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Penn State Hype: What’s Real and What’s Not for 2025? | BWI Live Show

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby: Thomas Frank Carr05/27/25ThomasFrankCarr
Zane Durant Penn State Football on3
Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Zane Durant (28) celebrates with the Heisman pose after defeating the Boise State Broncos during the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)

We’re continuing our examination of the Penn State football team’s position as a top team heading into the 2025 college football season. Today, we’ll discuss the facts and fiction behind the offseason narratives that national media outlets are weaving about the team this offseason. We’ll also continue our look at the team’s offseason progress by playing Better or Worse? to end the show. Of course, we’ll have the latest Penn State football and recruiting news on Today’s BWI Live Show as well.

Join the show at 10 a.m. on YouTube, on replay, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Subscribe now so you don’t miss any of our football, recruiting or wresting coverage all offseason!

Penn State news

We’ll start the show with the terrible news of former Penn State wide receiver Julian Fleming. Reports this weekend say that Fleming was in an ATV accident.

From the original report:

“In a release, troopers say before 8:15 p.m., authorities were called to Painter Lick Lane in Columbia Township Friday night after an ATV crash. State police explain that the ATV was traveling Northbound on Painter Lick Lane when it struck a deer that jumped out into the roadway.”

We’ll discuss the situation.

In less sober news, we’ll move on to today’s main topic. Penn State is now a favorite topic of conversation for national media. Some of the compliments and criticisms are fair for the 2025 squad. Some are not. Reporter Nate Bauer broke down what he saw as the facts and the fiction behind the hype for the program this offseason. We’ll discuss his recent article on today’s show.

Fitz’s Recruiting Update

It was a big weekend in New Jersey for top prospects in the Northeast on Saturday. The Under Armour camp circuit came through the region, attracting top talent from Penn State’s recruiting footprint, especially on the offensive and defensive line. We’ll discuss what recruiting reporter Sean Fitz saw this weekend from players like offensive line commits Roseby Lubintus and Layton von Brandt, as well as top prospects like Jackson Vaughn and Maxwell Hiller.

It’s also another important weekend for the Class of 2026 coming up on Friday. We’ll have another official visit preview on Fitz’s Recruiting Update.

Better or Worse?

One of the narratives we’ll discuss earlier in today’s show is about the Penn State defense. There’s a feeling that unit can be better this year under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. We’ll dive deeper into that topic today in our summer series Better or Worse? We’ll examine the front seven to see if the defensive ends, linebackers, and defensive tackles can be better than they were in 2024.

Have a question? Want to discuss a different Penn State football topic? Join the live chat to ask your questions and give us your comments!  

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