June 11, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Football staff will again welcome close to 3,000 high school players from across the nation to its 34th annual summer football camps.
More than 100 placekickers participated in the kicking camp May 31-June 1 to launch the five different camp opportunities on the University Park campus this month, with the remaining camps getting underway this weekend.
The Penn State camps feature a 7-on-7 team passing camp, a "seniors only" camp and two offense / defense skills and fundamentals camps for athletes entering 8th-12th grade in the fall. The fundamentals camps will be held June 15-18 and 22-25.
Penn State's popular 7 on 7 team passing camp will be held June 13-14. Many of the top high school teams from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast attend this camp and use it as a competitive off-season teaching opportunity for their skill players. This camp is designed for varsity programs.
The "seniors only" camp will be held June 20-21. This camp was introduced three years ago and is designed to give an upcoming senior the opportunity to focus in on his primary offensive or defensive position. In addition to the Penn State staff, the senior only camp will feature many visiting college coaches and former Nittany Lion players that are in the coaching profession as assistant coaches. Each of the past three years, approximately 20 former Nittany Lions, currently serving as high school or college football coaches, worked the senior camp.
In addition to the Penn State coaching staff, selected outstanding high school coaches and Penn State Athletics trainers and medical personnel complete the camp staff.
Additional camp information, including registration forms, can be found by visiting: www.pennstatefootballcamps.com or by contacting the Penn State sports camps office at 814-865-0561.
Coach Joe Paterno and his staff have guided Penn State to 31 wins in the last 40 games, including victories in the 2006 FedEx Orange Bowl, the 2007 Outback Bowl and 2007 Valero Alamo Bowl. The Nittany Lions are tied for eighth nationally in wins over the past 40 games.
Penn State returns 16 starters and 37 letterwinners for the 2008 campaign, Paterno's 43rd as head coach. The Nittany Lions will face eight teams that played in bowl games last year, including five at home: Oregon State (Sept. 6), Illinois (Sept. 27, 8:00 p.m.), Michigan (Oct. 18-Homecoming, 4:30 p.m.), Indiana (Nov. 15) and Michigan State (Nov. 22).