Dear 2016 Football Season,
With another bowl game finished for the books and after nearly having an amazing, unexpected comeback, the 2015 football season has finally come to a close with a 7-6 record for the year. With that being said, we unfortunately have to wait months to cheer on our Nittany Lions -- but don’t be alarmed because that countdown starts now.
Following the TaxSlayer Bowl loss, at least all of our questions have been answered regarding our junior quarterback, Christian Hackenberg, and he indeed has declared for the NFL draft. Ummmmm...
Another major setback we will have to face entering the new season is that we will be losing our dependable safety, Jordan Lucas. We will also be without our magic trio of defensive linemen Carl Nassib, Anthony Zettel, and Austin Johnson. This kinda sucks, however, we wish them absolutely nothing but the best as they prepare for their upcoming journeys in their professional football careers.
Now that we have begun to embrace the loss of players, what is to come for the 2016 football season? We sure as heck do not know what to expect, but are extremely excited and anxious to find out.
2016 will certainly consist of nothing but changes and continuous progress, that's for sure. But all great things don't happen overnight.
Our Nittany Lions will be preparing for the new season under a new offensive system led by Joe Moorehead. Will he be an answered prayer for our football program?
Also, now that Hackenberg’s blue and white days are over, who will be our new quarterback?
Trace McSorely did a remarkable job filling in for Hack, due to his sprained shoulder joint injury in the second quarter of the Taxslayer Bowl Game, and is notably known for his competitiveness and leadership. He is also one the most improved players making a big impression for himself.
Will he be our new starting quarterback though? That is completely and utterly questionable.
We have current freshman, Tommy Stevens, who is a dual-threat quarterback that is highly adored by both the team and Coach Franklin. But now we also have Jake Zembiec, another dual-threat, whom of which happens to be a top notch 2016 recruit that is a “pass-first” type of player with exceptional running agility and smarts. However, being the new guy in town, he must prove himself. But who doesn’t love an underdog?
Some games this season were ugly, and some were so ugly that we had to bury them. But the ugliness was also due to the amount of monsoons we dealt with at the beginning of the season. On the contrary, we displayed what Penn State football is all about with a five home game win streak, that included beating those Scarlet Knights with our first ever Stripe Out, which in itself was a complete success. We beat Army and we beat Maryland in an absolute nail-biter. We even had a mid-season makeover at Beaver Stadium, which turned out to be phenomenal thanks to Penn State’s Turf Grass Management Program and Athletics Fields Supervisor, Herb Combs.
So farewell, 2015 season. It’s been real. All those rainy tailgates on Prospect, Fairmount, and at the stadium itself that led to colds and bronchitis were worth it. We will miss singing and dancing to old and current jams, especially our “We Are” Zombie Nation chant alongside 107,000 of our friends for some extra percussion. We ladies will miss being tossed up in the air regardless of how frightening it actually is for each touchdown. We will miss the Blue Band and watching how the Lionette's do that jump split thing, which would break something on the average human being's body. We'll only wake up and still be completely content at 6 a.m. for you, on game day.
One Team.
409 Forever.
Black Shoes. Basic Blues. No Names. All Game.
Yes, we’re ready for some Penn State football: Bring on 2016.
Love forever and always,
Your #1 Fans at Beaver Stadium
