Live Wire: Toney prepares for Senior Bowl ... Jones enters portal ... Franklin talks turnovers

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Welcome to our new Penn State Live Wire, a round-the-clock feature that offers news that's fast, friendly to use and fun. 

While the season has come to a close for the Nittany Lions on the football field, there's still a lot to be discussed on that front and among the other sports at Penn State.

TONEY PREPARES FOR SENIOR BOWL

Monday, 4:00 p.m.: Practice began for the Senior Bowl Monday with Penn State defensive end Shaka Toney being the lone Nittany Lion on either roster for the game. Toney will be coached by those from the Miami Dolphins and will suit up on the National roster. The Senior Bowl will give an extra opportunity for Toney to showcase his talents and prove his worth on the football field with being limited to only an on-campus pro day for NFL scouts remaining leading up to the draft.

WR JONES ENTERS PORTAL

Saturday, 12:00 p.m.: In a not so surprising move, Penn State wide receiver TJ Jones has entered the transfer portal. Planted below a multitude of wide outs, Jones appeared in eight games for the Nittany Lions but did not register any statistics while in the game. He's the fifth scholarship player to enter the portal this off-season. -- Jarrod

FRANKLIN SPEAKS

Monday, 12:00 p.m.: Penn State head coach James Franklin has had quite a start to the new year with hiring and firing an offensive coordinator in addition to hammering the transfer portal and putting together a strong recruiting class for 2022 early in the cycle. On Monday, Franklin spoke to the media for the first time since the Nittany Lions beat Illinois in December.

Here are some highlights: 

• On hiring offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich: "He's a guy that I've been in contact with and communicating with for a very long time. It was a very tough decision, but philosophically I felt like it was the right thing for us to do."

Franklin also mentioned limiting turnovers, scoring points and creating explosive plays as an emphasis for the offense moving forward. 

• On the transfer portal and graduate transfers: We're going to be as aggressive as we have to be at every position. College football is obviously very different now with the grad transfers and the transfer portal, but we're going to make sure we do our home work at every position."

There's been quite a bit of talk Penn State would look into quarterbacks in the portal or as graduate transfers and Franklin made note he has expressed that is indeed the case with his current batch of quarterbacks. Whether it comes to fruition is yet to be determined. 

The college football landscape has changed drastically over the years and with pseudo free agency it looks like it won't be changing again any time soon. 

"You have to embrace it and you have to move forward. This is college football, it's not going to go back to the way it was," Franklin said.

• On seeing his family: I had to take two tests the day after our season ended and then I had to quarantine for five days. By doing that I was able to get to see them on Christmas Eve. They didn't know I was coming so it was a pretty cool surprise."

Franklin is back on campus, but having his family join him is still a long way from happening. 

• On the play of the quarterbacks: "I wouldn't say that we took a step in the right direction or built on the year before. That's another big part of this, is getting back to that position and playing at a high level."

• On spring ball: "We're planning on having spring football but we haven't been told that's good to go yet."

According to Franklin, Penn State has plans in place for practices and workouts all the way to training camp as the Nittany Lions gear up for the season. In the meantime, they're operating as if it's business as usual for the time being until they hear otherwise as they start with winter workouts now that the early enrollees have arrived on campus.

"Nobody has really come out and said it either way. It's hard to tell how the Big Ten and the NCAA are going to handle these things," Franklin said.

WADE ENTERS THE NFL DRAFT

Friday, 1:00 p.m.: The final piece of the puzzle for the 2021 Penn State secondary fell into place as Lamont Wade declared for the NFL Draft Thursday night. Wade, a former Clairton Bear, amassed 153 total tackles, 11 pass deflections and four forced fumbles. Three of which came against Ohio State last season. 

With Wade's departure, the Penn State roster should be fairly in tact save for more transfer portal additions until spring ball.

