Penn State picks Beaver Stadium renovation architect; Christian Veilleux to start at Pitt: Newsstand
Penn State news and notes for Oct. 5 include updates on former Lion Christian Veilleux Beaver Stadium, and more.
It’s time to dive into Thursday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with former Penn State quarterback Christian Veilleux. He left for Pitt last offseason but did not immediately win the starting job. However, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Panthers are benching Phil Jurkovec, who led the team to a 1-4 start, and moving Veilleux from the backup to the starting role.
“Sources told the Post-Gazette that Jurkovec informed his teammates that he had been benched Wednesday morning during a players-only meeting for members of the Panthers offense,” Noah Hines writes. “Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. also spoke with the offense about the big position change later in the day.
“Christian Veilleux, a redshirt sophomore, is expected to replace Jurkovec as the team’s starting quarterback. One source told the Post-Gazette that Veilleux will be backed up by redshirt sophomore Nate Yarnell, meaning Jurkovec is now the No. 3 quarterback on Pitt’s depth chart.”
In other news, Penn State has picked a familiar face, Populous, to be its designer for the Beaver Stadium renovation project. The company has performed plenty of work for the university, including the 2001 expansion.
“The plan is to focus on the west side of the stadium to provide improved access for broadcasting, greatly improved circulation, new restrooms, upgraded concession offerings and much-needed premium seating,” the project description says on the PSU OPP website. Blue-White Illustrated first reported the plan earlier this year.
“Improvements to the rest of the stadium are also planned, such as improved vertical circulation, upgraded concourses, circulation renovations to enhance accessibility, restroom additions, and upgraded concession quality and capacity. Field lighting improvements to meet NCAA standards are also planned. The capacity of Beaver Stadium will be at greater than 100,000 spectators.”
Headlines of the day
Dani Dennis-Sutton on Penn State’s ‘D’ causing trouble from front to back: ‘Everybody has been making plays’: Flounders, PennLive
T-Frank’s Film Room: Penn State gets versatility with Brady O’Hara: Carr, BWI
What Changed With Penn State’s Offense This Season?: Ralph, SI
How have Penn State’s 2024 defensive commits performed so far this season?: Snyder, BWI
Penn State’s Defense Has Faced a Historically Low Number of Snaps, and It Could Pay Off Down the Road: Jones, Statecollege.com
Checking in on Penn State’s freshman linebackers: Fitz, BWI
No. 6 Penn State has cause for concern, particularly on offense: Scarcella, Reading Eagle
Quote of the day
“Kaveion is one of those guys that has been really neat to watch. He’s gotten better and better and better each week. He’s done that from a defensive standpoint, he’s done that from a special team standpoint. So you see him, his work on our D-squads on both those has been extremely impressive. He’s gained more and more confidence and you can certainly see how his role has got an opportunity to increase as he continues to get better.”
–PSU assistant coach Stacy Collins on defender Kaveion Keys.
