It is quite possible that there are more seatbacks than fans at Ryan Field

Northwestern’s Ryan Field makes the very bottom of our list. There was quite some debate as to who would make the bottom of our Toughest Venues list, but unfortunately Ryan Field barely lost out to two other venues in the Big Ten.

ATTENDANCE: 1

As the only private institution in the Big Ten conference, Ryan Field’s empty seats can barely intimidate the Evanston High football team. Even when the Wildcat football team is doing well, they can barely fill the 47,130 seats at Ryan Field. Don’t believe me? Average attendance for the last 5 years peaked at 32,527 during the 2005 season. That’s more than 14,000 seats left available in what is already the smallest venue in the Big Ten.

TRADITION/HISTORY: 2

Lets not kid ourselves here. Though the Wildcats might have a Rose Bowl appearance in the past, they have historically been a bottom feeder in the Big Ten conference until Indiana and Illinois dethroned them from that spot recently.

Until this day, they still hold the all-time records for Division I-A losses, longest losing streak (32), points allowed, and negative point differential. To top it off, the 2006 Michigan State-Northwestern game marks the biggest comeback in history by the Spartans as Northwestern blew a 35 point lead midway through the third quarter.

When you hold more negative records than winning ones, you know this program has less historical success than a pet rock. But hey, at least they are smart. The students still carry on the tradition of ringing their keys claiming that the opposing team will be parking their cars one day.

FANS: 1

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Apathetic. There are plenty of well versed Wildcat fans, but football will always play second fiddle to academics at Northwestern. When you have the most passionate Northwestern fans skip games to prepare for an exam, you know they have their priorities straight. But unfortunately, that will register as a 1 in the Fan category.

VENUE: 2

During Penn State’s Orange Bowl run in 2005, the road took the Lions into Ryan Field for an epic Robinson-Williams comeback in the fourth quarter. Though this should leave me with fond memories of Ryan Field, I left extremely happy but highly unsatisfied with the venue. When you play Big Ten football, you are playing with the big boys. The Big House, Beaver Stadium, the Horseshoe, Camp Randall and even Ross-Ade pack fans in like sardines.

At Ryan Field, you will always find available tickets at the counter without ever having to deal with scalpers. There is often more fans of the visiting team than Wildcat fans and thats not only limited to conference games either. And for a Big Ten venue, that is downright embarrassing. Though I understand the uphill battle the athletic department faces in putting butts in the seats (we have the same problem with basketball at Penn State), there is no reason why you can’t pack the smallest stadium in the Big Ten especially when big time conference programs make a visit every two years.

This isn’t the Big East, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State and Iowa are big draws when they play non-conference games away from their stadiums, theres no reason why fans shouldn’t flock to Evanston just to see them play as well.

While it might not be Michigan, there is still an abundance of Northwestern fans

Then theres the curved stadium and semi-open endzone design that just doesn’t aid the already dwindling crowd with noise. For teams like the Buckeyes, Wolverines, Badgers and Lions that are used to playing in hostile crowds week in and week out, Ryan Field actually offers a reprieve and allows these teams to almost take a breather that week.

WIN/LOSS RECORD: 3

The Northwestern football team has actually held a winning record at home overall during the last 5 years. To make things even better, they have also beaten 3 ranked conference opponents that ventured into Ryan Field. This is far better than some of their other conference members. Unlike in decades past, Northwestern has actually consistently been a middle-of-the-pack conference opponent than a bottom feeder thanks in large part to the new direction of its head coaches.

One would expect that with more wins, more fans would flock to Northwestern games. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been true at Northwestern. And until that happens, Ryan Field will continue to sit in last place on our Toughest Venues list.

TOTAL: 9 OUT OF POSSIBLE 55

Did you make it out to Ryan Field for a game? Share your experiences with us. Your memories of the venue might differ greatly from our perspective and we would like to know.