WALKER RETURNING FOR 2021

Wednesday, 9:00 a.m.: Offensive lineman Rasheed Walker is the latest to announce his return to Penn State for the 2021 season. Walker started all nine games this season at left tackle and has been instrumental on the line since arriving on campus. His ability to help protect quarterback Sean Clifford goes a long way in the success of the offensive unit. His return also helps with a line that has lost both Will Fries and Michal Menet to the NFL so far. - Jarrod

BRISKER BACK FOR 2021

Monday, 12:45 p.m.: After weeks of speculation Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker made it official Monday afternoon, he will return to the defensive backfield for the Nittany Lions in 2021. Brisker, a senior in his second season with Penn State, was named to PFF's All-American Team as a safety after a season that featured 57 tackles, an interception and six pass break ups.

His return to the secondary solidifies a defensive backfield that returns Tariq Castro-Fields as well.

CIARROCCA OUT AS OC

Friday, 11:00 a.m.: Penn State announced the departure of offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca and the hiring of former Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. It was a surprising move, but one the program felt was necessary according to head coach James Franklin.

"I would like to thank Kirk for his contributions to our program last year," Franklin said in a statement. "This was a difficult decision, but felt it was best for our program to make a change."

Yurcich has 22 years of coaching experience and has spent 15 years as an offensive coordinator. Prior to his time with the Longhorns, Yurcich was the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State in 2019 when the Buckeyes went 13-1 and went to the College Football Playoff. He was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 2013-2018.

The offense runs will be similar to much of what was run by Ciarrocca and former offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne. - Jarrod 

DOTSON RETURNING IN 2021

Thursday, 8:00 p.m.: While it wasn't a foregone conclusion Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson would be returning in 2021 rather than entering the NFL Draft, but it became official Thursday night. Dotson's return solidifies an offense that should pick up where it left off with the junior playing opposite freshman standout Parker Washington.

Dotson had a breakthrough junior campaign where he hauled in eight receiving touchdowns and 884 receiving yards. With Dotson staying in the fold, the Penn State offense won't be short on talent or those with playmaking ability. - Jarrod

THORPE ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL

Thursday, 1:00 p.m.: Redshirt junior CJ Thorpe took to Twitter to announce he will be entering the transfer portal and looks to play college football somewhere other than Penn State. An offensive lineman who started eight games in his four years with the Nittany Lions, Thorpe will be looking to play defensive line at his next school. Thorpe, a Pittsburgh Central Catholic graduate, played defensive line at Penn State in 2018 before switching back to offense. -- Jarrod

ASSISTANT COACHES DRAWING LOOKS

Tuesday, 12:30 p.m.: Every year Penn State assistant coaches and even head coach James Franklin are linked to open positions around the country. Despite the lack of success for the Nittany Lions in 2020, this off-season has been relatively normal on the rumors front. 

With the recent firing of Doc Holliday at Marshall, current running backs coach and former Marshall assistant Ja'Juan Seider has been linked to the head coaching position. Seider, an excellent recruiter, spent time with the Herd from 2010-2012 and at West Virginia University from 2008-2009 and again from 2013-2016.

He knows the area well, but hasn't been more than a position coach at the collegiate level and a jump to head coach would likely to be crazy at this point. 

Co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks hasn't been linked to many jobs in the past, but with the firing of Don Brown at Michigan, Banks' name has popped up as a replacement for Brown at defensive coordinator for the Wolverines. Being a defensive coordinator is nothing new for Banks who spent time in the role at Illinois and Central Michigan in the past. 

It's not just the current assistants being mentioned for positions, but also former coaches as well. The most well-known of those is former head coach Bill O'Brien who has been spending time with Alabama head coach Nick Saban and his staff as they look to fill a vacant offensive coordinator position.

O'Brien called the offense when he was at Penn State and despite being throttled by sanctions, the offense produced at a decent level. The common denominator in O'Brien and Saban is New England head coach Bill Belichick who O'Brien was the offensive coordinator for before heading to Happy Valley.

The O'Brien-Saban dynamic is intriguing and it would be fascinating to see O'Brien back in the college ranks after being a head coach in the NFL. Still no word on if Jay Paterno is still sending out resumes to Big Ten coaches or not. -- Jarrod

CASTRO-FIELDS RETURNING FOR 2021

Saturday, 9:00 p.m.: Senior cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields is taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility and will be returning to Penn State for 2021. 

