Julian Fleming
May 23, 2019

PSU News & Notes 5-20-19 Pt. 2
May 20, 2019
Dustin and Greg talk the latest on top recruit Julian Fleming (pictured) and PSU’s visit weekend!

PSU News & Notes 5-16-19
May 16, 2019
Andy and Bob talk recruit Julian Fleming and his college announcement May 31st,

Is 5-Star WR Julian Fleming A Must-get For PSU?
May 13, 2019
Jim and Dustin discuss if Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming is a must-get for PSU’s 2020 class!


2020 Recruiting Priorities
May 1, 2019
Greg gives his 5 recruiting priorities for the 2020 class! Download KSN Podcast: Recruiting Priorities

Interestingly enough, Q1 of today's show (it's already been recorded) is on PSU WR targets.
Perhaps there is a bit of "bad news sells". I believe it's more a case that once a player commits to PSU we all move on to the next recruit. When a player goes elsewhere there's a need to ask what went wrong. Why in the world did a player choose another school as opposed to PSU which all us fans think is the obvious choice.
FWIW, I'm in the camp that is not too concerned about this decision. I would've preferred Bresee if I had to take one or the other.
And those who use terms like "disaster" are not paying attention to how well Franklin has been recruiting.
Finally, when it comes time to decide on topics, I like to take into consideration what I see as topics that folks are talking about, including the topics on this board. So yes, you can influence what we do!

 

[Raffycorn]

I admit I found Monday’s lengthy discussion on Fleming to be a bit bizarre. Greg’s insistence on Franklin and staff needing to disclose more about injuries as a potential reason for Fleming going elsewhere (IMO) bordered a bit on self-serving, especially given the lack of mention of the variety of reasons why Fleming could have potentially wanted to get out of Pennsylvania and go to Ohio State that have been discussed on this board and elsewhere since his commitment - regardless of what he said.

In the other Fleming segment, Dustin’s selection of every mid-level four star and higher from the region and beyond who went elsewhere (including Parsons, who committed to Penn State?) was rather strange considering the segment was titled “PSU’s Success Landing High Profile Recruits”. You’d think if it was a discussion of PSU’s success in landing high profile recruits that there would be some kind of mention of the high profile recruits that Penn State has landed.

 

[KSN Jim]

Yeah, I'm tired of hearing about Fleming. Would like to talk about recruits that are still on the table for PSU. At this point, it's crying over spilled milk. And I think 4x more attention has been paid to PSU losing Fleming on your show than landing recruits like 5 stars Ricky Slade, Lance Dixon, Brandon Smith, etc. You know your business and I'm sure you wouldn't be doing it if it didn't generate traffic. Overall, you do a great job and I don't miss a segment (soundcloud). But it seems like overkill and helps produce the "this is a disaster" effect that Pickel loves to talk about.


5-Star WR Julian Fleming Picks OSU over PSU, Others
June 3, 2019

PSU News & Notes Pt. 2: Stevens To Miss. St. A Mistake? Latest On Recruit Julian Fleming
May 23, 2019

PSU News & Notes 5-20-19 Pt. 2
May 20, 2019
Dustin and Greg talk the latest on top recruit Julian Fleming (pictured) and PSU’s visit weekend!

PSU News & Notes 5-16-19
May 16, 2019
Andy and Bob talk recruit Julian Fleming and his college announcement May 31st,

Is 5-Star WR Julian Fleming A Must-get For PSU?
May 13, 2019
Jim and Dustin discuss if Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming is a must-get for PSU’s 2020 class!


2020 Recruiting Priorities
May 1, 2019
Greg gives his 5 recruiting priorities for the 2020 class! Download KSN Podcast: Recruiting Priorities

Hey Judge - I know you're a bit tired of hearing about Fleming, but in this week's show we do a segment where Ross weighs in with his take. This is his first chance to react on the show. I bring this up because he has an interesting take that I think you will find interesting. I'd like to hear your reaction after you listen. It should be posted later today.

Thanks!

 

[uPBRmeASAP]

I admit I found Monday’s lengthy discussion on Fleming to be a bit bizarre. Greg’s insistence on Franklin and staff needing to disclose more about injuries as a potential reason for Fleming going elsewhere (IMO) bordered a bit on self-serving, especially given the lack of mention of the variety of reasons why Fleming could have potentially wanted to get out of Pennsylvania and go to Ohio State that have been discussed on this board and elsewhere since his commitment - regardless of what he said.

In the other Fleming segment, Dustin’s selection of every mid-level four star and higher from the region and beyond who went elsewhere (including Parsons, who committed to Penn State?) was rather strange considering the segment was titled “PSU’s Success Landing High Profile Recruits”. You’d think if it was a discussion of PSU’s success in landing high profile recruits that there would be some kind of mention of the high profile recruits that Penn State has landed.

