Penn State earns CFP spot in spring bowl projections; 4 Lions land in new two-round mock: Newsstand

Penn State head coach James Franklin oversees the first practice of the 2024 spring football season. (Photo: Ryan Snyder/BWI)

Penn State news, notes, and updates for April 5 include another round of early bowl projections, a new two-round NFL mock draft, and more.

It’s time to dive into Thursday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.

Penn State tweets of the day

We start with another spring edition of way-too-early bowl projections. This round comes from College Football News. The outlet joins Brett McMurphy of The Action Network in predicting that Penn State will make the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2024. But, CFN, like TAN, sees the Lions as a likely road team in the 12-team tournament’s opening round. It projects head coach James Franklin’s program to be the No. 9 seed and travel to No. 8 LSU. But, it leaves the door open for the possibility of the Lions hosting the matchup instead.

“If this works out like we think it will, the SEC and Big Ten will be jockeying for position for most of the key spots – with the ACC and Big 12 fighting to get multiple teams in,” Pete Fiutak writes. “Flip a coin on who gets the higher seed and the home field advantage between the No. 3 teams in the two power leagues.”

In other news, four former Penn State players made ESPN analyst Field Yates’ latest two-round NFL mock draft. He projects offensive tackle Olu Fashanu to be first off the board at No. 14 to New Orleans. Then, he has Chop Robinson going to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 19. On Day 2, Yates sends Adisa Isaac to the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 62 overall selection and has tight end Theo Johnson going one pick later to the San Francisco 49ers.

Headlines of the day

Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton on his spring progress, new OC Andy Kotelnicki, and young PSU RBs: Flounders, PennLive

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren has specific focuses in mind for final season with the Lions: Pickel, BWI

Safety Zakee Wheatley focusing on ‘little things’ as Penn State tackles spring ball: Linderman, Daily Collegian

Top Pennsylvania prospect Kevin Brown recaps recent Penn State visit and much more: Snyder, BWI

Drew Allar tells why Penn State football thrives with Julian Fleming: Bodani, York Daily Record

What’s next for Penn State following Matt Zollers’ commitment to Missouri?: Snyder, BWI

Quote of the day

“I love the way they treat everyone there. Just seeing how they treat their walk-ons, I thought was really cool. I’ve heard about other schools treating their walk-ons like garbage sometimes. So, just seeing how much it really is about family there, I thought that was great.

Harrisburg 2026 offensive lineman Kevin Brown on PSU following a recent visit to campus.

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