Castro-Fields couldn't stay healthy this season appearing in only three games for the Nittany Lions, but he's been a key contributor for the Penn State defense over the last three seasons and that shouldn't change in 2021. 

It's expected Castro-Fields will be at corner as well as safety next year to give added depth to the Penn State defensive backfield. He's the first known senior for the Nittany Lions to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility. -- Jarrod

FOUR-STAR FLOWERS ANNOUNCES COMMITMENT

Friday, 11:00 a.m.: Penn State has started 2021 off with a bang landing 2022 recruit and four-star athlete Mehki Flowers. 

Flowers, who plays for Steelton-Highspire High in Harrisburg, is the No. 4 ranked athlete in Pennsylvania according to 247Sports. The Nittany Lions currently sit at No. 2 in the country for the 2022 class a much needed improvement from No. 22 with their 2021 class of recruits.

Flowers is now the fifth commit ranked in the top-10 among recruits in Pennsylvania and could wind up on either side of the football when he arrives in Happy Valley next year, but wide receiver seems to be where he ends up. His junior season highlights can be found here. -- Jarrod

ADD DE EBIKETIE FROM TEMPLE

Thursday, 1:30 p.m: Penn State added another transfer Thursday afternoon as former Temple defensive end Arnold Ebiketie announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions. Ebiketie should see immediate playing time at defensive end with the loss of both Shaka Toney and Jayson Oweh to the NFL. 

Head coach James Franklin said Penn State would be adding a defensive end from the transfer portal and Ebiketie has made that come true. Ebiketie was second team All-AAC in 2020 and accumulated 42 tackles in six games for the Owls this year. He also had four sacks and three forced fumbles. -- Jarrod

HOOPS FALLS TO INDIANA IN OT

Wednesday, 11:00 p.m.: Stop if you've heard this one before, a Penn State team loses in controversial fashion in overtime at Indiana. This time it was basketball as the Nittany Lions fell 87-85 to the Hoosiers Wednesday night. 

The controversy came by way of the officials who had a plethora of issues down the stretch in both regulation and overtime.

Myreon Jones led Penn State with 20 points while Sam Sessoms added 17 points of his own as the Nittany Lions fell to 0-3 in the Big Ten and 3-4 overall. Penn State takes on No. 6 Wisconsin Sunday. -- Jarrod

FRIES HEADS TO THE NFL

Wednesday, 7:15 p.m.: Penn State offensive lineman Will Fries will be heading to the NFL rather than coming back for an extra season with the Nittany Lions. 

The news first reported by 247Sports isn't a surprise as the versatile Fries was expected to enter the draft. Fries appeared at several positions along the offensive line during his career with Penn State which should serve him well at the next level where versatility is paramount. -- Jarrod

TANGELO COMMITS TO PENN STATE

Tuesday, 3:30 p.m.: The activity in the transfer portal continued for the Nittany Lions as they landed Duke defensive lineman Derrick Tangelo Tuesday afternoon. At 6-foot-2, 310 pounds Tangelo started in 17 of his 74 games with the Blue Devils and had 74 tackles, eight tackles for loss  as well as 2.5 sacks. He'll more than likely line up at defensive tackle for Penn State. 

In 2020, Tangelo picked up 40 tackles, two sacks and forced three fumbles. He will be a graduate transfer when he arrives on campus. -- Jarrod

TONEY HEADS TO DRAFT

Monday, 9:00 p.m.: It's not a shocking move by any means, but defensive end Shaka Toney declared for the NFL Draft Monday. Toney was one of the best players for the Penn State defense this season notching 31 tackles and five sacks on the year. He finished his career with 112 tackles and 20.5 sacks in the four years he played with the Nittany Lions. -- Jarrod

LAND TRANSFER CORNERBACK 
FROM SOUTH CAROLINA

Monday, 3:00 p.m.: Head coach James Franklin said he would be active in the transfer market this winter and that remains to be the case with Penn State landing cornerback Johnny Dixon from South Carolina. 

Dixon is the second transfer the Nittany Lions have landed in as many weeks with Baylor running back John Lovett being the first. The former Penn State recruit had 34 tackles for the Gamecocks this season as well as five pass breakups in 10 games. -- Jarrod