Greg was trying to implicate Franklin that he mishandled the recruitment and was talking about it as lesson learned that shouldn’t happen in year 6.

It was a cheap shot and ridiculous.

We lost Fleming because we went 9-4 last year and went through 3 receiver coaches in the past year. OSU meanwhile, is still OSU, and has sent several receivers to the NFL in the last 3 drafts. That’s why we lost him.

Fleming talking about Shorter’s playing time was just Fleming talking too much as he felt compelled to provide additional reasons during an hour long interview on why he didn’t select Penn State.

There is no friggin way we lost Fleming because of Justin Shorter’s lack of playing time. Nor did we lose Fleming because of a mishandled recruitment by James Franklin for not talking to him more about why Shorter wasn’t playing.

 

[Rollin Stone]

@ksnjim hey on Wednesday’s show I tried to listen to the 3rd qtr seemed to be a repeat of the second qtr. I don’t know if it was an issue on the iTunes podcast app or if it was uploaded incorrectly or what. I will try to listen to it on the KSN app to see if it’s correct.

Thanks

 

[grinagrin]

@ksnjim hey on Wednesday’s show I tried to listen to the 3rd qtr seemed to be a repeat of the second qtr. I don’t know if it was an issue on the iTunes podcast app or if it was uploaded incorrectly or what. I will try to listen to it on the KSN app to see if it’s correct.

Thanks

Same with me. KSN app had same issue. I went over to SoundCloud to listen to it....Jim, this seems to happen a little too often lately...

 

[KSN Jim]

@ksnjim hey on Wednesday’s show I tried to listen to the 3rd qtr seemed to be a repeat of the second qtr. I don’t know if it was an issue on the iTunes podcast app or if it was uploaded incorrectly or what. I will try to listen to it on the KSN app to see if it’s correct.

Thanks

Hey Guys - Thanks for the heads up. It's now been fixed. We try to make our podcast available in as many places as possible. This means uploading it multiple times and sometimes a mistake happens (we try to avoid this if possible!) In this scenario the mistake was early and carried thru to multiple sites. I think I've now fixed it everywhere. It make take a little bit before the fix is propagated to each outlet.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Here is a link that will help if you can't get to it yet:

 

[MJG-90]

I've been enjoying these podcasts since they were brought to my attention recently. My only complaint is the way the podcast app works. If I want to listen in order I have to go back to the app after each segment and click the next (it automatically starts the podcast directly below, not above the podcast that just ended). I usually listen in reverse order (4 thru 1) because when 4 ends, 3 automatically starts playing. Does anyone have a better solution?

 

[grinagrin]

I've been enjoying these podcasts since they were brought to my attention recently. My only complaint is the way the podcast app works. If I want to listen in order I have to go back to the app after each segment and click the next (it automatically starts the podcast directly below, not above the podcast that just ended). I usually listen in reverse order (4 thru 1) because when 4 ends, 3 automatically starts playing. Does anyone have a better solution?

I use the Apple iTunes podcasts. I have it set in the settings to play episodes from oldest to newest and it works fine for me. Hope this helps.

 

[MJG-90]

Hope this helps.

Awesome. I figured there had to be a way. I couldn’t figure it out. Now I did. Thanks.

 

[Judge Smails]

Hey Judge - I know you're a bit tired of hearing about Fleming, but in this week's show we do a segment where Ross weighs in with his take. This is his first chance to react on the show. I bring this up because he has an interesting take that I think you will find interesting. I'd like to hear your reaction after you listen. It should be posted later today.

Thanks!

Jim, just caught the segment sitting in a room in the Nittany Lion Inn.

Thought it was a very good segment. Appreciated Ross and his insight into the process.

Following Fleming on twitter, it seemed like Fields decision to transfer to OSU was the turning point imo. Fleming reacted very strongly to that.

While landing the top PA kids is important, with the decrease in D1 talent in our state (5 PSU offers out for 2020?), PSU’s success in Florida and the South may be more important going forward.

 

[KSN Jim]

Jim, just caught the segment sitting in a room in the Nittany Lion Inn.

Thought it was a very good segment. Appreciated Ross and his insight into the process.

Following Fleming on twitter, it seemed like Fields decision to transfer to OSU was the turning point imo. Fleming reacted very strongly to that.

While landing the top PA kids is important, with the decrease in D1 talent in our state (5 PSU offers out for 2020?), PSU’s success in Florida and the South may be more important going forward.

