Beachum tears ACL

Brandon Beachum is out for the rest of the season, after tearing his ACL against Indiana. Via the Collegian:

"Brandon Beachum will miss the remainder of the 2009 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee on Saturday, according to a release issued by the Penn State football program."

Beachum recovered a Jerome Hayes kickoff return fumble, offering up a bit of irony that after all of Hayes' ACL injuries, he was directly involved in another player's ACL tear.

Beachum should be ready by next fall, but is most definitely out for the rest of this season and through spring practice.

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Mauti's ACL tear confirmed

Penn State said in a release today that Mike Mauti will miss 2009. We can only wish him a speedy recovery for next spring.

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Mike Mauti injures knee, possible ACL tear

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it was reported earlier and tweeted today that projected-starting linebacker Mike Mauti injured his knee at practice.

Mauti was expected to start 2009 at outside linebacker, along with MLB Sean Lee and OLB Navorro Bowman.

While it is definitely a blow to Penn State's defense, this is not as catastrophic as it seems. Experienced redshirt sophomore Nate Stupar has played very well, and was a big force on special teams last year. If Stupar doesn't step in, we could see Lee move back to the outside and 2008 starter Josh Hull retain his starting role in the middle.

Stay tuned for more as this situation develops.

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Jerome Hayes tears other ACL

This is interesting. ESPN cut out of the Penn State game before this happened, so most of us didn't even know about it. Jerome Hayes was illegally clipped by an OSU player on a punt play in the fourth quarter. Sure, the Beavers ass was flagged, but he cost Hayes yet another season of his career, tearing his ACL. Yeah, maybe all the starters should have been taken out of the game at that point, but I didn't trust Oregon State either. They had a lot of good players made for come-back mode. This royally sucks, and I really hope Evans and Koroma can come back ASAP.

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Moving Forward: With Lee out for 2008, NOW is it time for Penn State to panic?

All-American Sean Lee just destroyed his ACL in practice. Now he’s gone bye-bye for 2008. Although he’ll be back in 2009, this leaves a huge question mark hanging over Penn State’s outside linebacker spot. Who will fill that void? Does Penn State even have a chance now this season?

Now that the horror of Saturday night has passed, we can all take a deep breath. Not that it will help. The loss of Lee was nothing less than devastating to Penn State, not just the team, but the program as a whole. But remember, when the old farts in Old Main didn’t come up with a plan to deal with the old fart in Lasch Building, we said it wasn’t time to panic. When it seemed like Penn State football players were gaining daily recognition in the police blotters instead of the sports page, we said it wasn’t time to panic. When Chris Bell went, well, insane, we said it wasn’t time to panic. And you know what? It’s still not time to panic.

Lee’s injury was bad, but it’s not the end of the world. Why?

The Offense: No, not the offensive line, not the wide receivers, but the whole freaking unit. I don’t care when JokePa conjures up as the Spread HD crap. If this team doesn’t average 35 points per game, Penn State should just drop football altogether. When you have the best offensive line in years, a mobile quarterback to make plays when the protection (rarely) might break down, a stud running back that can break one loose any moment, and the best freaking wide receivers in the conference, you have the luxury of out-scoring the other team, if it comes to that. But it shouldn’t in 2008, because of…

The Defensive Line: This unit was the first to be hit by the injury and law bugs. But with the rest of the team’s problems, not too many people have noticed the defensive front four coming back together. Chris Baker might be gone (still not positive yet), but Phil Taylor will pay his dues, Jared Odrick and Jerome Hayes are almost done rehabbing those injuries, and the younger backups have gotten a full spring of working with the first team. This should be the conference’s best defensive line, and could actually improve on 2007’s 46 sacks. And if opposing tailbacks get through the line, or if Penn State needs extra pressure on the quarterback, there’s always…

The Backup Linebackers: It’s easy to forget how many really good linebackers Penn State has landed the last four years. Fans actually complained how many were signed, saying few would actually see the field. Well, now Penn State has a large stable of players to choose from, hopefully filling in for Lee. Nate Stupar, Cedric Jeffries, Bani Gbadyu, Andrew Dailey, and hopefully Navarro Bowman will all be ready to play on the outside. Throw in the three freshmen “Mikes”—Mike Yancich, Mike Mauti (although now he’s listed at the safety spot behind Mark Rubin) and Mike Zordich—and Penn State has possibly the best, deepest group of linebackers in the conference, if not the nation.

