There's a lot going on at Penn State and around college football, weeks after the regular season ended.
The transfer portal remains open.
Bowl prep is ongoing.
National Letter of Intent Signing Day is a week away, and coaches everywhere are trying to lock down their final verbal commitments on the recruiting trail.
Plus, in Happy Valley, there's the matter of finding someone to run the defense after Manny Diaz took the head coaching position at Duke last week.
On this week's episode of the Penn Stated podcast, hosts Donnie Collins (The Scranton Times-Tribune) and Sam Fremin (Citizens Voice) try to sort out as much of the goings-on as possible, focusing on the areas Penn State needs to address as the Peach Bowl approaches on Dec. 30.
It starts with finding a successor for Diaz: Does his familiarity with the roster and experience working alongside Diaz make current safeties coach Anthony Poindexter a favorite? Or, should head coach James Franklin look to the outside, for a bigger name with more recent results as a defensive coordinator?
But, Penn State also needs to get busy in the transfer portal, where they're hoping to host a slew of players on campus this weekend. Obviously, they need receivers, but who would be the best fits? And, what kind of message does it send to high school recruits if players who spurned Penn State in the past are asked to return?
Donnie and Sam also chat about which players on the current roster who are on the borderline between the NFL and returning would best be served coming back -- and which ones Penn State needs back the most.
To contact Donnie, drop an email at dcollins@scrantontimes.com, or send him a message on Twitter @PennStateTT.
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