Judge - I 100% agree. It would have been great to get Fleming, but most of the anxiety is because he's from PA.
The inroads into FL are great, but also the number of great recruits from VA and MD.
Also, I had a feeling you would appreciate Ross's take. It was a really interesting perspective. For those that are interested, here's the link:

 

[Jaymar80]

As usual, I appreciate the different perspective. Thanks.

I wonder what the difference is with the loyalty of each kid's state? Why does an Ohio kid WANT to stay home, and show their loyalty, and alot of PA kids WANT to get away, and could care less about their loyalty towards PA. Does parental pressure play a part? Are PA parents more open/laid back when it comes to the recruiting process, compared to Ohio parents, or is it just the kid's mentality?

My personal experience, none of my family or friends would have even considered playing for anyone other than PSU, if any of us would have been good enough! Lol But I guess that was a long time ago!lol

 

[djr4rebs]

Why does an Ohio kid WANT to stay home

Ohio State has been THE team in that state since forever. The Bengals had a few good teams, but have largely been the Bungals. The Browns are, well, the Browns. They've left. They've came back. They've been so terrible that 7-9 has brought tremendous excitement.

Throw in the Urban Meyer era which, outside of Saban and Dabo winning damn near all titles, is as impressive as any run in Buckeye history and you got a lot of reasons for them to be a hot school.

 

[Jaymar80]

Ohio State has been THE team in that state since forever. The Bengals had a few good teams, but have largely been the Bungals. The Browns are, well, the Browns. They've left. They've came back. They've been so terrible that 7-9 has brought tremendous excitement.

Throw in the Urban Meyer era which, outside of Saban and Dabo winning damn near all titles, is as impressive as any run in Buckeye history and you got a lot of reasons for them to be a hot school.

I know they have been one of the elite schools, I was talking more about the loyalty part of it. I mean PSU didn't have the season we thought they would, but anybody that knows football, can see we're close. So, you'd think these top PA kids would see that, and want to be the difference, but we don't. It sounds like even if OSU had a down year, they would still pull most of the top in state talent, to try to bring their beloved program back to the top. That's what I'm curious about, it just seems different.

 

[81b&w]

I know they have been one of the elite schools, I was talking more about the loyalty part of it. I mean PSU didn't have the season we thought they would, but anybody that knows football, can see we're close. So, you'd think these top PA kids would see that, and want to be the difference, but we don't. It sounds like even if OSU had a down year, they would still pull most of the top in state talent, to try to bring their beloved program back to the top. That's what I'm curious about, it just seems different.

Ohio State doesn't live off their in state talent and we couldn't either if we took the 20 best high school kids from PA every year, pretty simple

 

[Option Bob]

I know they have been one of the elite schools, I was talking more about the loyalty part of it. I mePSU didn't have the season we thought they would, but anybody that knows football, can see we're close. So, you'd think these top PA kids would see that, and want to be the difference, but we don't. It sounds like even if OSU had a down year, they would still pull most of the top in state talent, to try to bring their beloved program back to the top. That's what I'm curious about, it just seems different.

Maybe there are no beat writers following the Buckeyes who openly hate them. It often seems as if writers like Jones, Pickel, Flounders, etc. are overly negative when commenting on PSU football. Some justify such negativity as being “realistic” instead of being “homers.” I don’t read Ohio papers, but I am guessing that there are no David Jones types there covering Ohio State football. Repeated negative comments just might contribute to a lack of loyalty towards the PA state football power among teenagers.

 

[Gitzit]

Maybe there are no beat writers following the Buckeyes who openly hate them. It often seems as if writers like Jones, Pickel, Flounders, etc. are overly negative when commenting on PSU football. Some justify such negativity as being “realistic” instead of being “homers.” I don’t read Ohio papers, but I am guessing that there are no David Jones types there covering Ohio State football. Repeated negative comments just might contribute to a lack of loyalty towards the PA state football power among teenagers.

I don't see how you could say Pickle and Flounders are overly negative, maybe Jones. I think being from Pa. these kids have been subjected to more news on the sandusky stuff than kids outside of Pa. and that has had an impact even though kids might say not. These kids are not reading what Greg and Bob write anyway lol, but they are surely hearing the local news every time sandusky or Spanier has some trial happening when they come home for supper. I doubt the local news in Virgina or Florida has been covering these court proceedings.
I also think the elite comment was bad like was mentioned on the show.

Am I mistaken or was Ross doing everything he could to flip Fleming

The Buckeye's have had more famous WR through there. Like Penn State and linebacker tradition has translated into higher rated kids coming here.

 

[KSN Jim]

Maybe there are no beat writers following the Buckeyes who openly hate them. It often seems as if writers like Jones, Pickel, Flounders, etc. are overly negative when commenting on PSU football. Some justify such negativity as being “realistic” instead of being “homers.” I don’t read Ohio papers, but I am guessing that there are no David Jones types there covering Ohio State football. Repeated negative comments just might contribute to a lack of loyalty towards the PA state football power among teenagers.

