Tight end Freiermuth reportedly opts out
Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth, an Associated Press preseason first-team All-American, has decided not to play the next college football season, according to a report in the Centre Daily Times.
Freiermuth, a junior and a twoyear starter, has been projected to be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft. If he opts out, he would join linebacker Micah Parsons, a fellow preseason All-American, who announced his decision not to play in early August.
The 6-5, 256-pound Freiermuth has enjoyed two superb seasons for the Nittany Lions with 69 catches for 875 yards and 15 touchdowns, tying him with Mike Gesicki for the school’s career record by a tight end.
The Big Ten announced on Aug. 11 that it was postponing all fall sports to the spring semester because of the coronavirus pandemic. There has been speculation that the Big Ten might start the 2020 football season in October, November or January, but no one knows for sure.
Freiermuth’s decision would leave sophomore Zack Kuntz as the top candidate to replace him. Among the other tight ends on the roster are freshmen Brenton Strange and Theo Johnson and former Wilson and Warwick standout Grayson Kline, a sophomore.
PSU PAUSES ACTIVITIES » The Penn State athletic department announced Wednesday that it has “paused” activities for several unnamed teams after a spike in positive COVID-19 tests in the last week.
From Aug. 31-Sept. 4, Penn State conducted 920 tests of studentathletes with 48 positive results, a five-percent rate.
“Based on these results and out of an abundance of caution, Penn State athletics has paused team activities for several programs and initiated standard isolation and precautionary quarantine,” a Penn State statement read. “Contact tracing is being performed, and there is no evidence to suggest COVID-19 was transmitted during practice or training activities.”
The spike in positive tests followed a three-week period in which Penn State had just three positives among 713 tests and came after the beginning of fall semester Aug. 24.
PUNTER TRANSFERS TO PSU » Barney Amor, a punter with two seasons of eligibility left, announced Wednesday on Twitter that he’s going from Colgate to Penn State as a graduate transfer.
Amor, a native of Switzerland, played at Central Bucks East High School. He was Colgate’s regular punter last season and averaged a school-record 42.1 yards per punt.
Seventeen of Amor’s 63 punts last season were downed inside the 20-yard line. He had 11 punts of at least 50 yards.