Nebraska coach, players mourn weekend death of punter Foltz
On the first day of the Big Ten Conference media days, the Nebraska contingent was a noticeable absence. Coach Mike Riley and players Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas and Jordan Westerkamp missed the annual kickoff while grieving the death of punter Sam Foltz.
Foltz and former Michigan State punter Mike Sadler died in a car crash late Saturday night, driving from a kicking camp in Wisconsin. LSU kicker Colby Delahoussaye also was in the crash but survived.
“We join the Nebraska and Michigan State communities in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families, teammates, coaches, administrators and friends who have been impacted by the tragic loss of Sam Foltz and Mike Sadler,” Big Ten commissioner James E. Delany said in a statement. “While we are deeply saddened by their untimely loss, we also recognize the impact they had and the success they achieved as students, athletes, citizens and representatives of their respective communities and institutions. On behalf of the Big Ten, we greatly appreciate the enduring contributions made by these two young men, and our hearts go out to their families during this difficult time.”
Penn State coach James Franklin joined Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, Purdue coach Darrell Hazell, Rutgers coach Chris Ash and Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys in acknowledging the tragedy in his opening statement Monday in Chicago.
“Want to start out by giving my condolences to both Nebraska, Michigan State and the Foltz and Sadler families,” Franklin said. “Devastating to hear that news. I’ve been through that in my coaching career as well, and I don’t think it’s something you ever are prepared for or can handle. But our support and condolences go out to them.”
Franklin said he experienced a similar situation when he was a wide receivers coach at Idaho State in 1999. Two of the players were driving home from spring break when the driver fell asleep and crashed. The driver died and the passenger broke his femur.
“Those things are difficult. They’re not anything that you can ever prepare for,” Franklin said, adding there is no right answer of how to handle it, and the best a team can do is try to compartmentalize. “I think it reinforces how precious our time is.”
Dominate the state
Penn State and Pitt will renew their football rivalry Sept. 10 at Heinz Field, the first meeting since 2000. And, while the teams have a four-game agreement for home-and-home series from 2016-19, there hasn’t been any extension.
Both Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and athletic director Scott Barnes have expressed their interest in making this a yearly game. But Franklin isn’t so sure that’s feasible.
“The hard part is most of the schedules are set, I think, through 2026. Some of those games were set before people even verbalized that that’s what they’d like to do,” Franklin said. “It’s just more difficult than people think. And then also when you go to a nine conference game schedule, trying to get enough home games, especially on your odd year, it makes it difficult. It really does. And also when you eliminate FCS games where they’re always home games, and you can only play Division I schools in the Big Ten, it makes those things challenging. It makes them difficult to do home-and-homes. But I think it’s something that’s exciting. We’ll see how this four-year schedule goes, and I think there’s been discussions both ways.”
Franklin said he thinks rivalries with Pitt and Temple is great for the state and cool for fans, but he and his team “don’t put any more emphasis on those games than any other.”
Quick hits
Penn State sophomore running back Saquon Barkley made the sixth-annual Big Ten Conference football preseason honors list announced Monday. … Redshirt senior linebacker Nyeem Wartman-White will be limited in training camp as it will be his first action back from a knee injury in the opener last season.