The Best Penn State Sports Stories of July

Recruiting, NIL and major wrestling news highlight an always-busy offseason at Penn State.

Early July is vacation time for Penn State's football coaching staff, which gets a few weeks to recharge before training camp begins. But Penn State sports news gets no vacation, so here's a recap of what you might have missed.

Penn State football recruiting: The cycle keeps spinning

Penn State's 2023 recruiting class has made a lot of noise recently with arrivals and a key departure. Most of it involves Florida.

First, the Lions picked up a rare SEC flip, receiving a commitment from 4-star defensive back Elliot Washington II, who had committed to Alabama in January. Washington became the fourth top-25 safety to join Penn State's 2023 class, signaling a promising future for the Lions' defense. Washington, an all-state player from state-champ Venice High, is among three Florida players on that list.

In late June the Lions picked up a second commitment from Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas High. Defensive back King Mack, a 4-star safety from the talent-rich school, joined teammate Conrad Hussey in the Lions' class. Penn State running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider has made Florida a recruiting priority and now has reinforcements in defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who certainly knows how to recruit the region.

Alas, not all the Florida recruiting news was positive. Quarterback Marcus Stokes decommitted from Penn State's 2023 class and chose, well, Florida. The Gators picked up a quarterback with a "dynamite" right arm, according to Sports Illustrated's John Garcia, Jr., while the Lions returned to the quarterback recruiting market. The options are limited this late in the cycle, so Penn State might need to get creative.

Huge wrestling news

Penn State certainly slow-played the biggest sports news of the summer: the contract extension for wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. Penn State doesn't address coaching contracts outside of football but in April did at least release extension news regarding women's basketball coach Carolyn Kieger.

This time, Penn State confirmed Sanderson's extension only after former athletic director Sandy Barbour mentioned it in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Penn State's Board of Trustees meets later in July, so perhaps the official release is forthcoming. In the meantime, Penn State wrestling fans can celebrate Sanderson's return to pursue a 10th NCAA team title.

Meanwhile, Bo Nickal, a three-time NCAA champ at Penn State, is taking his next career step in MMA. His goal is to become the best pound-for-pound fighter in UFC.

Former Penn State wrestler Bo Nickal will take his next career step in UFC by appearing in Dana White's Contender Series in Las Vegas :: Douglas DeFelice/USA Today Sports Network

Good Penn State reads

Penn State offensive lineman Nick Dawkins will wear No. 53 this season. Why is that significant? It's the number his late father Darryl wore during a legendary NBA career.

BTN's Matt Millen shared some thoughts about Penn State's 2022 season. Most of them centered on the offensive line.

The NIL company Opendorse released its Year 1 study of Name, Image and Likeness' impact on college sports. The study revealed some unique insights regarding where NIL started and where it's headed. Among them: Pennsylvania is a top-10 market nationally.

Speaking of NIL, new Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft had made some candid comments on the subject to Blue-White Illustrated's Nate Bauer.

Penn State is less than four weeks from the start of training camp. How are the Lions preparing? We take a look.

ICYMI: Penn State has big plans to make the Bryce Jordan Center more intimidating for men's basketball games next season.

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.