Penn State news, notes, and updates for Oct. 9 include Hodge Trophy contenders, headlines of the day, and more. It’s time to dive into Wednesday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
The initial contenders for the 2024-2025 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy are all former NCAA champions, according to a list of 10 candidates compiled by WIN. Penn State returning All-Americans Levi Haines, Carter Starocci, and Greg Kerkvliet all made the cut. Each is a returning champ. Haines won the 157-pound bracket at nationals a year ago but now moves up to 174 pounds. He replaces Starocci there, of course, as the four-time NCAA champ will try to become the first five-time national title winner when he bumps up to 184 pounds. Kerkvliet, then, is back in his heavyweight spot after winning the 285-pound title a year ago.
The Penn State grapplers are joined on the watch list by Arizona State 125-pounder Richard Figueroa, Ohio State 141-pound defending national champ Jesse Mendez, 141-pound Northern Colorado grad student Andrew Alirez, Virginia Tech 149-pounder Caleb Henson, Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole, who competes at 174 pounds, and CSU Bakerfield 197-pounder AJ Ferrari.
Former Nittany Lion wrestler Aaron Brooks won the Hodge Trophy a year ago. It marked the first time a Penn State wrestler won the “Heisman Trophy of wrestling” since Bo Nickal did in 2019.
In other news, Penn State football receiver Liam Clifford is PFF’s highest-graded receiver from Week 6. He caught three passes for 107 yards in the Lions’ win over UCLA.
Headlines of the day
Tracking Penn State’s explosive plays: Where Andy Kotelnicki’s offense stands after five games : Flounders, PennLive
Four-star Bergen Catholic teammates Jermaine Kinsler and Jordan Thomas recap Penn State visit : Snyder, BWI
Penn State Football’s 5-0 Is Start ‘Impactful.’ Now the Hard Part : Wogenrich, SI
PSU redshirt report: Where does the Class of 2024 stand after five games? : Pickel, BWI
Nittany Lions in the NFL | Tight ends have big days : Hill, Daily Collegian
Opting out (or not) for dummies: A guide for players considering a midseason redshirt : Staples, On3
Quote of the day
“My family and I had a great time at the visit. We really enjoyed ourselves. We spoke with Coach [James] Franklin and a couple others before and after the game, and it was made clear to us that I was a high priority for them to recruit and that they wanted to continue to develop our relationship. The game was a great game to watch, especially defensively. They did not allow any points in the third quarter and had many defensive stops throughout the game.”
–Four-star N.J. Class of 2026 athlete Jordan Thomas to BWI following his recent PSU visit.
The post 3 Penn State wrestlers on initial list of 2024-2025 Hodge Trophy contenders: Newsstand appeared first on On3 .
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