NittanyWhiteOut.com has compiled and ranked the toughest venues to play at in the Big Ten. There are a few basic ground rules:

• The data compiled is only based on the last 5 seasons (2007-2003).
• The win/loss factor is only one part of a much larger equation. Like the BCS, we are highly subjective and oftentimes make no numerical sense, but we will try our best to make our case.
• Neutral site games, and bowl games are not included. Though neutral site games can fall into the away column, does an Illinois game in Missouri, or a Wisconsin game in Green Bay really count as an away game? Bowl games are excluded because of the prolonged time available to teams to prepare for these games.

Before we begin with our easiest Big Ten venue, below is a table of data we collected that aided us in making our decision. But as I mentioned above, not everything is based on the win/loss numbers.

The overall ranking will be based upon points awarded in 5 categories. The points will be based out of 11 with 11 being the highest, and 1 the lowest.

ATTENDANCE:

It is no coincidence that the 4 most successful Big Ten programs over the last half-decade is also the ones with the highest attendance. But then we have to ask, is the football team good because of the number of fans in the stands or are the number of fans in the stands the result of the football team doing well? We believe it is the former because even during the waning years of some football programs, the fans continue to flock to the stadiums making their presence known. And you simply can’t talk about the Big Ten conference and ignore the fact that as a conference we are a mainstay in the top 25 most attended stadiums in the nation. 3 of the 5 largest stadiums belong to the Big Ten with Michigan carrying the banner for the largest stadium in the nation.

TRADITION/HISTORY:

How is it that a team down in the fourth suddenly get the lift to march down the field on its very last play when it was unable to do so for the previous 3 quarters? You can’t deny the influence a Jesus mural on the exterior of the library, or the words of a legendary coach, or the simply aura that surrounds some of the venues in the Big Ten has on the home team.

FANS:

This is the big one. With passion running rampant in the Big Ten. Who exactly has the best fans in the conference? From Jump Around at Wisconsin, to the White Out at Penn State, students have definitely made their mark and changed the culture of college football in the Big Ten. This category will most surely be the most criticized one, but it isn’t hard to pinpoint the most intimidating fans in the Big Ten.

VENUE:

The fans can hoot and holler as loud as they want, but if the venue is simply not built to hold noise, it barely makes a difference. Then there are those stadiums that are built to intimidate. Even with less fans, they can amplify a crowd of hundreds into one of thousands.

WIN/LOSS RECORD:

The home win/loss record is indicative of how well a team plays at home, but we have also added the record against ranked teams in each particular venue. Some venues can be defined as simply a graveyard for ranked teams, while others are highly successful against all other competition except ranked opponents.

So without further ado we begin with the easiest venue in the Big Ten…

RECRUITMENT

Today marked the start of a day of a surprises as Penn State receives two verbals from offensive linemen. Frank Figueroa began the day when he announced that he would become the 7th Nittany Lion for the Class of 2009.

There isn’t much out there on Frank Figueroa, but as a 2 year starter for Thomas Edison High School in Alexandria, VA, he obviously has the skill for the Lions coaching staff to extend a scholarship offer after Figueroa and his head coach, Steve Deck sent in game film of the offensive lineman.

“His best asset is that he’s smart, and he has really physically emerged since last year. Two years ago, he was only about 240 pounds, but he really matured since the end of last season physically, and came in this spring at 275, and now he’s just over 280 pounds.”

He is projected to play at the offensive guard or center position at the collegiate level. And with 3 other OL commitments for the 2009 class, he will most likely be moved to another position to balance our depth.

COLLEGE CHOICES	INTEREST	OFFER	VISIT	RECRUITED BY
Penn State (solid verbal)	COMMITTED (5/10/2008)		None
William and Mary	None		None
North Carolina	None		None
Syracuse	None		None
Michigan State	None		None
Virginia	None		None
Temple	None		None

Umm.. Who? Anytime we get verbals from recruits, its cause to celebrate, but the Lion faithful must be scratching their heads at this one. Figueroa’s has the starting weight to help solidify our offensive line in the near future as long as he gains weight in college. Remember that four-star recruit, Eric Shrive that just verbaled to the Lion today is only 3 pounds heavier and 3 feet taller than this kid.

Penn State has had great success molding unheralded high school athletes into consistent players. Think Tony Hunt, Paul Poz, Levi Brown, etc.

