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Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders still hunting for playoff berth after extra innings lost

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Lottery Summary for the week of Aug. 21

<p>Nyeem Wartman-White calls it the &#8220;day the world fell on me.&#8221;</p><p>All summer he had been preparing for his debut as Penn State&#8217;s middle linebacker. And it was happening in Philadelphia, his hometown, and on the field of his favorite team, the Eagles.</p><p>After one very successful quarter, it was over. All the telltale signs of an ACL injury were there as he laid on the turf after a snap with the punt coverage unit.</p><p>He was helped into the visitors locker room. He let out &#8220;some foul words&#8221; as it sank in that his season was already finished.</p><p>And then he laughed.</p><p>&#8220;Because it was funny,&#8221; Wartman-White said, some 10 months later, with a smile and a shake of his head. &#8220;Something bad ever happen to you and you just had to laugh at it?</p><p>&#8220;It was one of those moments where it was so surreal. And it was just like, &#8216;Yo, this some movie stuff right here.&#8217; I had to laugh. Because I was finally coming home and everything. And then this? I just had to laugh.</p><p>&#8220;At the end of the day, I just felt like I&#8217;d be all right. Just keep my faith and I knew everything would be all right.&#8221;</p><p>That was Sept. 5, 2015. When he returns, it will be Sept. 3, 2016 &#8212; Saturday&#8217;s season opener against Kent State.</p><p>The time in between? By Wartman-White&#8217;s own estimation, it helped shape him as a person and a teammate as much as anything he&#8217;s been through on the field. And he aims to use it as he teams up with Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda at linebacker.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s going to take some time,&#8221; Lions coach James Franklin said at the start of camp. &#8220;He hasn&#8217;t played really in almost a year. So it will take some time to shake the rust off and work him back in gradually. But he&#8217;s had a great summer and he&#8217;s excited.&#8221;</p><p>Before Wartman-White could get to the physical issues, he first had to overcome the mental ones.</p><p>It started right after his injury. The Valley View High School grad saw how other Nittany Lions were looking at him and was determined, he said, not to be an object of pity.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t want to be a typical guy who got hurt,&#8221; Wartman-White said. &#8220;Who sits there in the corner in a dark room with a knee brace on and a glass of scotch next to me and a scruffy beard. I didn&#8217;t want it to get to that.</p><p>&#8220;I just knew I couldn&#8217;t sit there on my butt while everyone else is playing and be moping around. I had to be strong.&#8221;</p><p>It showed.</p><p>Bell and Cabinda both said they couldn&#8217;t remember a time when Wartman-White was down on himself. Or a time where frustration or anger took over for him.</p><p>&#8220;No. And that was the biggest surprise to me,&#8221; Cabinda said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t even know how I would handle that. It&#8217;s crazy. He was there clapping, cheering for everybody, helping everybody out. Even during the Temple game, when he knew &#8212; when he <em>knew </em>&#8212; he was (done), he was still there on the sideline supporting.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the definition of the ultimate teammate to me.&#8221;</p><p>Cabinda would know better than most. He had never taken a snap at middle linebacker until Wartman-White went down last fall. The next Saturday, he was the starter in that spot, asked to be a leader of the defense as a true sophomore.</p><p>All things considered, Cabinda did some impressive work. Teammates credited him for his ability to communicate on the field and he finished the season with a team-best 100 tackles.</p><p>Cabinda, meanwhile, credited Wartman-White for helping him get there.</p><p>&#8220;Nyeem was huge for me. He took a huge part in my film study,&#8221; Cabinda said. &#8220;It was definitely a tough transition for me, kind of getting thrown into the fire there. But he was there, helping me in the film room. Just me and Nyeem.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a testament to Nyeem&#8217;s character. Because not a lot of guys can handle that. Being <em>the</em> guy, being the guy in the middle and then going down. And he was still being so happy for everybody else&#8217;s success in the room. I think that speaks a lot to Nyeem&#8217;s character and the kind of guy that he is.&#8221;</p><p>The since-departed Troy Reeder &#8212; who stepped into Cabinda&#8217;s old weak-side spot &#8212; said last fall he also got plenty of individual attention in the film room for Wartman-White.</p><p>Beyond that, Wartman-White said he&#8217;s adopted a new outlook to his game.</p><p>In the past, he admitted, he had been focused on numbers and recognition. Like this summer when he was named to the Butkus Award watch list.</p><p>&#8220;Last year, I probably would&#8217;ve been all about it,&#8221; Wartman-White said. &#8220;I would&#8217;ve been so excited. I&#8217;d want to prove I should be on that list. This year, I wanna win games. That&#8217;s pretty much it.</p><p>&#8220;One tackle a game and we win? That&#8217;s fine with me. I don&#8217;t care. The next level don&#8217;t matter. I&#8217;m gonna remember Penn State more.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The brace on Nyeem Wartman-White&#8217;s left knee served as a reminder of the ACL injury he&#8217;s overcome in the past year. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_wartman-brace.jpg</photo0><caption0>The brace on Nyeem Wartman-White&#8217;s left knee served as a reminder of the ACL injury he&#8217;s overcome in the past year. </caption0><photoCredit0>Abby Drey | AP photo, Centre Daily Times </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_psu_med18_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Teammates said Nyeem Wartman-White (5) has kept a positive attitude despite missing all but a quarter of the 2015 season. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_psu_med18_faa-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Teammates said Nyeem Wartman-White (5) has kept a positive attitude despite missing all but a quarter of the 2015 season. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Knee injury reshaped Wartman-White&#8217;s perspective</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>PSU 2016 PREVIEW</strong></p><p>&#8226; Brent Pry, defensive line in the spotlight, <strong>Page 5C</strong></p><p>&#8226; A look at all 12 Nittany Lions&#8217; opponents, <strong>Page 8C</strong></p><p>&#8226; Penn State pull-out section featuring Joe Moorhead&#8217;s new offense</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

PSU preview 2016: A new outlook for Nyeem Wartman-White