Don’t think I’m taking a Kool-Aid bath with this. I think Penn State is in the shit house right now, and needs to get its act together. But we all have to be as realistic about this team’s positives as we are about the negatives. There’s a load of talent heading into 2008. No one can deny that. I’m not ready to make a prediction of how many games Penn State will win, or who they’ll beat. But Penn State has a great shot to do good things in 2008, without Sean Lee, and those were just a few reasons why. So don't panic.

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Lee Probably Out for Season

God Fucking Dammit! Piece of Shit! Mother Fucker!!!! Darn.

GoPSUSports.com:

"Lee Sidelined With Serious Knee Injury

Team Leader and All-America Candidate Tears ACL in Practice

April 12, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; - Penn State standout linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) suffered a serious knee injury in practice Friday that will likely sideline him for the 2008 season.

A probable 2008 All-America candidate, Lee tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, according to Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State Director of Athletic Medicine. Lee will have surgery within the next 2-4 weeks and rehabilitation will take approximately nine months, according to Sebastianelli.

A rising senior, Lee played as a true freshman in 2005 and has a redshirt year available.
"I have a responsibility to the team to help do everything I can this year in what might be a non-conventional way," Lee stated. "I have to turn this into a positive. It's a bump in the road. I'm excited about the team we have and the kind of season we can have. It's a great opportunity for a young guy."

A first team Class AAAA all-state selection from Upper St. Clair High School, Lee was coming off a superlative junior season, earning 2007 first-team All-America honors from Pro Football Weekly. The vastly talented, instinctive and intelligent Lee ranked second in the Big Ten with 138 tackles last year, trailing only teammate Dan Connor, and giving Penn State just its third pair of century-busting tacklers since tackle records began being kept in 1969.

A two-time Big Ten Defensive Player-of-the-Week honoree in 2007, Lee earned second-team all-conference honors in a league that featured two of the three finalists for the Butkus Award. His 138 tackles were No. 5 on the school season list. He has 239 career stops, needing 17 to crack the school's Top 10, and with a very realistic chance of joining Connor and Paul Posluszny as the top three tacklers in program history.

Lee recorded double-figures in tackles in 10 of the last 11 games, giving him 12 in his blossoming career. An intense competitor who loves to hit, Lee also had 10.5 tackles for loss (minus-34), 3.5 sacks, forced three fumbles, recovered three fumbles and grabbed one interception. The swift and strong athlete also was second on the team with eight pass breakups. He was tied for first in the Big Ten in fumble recoveries and was tied for No. 7 in the conference in forced fumbles last year.

A starter in the last 26 games, Lee punctuated his marvelous junior season by earning 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl Defensive Player of the Game accolades. He recorded a game-high 14 tackles, tied for most in Alamo Bowl history, to lead a defensive unit that allowed Texas A&M just three points over the final 49 minutes of the game. He also had a minus-yardage hit and a pass break-up in the 24-17 victory to earn a berth on the ESPN.com All-Bowl Team.

A finance major, Lee earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors last year and would have been a strong candidate for Academic All-America accolades this fall. He has earned Academic All-Big Ten honors twice.
Coach Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions conclude spring drills on Saturday, April 19 with the highly-anticipated Blue-White Game. As in previous years, there is no admission or parking fee for the Blue-White Game. Activities will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. with a carnival outside Beaver Stadium. On Saturday, stadium parking lots will open at 8 a.m. Stadium gates A, B and C will open at 12:00 p.m., with the popular autograph session starting at 12:30 p.m. and kickoff at 2:00 p.m. The carnival will run throughout Saturday.

The Blue-White Game will air live on the Penn State Sports Network and GoPSUsports.com. The contest also will be televised on the Big Ten Network on Monday, April 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET."

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