As ‘Chohany’ points out, Penn State has had success back in the 70s churning out offensive linemen. And with Levi Brown, and our depth at the line this year, it’s should not come as a surprise as Penn State goes back to their roots of dominating linemen.

“Mike Munchak (Hall of Fame), Keith Dorney (pro bowler), Sean Farrell (I think a pro bowler), Charlie Getty (long-time NFL vet), Tom Rafferty (13 year starter for the Cowboys), Irv Pankey (long-time NFL veteran), Steve Wisnewski (7 time pro-bowler and on the 90’s all decade team), Jeff Hartings (pro-bowler), Marco Rivera (pro-bowler)”

So this staff obviously knows what they are getting when they offered this relatively unknown recruit a scholarship. Already holding offers from Butch’s North Carolina, and with more from Dantonio’s Michigan State and Virginia on the way, this kid will help provide depth at the offensive line position for the years to come.

RECRUITMENT

Holding offers from over 16 big time programs including Notre Dame, Florida State, Ohio State, and Miami, Eric Shrive decided to end his recruitment today and will call Joe Paterno with his verbal later today.

A four star recruit rated #68 overall from Scranton, PA, Eric wanted to get the decision over with before he began his senior season. Eventually it was “the offensive line tradition at Penn State, everything they had to offer academically and his comfort level at Penn State” that put the Nittany Lions over the top.

COLLEGE CHOICES	INTEREST	OFFER	VISIT	RECRUITED BY
Penn State	Verbal (5/15/08)		None	Dick Anderson Mike McQueary
Florida State	Medium		None
Georgia	Medium		None	Stacy Searels
Illinois	Medium		None	Jim Pry Eric Wolford
Miami	Medium		None	Jeff Stoutland
Michigan	Medium		None
Nebraska	Medium		None	Carl Pelini
N.C. State	Medium		None	Jerry Petercuskie
Notre Dame	Medium		None	John Latina
Ohio State	Medium		None	Jim Bollman
Oklahoma	Medium		None
Auburn	Medium		None	James Willis Hugh Nall
Pittsburgh	Medium		None	Brian Angelichio
Rutgers	Medium		None	John McNulty Kyle Flood
Tennessee	Medium		None	Larry Slade
Virginia	Medium		None

Eric Shrive (OL)

REACTION

A major shocker! Not only was Eric Shrive a long time Notre Dame fan, but Penn State isn’t exactly well known for consistently producing offensive linemen. Granted we had first round pick, Levi Brown two years ago, but how many other offensive linemen comes to mind when you mention Penn State?

At 285 pounds, Shrive will have to put on alot more weight before he can become an anchor for the Penn State line, but at his current size, he is already a consistent player rated in the top 100 recruits in the nation.

Shrive’s verbal only flies in the face of those who argue that Paterno can no longer haul in the big name recruits against competitors like Notre Dame, Ohio State and the likes. Not only did Shrive grow up an Irish fan, he was an offensive lineman. Not a linebacker, or a quarterback, but a lineman who decided against his long time program for Penn State. So we must still be doing something right especially since this is the second 4-star verbal since last week.

The Bruticus Maximus they called it actually simulated pipelines for surfers at the Wave House

Not only was the food great, there was never a dull moment as surfers lined the wave pool waiting their turn to take on the Bruticus Maximus.

This surfer tried his luck on the waves just about when we were finishing up our meal

Unfortunately, he lasted a full 20 seconds before bailing

If you are ever in the area, check out the Wave House in Mission Beach. Where else can you eat, drink and watch surfers get tossed by waves?

Then check out our new Penn State recruiting page found among the left hand links. Verbals, scholarship offers, and recruiting maps will be readily available as news pours in on Penn State recruiting.

And to those readers who are also members of Ballhype, Yardbarker, Digg It, Facebook, Del.ici.us, Google bookmarks and Newsvine, there is now the direct option to link/promote/and blog about individual posts you find here at NittanyWhiteOut. You can find these new buttons at the bottom of each post just above the Related Posts section of each article.

