Penn State-Auburn kick time thought, a take on Rodney Gallagher to WVU, and more: Thursday Three
Penn State football has a former All-American celebrating a birthday today. We throw it back to him, offer a thought on the Auburn kick time, plus a take on Rodney Gallagher picking West Virginia, in the latest installment of the Thursday three. It’s the last one of May, which is hard to believe, but away we go on another rundown.
Throwing it back to Micah Parsons
Did you know that former Penn State All-American and current Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons is celebrating a birthday today, May 26?
The Harrisburg, Pa., native is 23. So, we honor him on throwback Thursday.
Parsons had a crazy journey to even end up at Penn State in the Class of 2018. He originally picked the Lions on Feb. 27, 2016, during a junior day. However, he would leave the class on April 23, 2017 due to a desire to see other schools during his recruiting process. Ohio State became one of the primary contenders, but Parsons ultimately signed with Penn State in December of 2017.
The rest, as they say, is history. Parsons led the Lions in tackles as a freshman despite not starting. He then became an All-American as a sophomore. Only the coronavirus pandemic and the Big Ten’s handling of it could stop Parsons’ meteoric rise. He ultimately opted out of the 2020 season once the conference canceled it and was too far along in his NFL Draft preparations to come back once it was reinstated. Now, he’s one of the pro’s brightest young stars.
Here’s wishing Parsons a Happy Birthday.
A thought on the Penn State-Auburn kick time
Penn State will play on CBS for the first time in 22 years this fall. Our thought of the day is that it’s going to be pretty cool to see the Lions on a channel besides FOX, one of the Disney channels, or Big Ten Network.
CBS last aired a PSU game in 2000 when the Lions lost to Pittsburgh 12-0. Now, they’ll face Auburn on that station’s air to complete a home-and-home series between the two sides. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 local time) at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
We get that some Penn State fans might worry that the longtime SEC television partner will have a bias toward the home side, but that’s more in the viewer’s mind than it is in reality, from this point of view. Instead of being concerned about that, it should be seen as a great thing that the Lions are playing in arguably the best time slot on television at the moment. The 3:30 CBS slot has long been a ratings king, and this matchup figures to deliver a big number, as well.
Our take features Rodney Gallagher
Laurel Highlands four-star receiver Rodney Gallagher stunned many people when he moved up his decision from July until Wednesday and picked West Virginia. After all, he had been to Penn State often and the Lions were long seen as the frontrunner.
With all that said, our take here is that his picking the Mountaineers is not the end of the world for Penn State. Is it ideal to lose out on another highly-rated Pennsylvania player? Of course not. But, if there is a position where the Lions could withstand a loss, it’s at receiver. The cupboard there is well stocked and the offers board has plenty of uncommitted targets still on it.
Thus, it’s our view that even though Penn State should be landing this caliber of player considering where he’s from, the Lions still have every chance to overcome this particular setback on the recruiting trail.
