By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Penn State's new head basketball coach, Micah Shrewsberry, raved about big man John Harrar calling him the "heart and soul" of Penn State's basketball team following his fifth and final year with the program for the 2021-22 season.

Harrar averaged 27 minutes per game this last season across 31 games. He averaged around 10 points and 10 rebounds, too.

Before joining Penn State Hoops, he was a tight end set to commit to Army football. He'll be looking to see if he can find a role on the Philadelphia Eagles at the same position, according to his agent.

Welcome John Harrar to the @Tier1SportsMgmt team. He is attending minicamp with the @Eagles pic.twitter.com/7OyRTIWCtb

— Blake Fromang (@blakefromang) May 5, 2022

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The USFL concluded the draft for it's 2022 reboot this week and fans have plenty of players to root for.

Not only is there a team representing Philadelphia, but there are quite a few names that people should recognize, including former Philadelphia Eagles, Temple Owls, Penn State Nittany Lions and some other names that will be of interest to those in the area.

By far the longest list of those in this article, the Eagles have crossed paths with quite a few of these players at one time or another.

Due to the USFL's draft limiting teams to pick positions by round, the first two Eagles Alummi off the board were quarterbacks.

QB Clayton Thorson

By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

The Nittany Lions put together a top-tier recruiting effort for their football program in 2022, creating a class that was easily a top-10 one come signing day in December.

Despite some coaching changes, mostly due to coaches leaving for promotions to head coach or coordinator elsewhere, that does not seem to have stopped.

The Nittany Lions put an exclamation mark on their 2022 class, have serious momentum behind their 2023 class and have made key moves in the transfer portal in the early stages of the 2022 calendar year.

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

The Penn State Nittany Lions (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten) return to the after losing 5-of-7 games to finish off the 2021 regular season campaign. At one point a Top 5 team, the Nittany Lions limped too the the finish line and an appearance in the Outback Bowl. 

No. 21 Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4, 4-4 SEC) were one of the bigger surprises this college football season. The Razorbacks complied right wins including two over Top 15 programs.  Head coach Sam Pittman was moments away from having Arkansas in the ten win club. Arkansas suffered a heartbreaking 52-51 loss to No. 17 Ole Miss and lost to CFP finalist No. 2 Alabama 42-35. 

This matchup could be the story of a team, Penn State, that woefully under achieved and an Arkansas squad that overachieved. The nation seems to think this is the case, Penn State is a 59.9% favorite according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. However, Vegas is favoring the overachiever, Arkansas is a 2.5-point favorite in most betting sites. 

Date: January 1, 2022

Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL

When: Noon/Eastern

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 1210 WPHT and the Penn State Radio Network

Series History 

This is the first ever matchup between Penn State and Arkansas. 

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Penn State will be a down a pair of All-Big Ten players when they take the field against No. 21 Arkansas on Sunday in the Outback Bowl.  Safety Jaquan Brisker and wide receiver Jahan Dotson have officially opted out of the bowl game and will focus on the upcoming NFL Draft process.  

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Former University of Miami head coach Manny Diaz has been announced as Penn State’s new defensive coordinator.  He takes over for Brent Fry who took the head coaching job at Virginia Tech. Diaz, 47, is coming off of a disappoint stint as head coach of “The U” where he compiled a 21-15 record at his alma mater. 

📍Happy Valley

Welcome to the family, @Coach_MannyDiaz. #WeAre | https://t.co/wR7tu8KWHF pic.twitter.com/vvfUoUMcPc

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 11, 2021

Despite the lackluster head coaching record at Miami, this is a very good hire for Penn State.  Diaz is considered by many to be one of the best defensive minds in college football.  He held the defensive coordinator position at multiple schools from 2006-2018.  Diaz’s defenses were routinely ranked near the top statistically.

_{Photo: Wikimedia Commons}

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

One of James Franklin’s in-house options to replace former defensive coordinator Brent Fry, now the head coach at Virginia Tech, looks to be hitting the road to Virginia as well.  Jerry Ratcliffe is reporting that co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter will be named the next head coach at the University of Virginia.  

The announcement could come as early as Monday evening. 

Poindexter, who spent 1995-1998 on the Cavaliers, was a consensus All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998.  His jersey, number 3, has been retired by the university.  He returned to Virginia as a graduate assistant in 2003 after a short run in the NFL with Baltimore and Cleveland.  Poindexter spent 2003-2013 with the Cavaliers before taking the defensive coordinator jobs at UConn (2014-16), Purdue (2017-2002), and Penn State (2021).

Photo: Penn State/@PennState_FB

Penn State (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten) is headed to Tampa, FL to face the Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4, 4-4 SEC) in the annual Outback Bowl on January 1, 2022.  It will be the Nittany Lions fourth trip the Outback Bowl and first since 2011.  

IT’S OFFICIAL!!! @RazorbackFB and @PennStateFball are heading to the 2022 Outback Bowl! 🏈🌴

We hope to see all of you Razorback and Nittany Lions fans at the Outback Bowl to kick your New Year’s off with #FootballInParadise!

Get your tickets NOW!https://t.co/nP3uvoj4bi pic.twitter.com/TxOHKqo8ct

— Outback Bowl (@outbackbowl) December 5, 2021

The Outback Bowl, a New Year's Day tradition since 1995, pits the Big Ten against the SEC.  The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2. 

Arkansas is ranked No. 22 in the final College Football Playoff poll and have wins over four ranked teams.  The Razorbacks ended their regular season with a 34-17 win over Missouri. The Nittany Lions are coming off a disappointing end of the season where they lost four of out their last six.  

The Outback Bowl will be the first match up between Penn State and Arkansas.  

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Penn State will be sending six players, or more, to the prestigious Senior Bowl on February 5 in Mobile, AL. 

Nittany Lions’ place kicker/punter Jordan Stout, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, accepted an invite to play in the game on Thursday. 

Stout will join wide receiver Jahan Dotson, safety Jaquan Brisker, cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields, linebacker/defensive end Jesse Luketa, and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie in the all-star classic.

Players will spend the week leading up the game practicing and speaking with NFL representatives.  The Senior Bowl is considered the first step in the NFL Draft process. 

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie had themselves quite a day.  Both were selected as consensus first-team All-Big Ten selections by the Big Ten media and coaches.  The duo were among ten Nittany Lions defensive players to take home All-Big Ten awards. 

Brisker, a COVID senior, returned to the Nittany Lions this season and it paid dividends for the Pittsburgh native.  In addition to his All-Big Ten status, Brisker was selected to play in the prestigious Resse's Senior Bowl in Alabama.  A team captain, he started every game for the Nittany Lions amassing 64-total tackles, six tackles-for-a-loss, one fumble recovery, one interception, and five pass breakups.  

Ebiketie, a red-shirt senior transfer from Temple, took a step up in competition and was rewarded mightily.  He recorded a season-high ten tackles in Penn State's upset loss to Illinois.  For the season, Ebiketie compiled 62-total tackles, 18-tackles-for-a-loss, 9.5-sacks, and two blocked kicks.  He is a finalist for the Hendricks Award which goes to the best defensive end in FBS football. 

Other Penn State defensvie All-Big Ten selections include: