Episode Details

This week, Penn State football has a new round of winter workout winners, and they take center stage during the BWI Daily Edition Mailbag show. Host Thomas Frank Carr and reporter Dave Eckert answer your questions and discuss the day's breaking news for Penn State recruiting.

Before they get to the weekly mailbag, they start with the news of the day. On Thursday, Penn State commit for the Class of 2023, Jven Williams, was given a fifth and final star by On3. It's a part of the updated rankings for the Class of 2023, which will be released next week.

T-Frank and Dave discuss how the news impacts Penn State's current recruiting class, and why Williams is impressive. T-Frank goes into what he saw on film from Williams that made him think he could play tackle down the road for the Nittany Lions if he continues to develop.

After that, they get to your questions during this week's mailbag episode. They start with a question about the transfer portal. Unlike most questions, one Lions Den Message Board member is interested in who might be leaving the program and what the numbers are like for potential transfers. Eckert keeps track of the scholarship numbers this offseason and tells T-Frank where Penn State is now.

They also discuss a much broader topic about player progression due to the COVID-19 disrupted Class of 2020. How badly did that year disturb the progress of players coming to Penn State as freshmen? T-Frank and Eckert admit there's no way to tangibly know the answer but discuss different players and situations that arose from the pandemic.

Other topics they dive into include which players had stood out in winter conditioning previously and at the time of recording on Thursday when a fresh batch of social media announcements from the staff went out. What does it mean that freshman defensive tackle Zane Durant keeps showing up as one of the weekly winners of the workout sessions? T-Frank and Eckert discuss the situation at defensive tackle.

After several other questions, they land on a pair of questions about the 2022 season. One viewer asks if Penn State will target the tight ends less next season, while another asks if they will be targeted more. T-Frank and Eckert dissect the opposing viewpoints and provide context they've gathered from the Penn State coaching staff. Finally, they wrap up with Eckert's quick Penn State Basketball update.

Lamont Payne Interview: https://youtu.be/KZbspHXWFbc

JOIN Blue White Illustrated: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/join/?plan=annual

SUBSCRIBE to Blue White Illustrated on YouTube and enable alerts - new highlights and videos uploaded regularly: https://www.youtube.com/c/bluewhiteillustratedvideo?sub_confirmation

Bookmark our homepage: https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/

Subscribe to BWI Magazine and Newsletters: http://bluewhiteonline.com

Download our podcasts: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/LRL3155877513?selected=DSVV2664982394

Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BlueWhiteIllustrated/

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/PennStateOn3

Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.