We’ll be bringing you further upgrades in the near future, but if you have comments, ideas, suggestions. Leave us comments or let us know at contact@nittanywhiteout.com. Otherwise, enjoy the new upgrades.

RECRUITING STORYLINE

Derrick’s verbal makes it 3 for the Lions this week. At this point, if we don’t pace ourselves we could be filled before the 2008 season ends.

Derrick Thomas played both ways his junior year with 11 receiving touchdowns and 3 interceptions on defense. Penn State is giving him the option to pick at this point and with 3 defensive backs already in this 2009 class, it would be in his and our best interest to have him fill a wideout spot sorely needed for this class.

Thomas was a first team all-4A Prince George’s County selection as a wide receiver, and was named all-Met in 2007. He averaged 20 yards per catch as a junior, and hauled in 11 touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs and two punts for touchdowns, and had three interceptions on defense.

Recruited by assistant coach Larry Johnson, Derrick talks about his relationship with Penn State’s coaches:

“I looked at their roster a couple of times and I thought I have a real good chance at playing because they’re losing defensive backs and wide receivers and they’re recruiting me on both sides of the ball,” Thomas said, “I really like Larry Johnson. We really go along well and had a good relationship.

Word is that he was already considering verballing to the Lions on his way to State College for this past weekends’ NIKE Football Training Camp. Actually visiting the campus sealed the deal for him.

“Being up there it felt kind of right. I could see myself practicing on the field we were competing on,” Thomas said. “I was looking around in the weight room and it looked nice. I really liked it.”

COLLEGE CHOICES	INTEREST	OFFER	VISIT	RECRUITED BY
Penn State (solid verbal)	COMMITTED (5/12/2008)		None
Pittsburgh	None		None
Rutgers	None		None
Virginia Tech	None		None
Connecticut	None		None
Illinois	None		None	Mike Locksley
Louisville	None		None
Maryland	None		None	James Franklin
North Carolina	None		None

Derrick Thomas

REACTION

Boy what a great week for Penn State recruiting. Not only did we receive verbals from a highly sought after cornerback, and safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, Ohio State actually lost a recruit in the process. But Thomas is actually from Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Remember the last high profile wide receiver from that very school who played for Penn State? Our very own speedster, Derrick Williams.

Thomas not only further established the high school and town as a pipeline for Penn State, but greatly improves our chances of landing fellow cornerback teammate Stephon Morris who currently holds offers from Penn State, Illinois and Louisville. Morris also attended the State College NIKE Camp this past weekend and Thomas’ verbal only helps us with Morris as well.

But about Thomas himself. With 4.49 speed, he’s not the burner we are now blessed with at Penn State, but he has great hands and vision. He averages 20 yards a catch. 20 yards! Even if he does not develop into Penn State’s go-to receiver, he will provide Penn State with options in the passing game as well as the return game. Lets not forget this athlete has returned 2 kickoffs and 2 punts for touchdowns during his junior season.

With the impeding graduation of Williams, Butler and Norwood after this season, we are desperately in need of wide receivers. Like Justin King, Derrick Thomas will have the opportunity to see the field early in his collegiate career and once we are more established at the wideout spot, he will most likely be moved into the defensive back position following in the footsteps of the late Justin King.

It is just shocking how the situation with USC has deteriorated. We’re no longer talking about players failing classes, or getting into fights on the weekends. As much as we like to berate college athletes, it is actually quite common. I’ve failed a class or two during my collegiate career. I’ve sure seen many kids get into fights at the bar as well. Its fun to laugh at athletes when they get into the same trouble that befalls most college kids, but as I’ve said before, these things are bound to happen.

But what is going on at USC is on a whole different level. And what’s even more absurd is that the OJ Mayo scandal comes less than a year after the Reggie Bush scandal was blown wide open by Yahoo! Sports. Not only did USC not cooperate by discouraging Reggie Bush to talk to investigators, they now have a full blown case with OJ Mayo on their hands. USC played the ignorance card the first time around with Reggie Bush, it’ll be interesting to see what they pull this time around.