I find the "writers hate the team" theory really interesting. Since doing our show I've had the opportunity to see how this theory comes about. Greg or Bob might say five things about the team and the one negative thing is all that is heard. And then it's often misquoted. The guys don't need me to defend them. I am known as a die hard fan, but when I hear this talk of the writers hating the team, I find it absurd.

 

[KSN Jim]

Since this thread was about Ross's countdown of the 2019 class, here is the link to the entire countdown with Ross's scouting report on each player including the top 2 which came out this week:

http://www.keystonesportsnetwork.com/category/ross-2019-recruit-countdown/

 

[Judge Smails]

I find the "writers hate the team" theory really interesting. Since doing our show I've had the opportunity to see how this theory comes about. Greg or Bob might say five things about the team and the one negative thing is all that is heard. And then it's often misquoted. The guys don't need me to defend them. I am known as a die hard fan, but when I hear this talk of the writers hating the team, I find it absurd.

I don’t know if “hate the team” is accurate. The writers who receive the most disdain here often take laughably pessimistic viewpoints. After PSU was crushed by Michigan in 2016, David Jones went on his 5 minute post game segment with Bob and predicted the team would finish 3-9 that season. That preseason, Jones said Barkley would be wasted at PSU because Trace McSorley had a popgun arm and wouldn’t be able to stretch the field. Of course, Trace led the nation in yards per completion that year.

So just like Pickel saying multiple times that losing Fleming is a “disaster”, certain writers consistently take the most pessimistic possible result regularly. Maybe that reflects their personal viewpoint on life more than their feelings about the team? But at any rate, following college football closely, Penn State seems to have a higher percentage of writers who are more critical of the program they cover than anywhere else.

 

[KSN Jim]

I don’t know if “hate the team” is accurate. The writers who receive the most disdain here often take laughably pessimistic viewpoints. After PSU was crushed by Michigan in 2016, David Jones went on his 5 minute post game segment with Bob and predicted the team would finish 3-9 that season. That preseason, Jones said Barkley would be wasted at PSU because Trace McSorley had a popgun arm and wouldn’t be able to stretch the field. Of course, Trace led the nation in yards per completion that year.

So just like Pickel saying multiple times that losing Fleming is a “disaster”, certain writers consistently take the most pessimistic possible result regularly. Maybe that reflects their personal viewpoint on life more than their feelings about the team? But at any rate, following college football closely, Penn State seems to have a higher percentage of writers who are more critical of the program they cover than anywhere else.

I'm going to leave David Jones out of the discussion! LOL
I believe "disaster" is too strong a word in losing Fleming. My personal view is that it's not a huge deal mostly because I don't think it's a position of need. But I can see where many people would use a strong word to describe losing a 5 star player from your backyard to a rival when you've been working for years to get him and was the odds on favorite to get his commitment.
But to the topic in general of beat writer bias, let me relay a story from a couple years ago. Audrey Snyder (full disclosure, she's a friend of the show)was chosen as one of the most negative of PSU beat writers. It was Penn State Pitt week so I was reading a Pitt message board. You guessed it, their fans were calling her one of the PSU homers which they couldn't understand since she was working for a Pittsburgh organization at the time. I have had people reach out to me (and seen it on this board) where it's been pointed out a terrible thing that our guys have said on the air. The only problem is, that's NOT what they said. I even went back to check.
It's every fan's right to complain about the team, writers, announcers, etc. But what I'm saying is that you get a little different perspective when you get a chance to peek behind the curtain.
I'm pretty sure that I haven't changed anyone's mind. Just wanted to let you know that there's another side to the story. And BTW, since it feels like I'm being a bit defensive, the vast majority of the feedback to our show has been positive and I'm very appreciative of that.

 

[Option Bob]

I find the "writers hate the team" theory really interesting. Since doing our show I've had the opportunity to see how this theory comes about. Greg or Bob might say five things about the team and the one negative thing is all that is heard. And then it's often misquoted. The guys don't need me to defend them. I am known as a die hard fan, but when I hear this talk of the writers hating the team, I find it absurd.

All right, I'll concede that "hate" might appear to be too strong a word; however, I used it in the context of football. As a prominent poster might say: "Jeebzus." I think it's absurd to take such a word and attach some hyper-sensitive meaning to it when it comes to football talk.

All of my family, friends, and former students know that I "hate" Michigan's football program. Now, I do not wish any harm/injury/illness to any Wolverine player, coach, or fan . I use the word hate the way I would when I say I hate liver and onions.