2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Preseason

Shortly after the end of the 2006 season, junior linebacker and 2006 Bednarik Award finalist Dan Connor announced he would remain at Penn State for his senior year.

Redshirt junior offensive lineman Elijah Robinson was forced to give up football after being diagnosed with a tight spinal canal, a condition that could lead to paralysis if Robinson ever sustained a head impact that pinches the spinal cord. Redshirt junior safety Spencer Ridenhour chose to transfer from Penn State, after being unable to win a starting position with returning safety Anthony Scirrotto and converted cornerback Tony Davis ahead of him on the depth charts.

Seniors Dan Connor, Terrell Golden, and Anthony Morelli were elected tri-captains by their teammates prior to the season.

Penn State was ranked #17 in the AP and #18 in the Coaches college football preseason polls.

Recruiting class

The Nittany Lions received 21 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 7, 2007.

Spring practice

The public got their first look at the 2007 squad during the annual Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium on April 21, a 70-degree sun-splashed day. A record crowd of 71,000 turned out for the scrimmage, the third highest in the nation for a spring football game, and surpassing the previous record of 62,000 set in 1996.

Thousands of fans in the huge crowd wore maroon and orange shirts, in tribute to the victims of the previous week's events at Virginia Tech, including a section of 800 fans that formed a large "VT" block.

The White team defeated the Blue team 30–6, led by junior quarterback Paul Cianciolo who ran for one touchdown and passed for two more, finishing 8-of-9 for 126 yards passing, and sophomore receiver Chris Bell who led all receivers with 116 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Daryll Clark.

Criminal charges

On April 27, 2007, State College police announced that six members of the squad were charged with a range of criminal charges related to an altercation that occurred in an apartment in downtown State College earlier that month. The charges include burglary, criminal trespass, simple assault, and harassment, and players charged include junior safety Anthony Scirrotto, who led the Big Ten in 2006 with six interceptions and was named 2006 first-team All-Big Ten, and junior cornerback Justin King, named second-team All-Big Ten in 2006. Charges against King were withdrawn before the preliminary hearing on May 4, 2007. After the hearing, charges against Jerome Hayes, Tyrell Sales and Lydell Sargeant were dismissed, citing weak evidence. However, Scirrotto and Chris Baker still face a possible trial in county court.

Coach Paterno announced that, because of the incident, the entire football team will clean Beaver Stadium on Sundays after home games, a task usually handled by members of Penn State's club sports teams. The team began serving this punishment following their 59–0 victory over Florida International. The players arrived at the stadium just prior to 8:00 a.m. and cleaned eight sections of the stadium. They were joined by members of various sports clubs and teams. The football team and other organizations worked together to clean the entire stadium.

Penn State's Office of Judicial Affairs expelled Scirrotto, Baker, Sargeant and Hayes for the second summer semester, but all four players were allowed to return to campus on August 6 for preseason workouts. Sargeant and his family requested formal Judicial Affairs hearings to appeal the decision.

Charges of burglary, simple assault and criminal solicitation against Scirrotto were subsequently dismissed by Centre County Presiding Judge, Charles C. Brown, Jr., but a felony charge of criminal trespass and a summary offense of harassment are still pending. Trials for Scirrotto and Baker are scheduled for December.

Schedule

Penn State did not play Big Ten teams Northwestern and Minnesota this year.

Coaching staff

Coaching changes

Safeties coach Brian Norwood left the staff at the conclusion of the regular season to accept the defensive coordinator position at Baylor. Former Coordinator of Player Personnel Kermit Buggs was named his replacement and assumed coaching duties prior to the Nittany Lions' postseason appearance in the Alamo Bowl.

Post season

Penn State finished the season ranked #25 in the final USA Today college football poll, earning Penn State its 33rd Top 25 finish under Joe Paterno.

Penn State finished second in football attendance for the fifth time this decade and in the top four for the 17th consecutive year, averaging 108,917 for seven home games, including two primetime crowds of 110,134 on October 27 to watch Penn State host Ohio State, the second-largest in Beaver Stadium history, and 110,078 on September 8 to watch Penn State beat Notre Dame, the third-largest in Beaver Stadium history. Penn State finished the season with a sellout crowd of 66,166 at the Alamo Bowl.

In January, junior cornerback Justin King announced that he was going to declare for the 2008 NFL Draft, skipping his final year of eligibility. King had graduated the previous semester with a degree in liberal arts with an emphasis in sports management. According to King's stepfather and high school coach, "He wanted to get an education and a degree from Penn State, which he did. He wanted to help turn Penn State around, and he did that, too."

Three players were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, held February 20–26 in Indianapolis, IN: Dan Connor, Justin King, and Anthony Morelli.

NFL draft

Two Penn State players were selected in the 2008 NFL Draft.