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Watch a Penn State commit's great catch at Under Armour practice; latest updates before Outback Bowl: Newsstand

Greg Pickelby: Greg Pickel12/30/21GregPickel
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Penn State signee Kaden Saunders, shown here during a visit to Beaver Stadium, had a good first practice at the Under Armour All-American game. (BWI photo/Greg Pickel)

Penn State signee Kaden Saunders is off to a big start at the Under Armour All-American game.

That is one of those notes that leads the newsstand for Dec. 30. However, there’s plenty more to get to as the Lions continue preparations to take on Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Here are the top tweets and headlines about Penn State and college football on Thursday.

Penn State tweets of the day

We start on the recruiting front.

Kaden Saunders had a strong first day at the Under Armour All-American game. The On3 Consensus four-star receiver impressed observers and also came down with a slick one-handed catch that you can see below.

“Saunders showed some high-end quickness in separating against Team Legends defensive backs,” On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings, Charles Power, wrote.

Added On3 recruiting director Chad Simmons:

“Every time I see Penn State signee Kaden Saunders, he impresses. I think he will be a star in Happy Valley.”

In other recruiting news, four-star Central York quarterback Beau Pribula was named the Class 6A co-player of the year by the PA Football Writers. It marks the second time he’s earned that honor.

Finally, for this section, Penn State’s latest opt-out was defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo on Wednesday. We also learned that Olu Fashanu will start in place of Rasheed Walker at tackle.

Add in those two losses to five previous opt-outs, and it means that the Nittany Lions are down seven starters ahead of their meeting with the Razorbacks on Saturday.

Did you know that you can sign up for Blue-White Illustrated and On3 for less than a penny a day?

Headlines of the day

Under Armour All-American Top Performers: Day 1: Power, On3

Penn State players to watch after opt-outs: Next man up: Bauer, BWI

How Arkansas, Penn State football will try to replace top receivers in Outback Bowl: Long, Ft. Smith Southwest Times Record

Penn State-Arkansas matchup: What to expect from the Nittany Lions, Razorbacks: Pickel, BWI

Arkansas defensive tackle John Ridgeway maximizes one season with Razorbacks after transferring up from FCS: Murphy, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

James Franklin talks powering through opt-outs, burning redshirts, and more: Pickel, BWI

Penn State could burn redshirts for 2 freshmen linebackers in Outback Bowl: Gallen, PennLive

Penn State hosts handful of Florida recruits at open practice Wednesday: Snyder, BWI

James Franklin Meets the New World of Bowl Opt-Outs: Wogenrich, SI

How Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson will challenge Penn State football: Pickel, BWI

Quote of the day

“At the end of the day the reality is you got to find a way to get it done. As one door closes, another door opens. It’s an opportunity for another player. I think it’s also going to give us a really good kind of picture of what our future is going to be. Guys are going to get a bunch of reps in this game that maybe hadn’t throughout the season.

“There’s some challenges, no doubt about it. Our guys are excited. I think there’s also some tremendous leaders out there that we’re depending on, are going to need to step up for us, no doubt about it.”

–PSU coach James Franklin on how he is preparing his team while also dealing with opt-outs prior to the Outback Bowl.