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Misericordia punter Pat Newins staying busy in prep for NFL draft

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Texas trooper: 12 dead, 3 injured in church van-truck crash

<p>It wasn&#8217;t a planned meeting. But for Saquon Barkley and a few of his Penn State teammates, it was a very welcome one.</p><p>While training during spring break in Florida, the Nittany Lions star running back got to meet Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.</p><p>Barkley, fellow rusher Mark Allen, wideout DaeSean Hamilton and safety Marcus Allen wound up at the same facility as Prescott, the NFL&#8217;s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016.</p><p>&#8220;It was pretty cool to learn with him and also work out with him,&#8221; Barkley said during a live-streamed media session after practice on Wednesday.</p><p>A year from now, Barkley will almost certainly be preparing for the NFL Draft, where he is already getting some buzz as a potential high pick.</p><p>Prescott didn&#8217;t come off the board until the fourth round last spring, but he was able to step in immediately and excel as the Cowboys&#8217; starter when Tony Romo was injured during the preseason.</p><p>Barkley said he was able to pick Prescott&#8217;s brain for a bit and learn about making that kind of impact as a rookie.</p><p>&#8220;Just basically how to be a leader, how to lead a team,&#8221; Barkley said. &#8220;How to come to practice every single day and how to be a pro, pretty much.</p><p>&#8220;Obviously I&#8217;m still in college, but if you can be a pro about your body and be a pro about how you approach practice and how you try to be a leader, you can become a better player overall.&#8221;</p><p><strong>More captains coming?</strong></p><p>Penn State wasted no time in naming three captains at the start of spring practice, giving the title to Trace McSorley (offense), Jason Cabinda (defense) and Nick Scott (special teams).</p><p>But by the time the season rolls around, they could have some company.</p><p>Franklin said he generally prefers to have two captains on each side of the ball, and at times two on special teams as well. Players and coaches voted once at the start of the spring and will do so again early during preseason camp in August.</p><p>&#8220;This still gives us an opportunity between now and two weeks into camp for somebody else to step up in all three phases,&#8221; Franklin said Wednesday.</p><p>The first three got the nod because they were out in front in the first round of voting.</p><p>&#8220;If it&#8217;s someone where it&#8217;s obvious from the votes, from their peers and their coaches, and they&#8217;re the clearly the guy, we&#8217;ll make the decision and do it now,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;So we&#8217;ll be able to go into the summer with some leadership already in place.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Blue-White boost</strong></p><p>Franklin has been vocal all offseason about getting as many people to attend this year&#8217;s Blue-White Game &#8212; set for 3 p.m. on April 22 at Beaver Stadium &#8212; as possible.</p><p>He&#8217;s hoping to put on a more competitive show to entice people to come.</p><p>Penn State&#8217;s serious depth issues in recent years have led to two less-than-even rosters. With some exceptions, nearly all of the players on the two-deep would be on the Blue squad, with the White comprised of, well, everyone else.</p><p>Franklin is hoping to change that this spring.</p><p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll see the spring game will be different,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to go ones and twos vs. everyone else. I want to go ones vs. twos. And hopefully this will be the first time that we&#8217;ve been here that we can have a really competitive scrimmage.</p><p>&#8220;That should be fun and exciting. That&#8217;s what all the fans want to see.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Lions land DB recruit</strong></p><p>Pictures of Terry Smith had been popping up in Texas during the winter.</p><p>High school coaches from the Lone Star State would take photos with Penn State&#8217;s cornerbacks coach as he stopped through on recruiting trips back in January.</p><p>Not exactly traditional stomping grounds for the Lions. But the work is paying off.</p><p>Penn State landed another prospect from Texas for the 2018 class on Wednesday as Manvel High School defensive back Trent Gordon gave a verbal commitment.</p><p>Gordon made his decision public via a video that ends with him revealing a Penn State Big Ten championship T-shirt and holding up a football with the Lions&#8217; logo.<div id="twitter-widget-1" class="twitter-video twitter-video-rendered" style="min-width: 320px; position: relative; margin: 10px 0px;"><div style="position: relative; height: 0px;"><iframe id="undefined" style="position: absolute; visibility: hidden; display: block; width: 100%; height: 100%; padding: 0px; border: none; top: 0px; bottom: 0px;"></iframe></div></div><blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en" data-twitter-extracted-i1490836612187724269="true"></p><p dir="ltr"><ins>Through a God-trusted process, I will be taking my talents to&#8230;&#8230;. <a href="https://t.co/YWPTlOtobQ">pic.twitter.com/YWPTlOtobQ</a>&#8212; SAVAGE 1&#65039;&#8419;8&#65039;&#8419; (@_TRENTG_) <a href="https://twitter.com/_TRENTG_/status/847065094752256000">March 29, 2017</a></ins></blockquote></p><p><ins><script charset="utf-8" type="mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-mce-text/javascript" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" async=""></script></ins></p><p>Hailing from the Houston suburbs, the 5-foot-11 Gordon becomes Penn State&#8217;s 12th member of the 2018 class. He&#8217;s also the second defensive back from Texas in the group, joining Isaiah Humphries.</p><p>One major difference between the two &#8212; Humphries has strong Penn State ties as the son of former Lions standout cornerback Leonard Humphries.</p><p>With Gordon, Penn State&#8217;s success in 2016 helped get a foot in the door, leading to a visit to campus earlier this month.</p><p>A three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings, Gordon holds more than 30 scholarship offers, including Michigan, Oklahoma, LSU, Oregon, Tennessee and UCLA as well as home state schools like Texas A&amp;M, TCU and Houston.</p><p>The Lions&#8217; class is rated No. 2 nationally for 2018 in the Composite, behind only Miami.</p><p><ins>For other sports stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/sports" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><p><iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/7926789/57f48cbbed57ee4164148369" height="360" width="640"></iframe></p><p><iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1OK4PYS981ubWAlp8ivpPXYkhWzw" height="550" width="100%"></iframe></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Already drawing attention for his physical tools, Saquon Barkley talked to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott this spring about the mental side of the game. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_AP_17003025563384-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Already drawing attention for his physical tools, Saquon Barkley talked to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott this spring about the mental side of the game. </caption0><photoCredit0>Mark J. Terrill file photo | AP </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

PSU’s Saquon Barkley gets some pointers from Cowboys QB Dak Prescott