I made the case earlier this year about how USC got lucky with the Reggie Bush fiasco. They deserved sanctions back then, imagine what I think they deserve now. But this isn’t about what I think. Rules are rules. Reggie Bush broke the rules when he was provided with perks that most (and notice how I used ‘most’) players aren’t allowed to receive. Think USC did not benefit when Bush was enticed to head to Southern Cal?

Now it is clear the problem has spread to their basketball program as well. ESPN’s Outside the Lines broke open the news when Louis Johnson decided to spill the beans. Among the allegations by Johnson:

• Over the course of roughly three years prior to the start of Mayo’s freshman season at USC, BDA Sports provided Guillory with about $200,000, some of it through an account set up at Citibank. Johnson said Guillory told him details about how the account was set up through an intermediary and how it worked: Each month, Guillory told a BDA official what the anticipated “expenses” would be, and that amount would be put into the account to take care of Guillory and Mayo’s needs. Guillory, Johnson said, had a card to make withdrawals from the account. Johnson said he was sometimes with Guillory when he made those withdrawals, and Johnson provided “Outside the Lines” with a receipt from one $200 withdrawal that he said occurred in his presence.

• BDA helped Guillory purchase an Infiniti QX56 that Guillory drives. California registration records show Guillory’s vehicle came from a dealership co-owned by former USC and NFL player Ronnie Lott, a longtime friend of Duffy, BDA Sports’ chairman and CEO. According to Consumer Guide Automotive, the car was valued at around $50,000 when it was first purchased in 2005.

• Guillory has been giving money to Mayo for years, according to Johnson, who provided Western Union receipts that illustrate how Johnson and Guillory wired hundreds of dollars to friends of Mayo while he was in high school to avoid a paper trail leading to Mayo.

• Hotel receipts and airline itineraries show multiple trips made by Johnson and Guillory. The destinations correspond with where Mayo played in high school and at tournaments around the country.

• Guillory paid for Mayo’s cell phone service, which T-Mobile billed to a nonprofit foundation run by Guillory that, according to California state records, is designed to serve “the educational, health, recreational and social needs of youths and elderly citizens residing in inner-city communities.” Johnson provided “Outside the Lines” with the service agreement for four separate lines on the account, set up on March 13, 2007. Johnson said the phone lines were for Guillory, Mayo, a Mayo relative and Johnson. T-Mobile sent a bill to Guillory’s foundation for $558.56 for the September charges for the four lines. Of that amount, $171.17 was for Mayo’s phone service and another $192.33 was for the phone service of Mayo’s relative, according to the invoice and Johnson.

• In addition to several shopping sprees at the two Men’s Land stores in the Los Angeles area, Johnson said Guillory provided Mayo with a flat-screen television, a hotel room and meals — items all paid for with a credit card that belongs to another nonprofit organization, The National Organization of Sickle Cell Prevention and Awareness Foundation. The organization has never registered as a charitable trust with the California Attorney General’s Office and is unknown in the Los Angeles sickle-cell charitable community.

• Guillory purchased airline tickets for a member of Mayo’s family and another Mayo friend to visit Mayo at USC, said Johnson, who provided “Outside the Lines” with a plane itinerary and a receipt for those trips.

In 1989, Oklahoma State received a 2 year TV ban, 3 year bowl ban and loss of 5 new scholarships because 1 player received cash payments and a sports car at no cost during his 2 years with the team. And here we have USC, with 2 known offenders who received vastly more money and perks than the Oklahoma State offender and we are still unsure whether the NCAA will even slap them on the wrist.

It is time for the hammer to fall on the Trojan program. Not only are the violations clear and severe, this is a repeat violation by a program that has enjoyed athletic success on the backs of the two offenders in question. Like Paris Hilton’s rampant misbehavior, it’s time for the NCAA to make an example of USC.

And to think Indiana is still worried about their ex-coach making a few phone calls. Doesn’t this put things in perspective?

RECRUITING STORYLINE

Stephen Obeng committed to the Lions at the State College NIKE camp this past weekend following in the footsteps of former John F. Kennedy High School alumni Stephfon Green, Shaine Thompson and Nerraw McCormack.

He made his committment to Lion assistant coaches Kermitt Buggs and Mike McQueary. NCAA rules prohibit head coaches from contacting recruits during this period including High School camps, but it seems like our assistant coaches are getting things done.

COLLEGE CHOICES	INTEREST	OFFER	VISIT	RECRUITED BY
Penn State (solid verbal)	COMMITTED (5/10/2008)		None
Buffalo	None		None
Connecticut	None		None
Iowa	None		None

Stephen Obeng-Agyapong

REACTION

This New York recruit shows once again why Penn State continues to make its mark in the northeast region of the country in recruiting. From as far south as Maryland to as far east as New York City, Penn State continues to recruit out of its tradition pipeline states.

Stephen’s committment is great news. With Mark Rubin’s eligibility expiring in 2008, the only other significant name in the safety position is Brent Carter who would finish his career in 2010. Stephen’s committment to the Lions adds depth at the safety position.

RECRUITING STORYLINE

Darrell Givens originally committed to the Buckeyes on April 19th at the Ohio State spring game.

“Yes, I did commit to Ohio State today,” Givens admitted. “It just felt like the right place for me and I just fell in love with Ohio State.”

“I told all the coaches today that I wanted to be a Buckeye,” Givens said. “I spoke to Jim Tressel and also to coach [Taver] Johnson, coach [Luke] Fickell and coach [Darrell] Hazell. I’m very happy to be a Buckeye.”

But just this past weekend, the top 10 cornerback from Lackey High School, MD attended Penn State’s State College NIKE camp and switched his verbal to the Lions on the spot. His high school teammate, Malcolm Willis already committed to the Lions in late April.

A top 10 recruit in his cornerback position, Givens was holding offers from at least 16 major programs:

COLLEGE CHOICES	INTEREST	OFFER	VISIT	RECRUITED BY
Penn State (solid verbal)	COMMITTED (5/10/2008)		None
Pittsburgh	None		None	Bryan Bossard
Rutgers	None		None
Tennessee	None		None
Virginia	None		None
Virginia Tech	None		None
Boston College	None		None	Ryan Day
Florida	None		None
Illinois	None		None
Maryland	None		None
Miami	None		None
Michigan	None		None
North Carolina	None		None
Ohio State	Decommitted (4/19/2008)		None
Oklahoma	None		None
Oregon	None		None

Darrell Givens

Overjoyed. Everytime we get a verbal from a highly rated player, thats reason to celebrate. I know the arguments against using stars from recruiting services as an indication of talent. But I would prefer 20 four to five star recruits over just a couple any day of the year. When you stockpile highly ranked recruits like Ohio State and USC does, the odds of finding those breakout stars are higher than if you risk recruiting only a few each year.

But there is cause for concern with recruits like Givens. Not that there is anything wrong with 18 year old kids changing their minds. But Givens’ willingness to commit on the spot at Ohio State in April and now to Penn State at the NIKE camp should be worrying to Lion fans considering Givens has a trip down to Miami scheduled.

So lets not officially count this one yet. Buckeye fans are still scratching their collective heads over Givens ‘ decision, lets just hope Lion fans won’t suffer the same fate.

4-star Defensive Back Darrell Givens switched his committment to the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Nittany Lions early this morning at the 11th annual State College NIKE camp.

Darrell Givens is a current teammate of Malcolm Willis who committed to the Lions earlier this year.

And if you thought that was great…

Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, another defensive back also made a verbal to the Lions to become the 5th verbal for 2009. It looks like we’re already rolling to hit our scholarship mark for next year.

So to all those jumping all over Joe’s contract situation referring to his inability to recruit as their main argument. Shut it. Joe can recruit from his deathbed. Penn State will milk the cash cow that is Joe Paterno even long after he is gone from Penn State so what’s to think he can’t lure big name recruits when hes still head coach?

Sure he might not be able to hop into a car or a plane to visit recruits, but with assistants like Bradley being able to compete evenly with head coaches like Tressel, Rich Rod and Weis, there is really no pressing need for Joe to do so. We would LIKE for him to visit a recruit or two, but if he is still able to get the job done, why are we hollering for him to reinvent the wheel?