Delaware to play Penn State for first time in football in 2023, 2027

The University of Delaware will play Penn State in football in 2023 and 2027 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, the two schools announced Thursday.

They will be the first meetings on the football field between two of the Northeast’s long-established winning programs – the Blue Hens of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and Penn State of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Delaware-Penn State matchups were first reported by The News Journal in May.

Delaware has won six national championships — via wire-service votes for small colleges in 1946, 1963 and 1971 and 1972 and through NCAA playoffs in Division II in 1979 and Division I-AA (now FCS) in 2003.

Penn State won consensus wire-service national titles in 1982 and 1986.

The Big Ten had banned its members from playing non-FBS schools in 2015, then changed the rule in 2017. Big Ten schools, which play nine league games each year, may now play FCS foes the years in which they have four home and five away Big Ten matchups.

Villanova, Delaware’s Colonial Athletic Association rival, will visit Penn State in 2021 and 2025. Villanova has played Penn State, but not since 1951.

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It’ll be a huge challenge for the Blue Hens. Delaware has not defeated an FBS team since a 59-52 victory at Navy in 2007 in which Joe Flacco passed for 434 yards, third most in UD history.

Since then, Delaware has lost at FBS Maryland 14-7 in 2008, Navy 35-18 in 2009, Navy 40-17 in 2011, Navy 51-7 in 2013, Pitt 62-0 in 2014, North Carolina 41-14 in 2015, Wake Forest 38-21 in 2016 and Virginia Tech 27-0 last season.

Delaware does not play an FBS foe this year but goes back to Pitt in 2019 and travels to North Carolina State in 2020.

Visits to FBS opponents from power-five leagues typically net about a $500,000 guaranteed payment for the visiting school. It isn’t known what Delaware will receive at Penn State.

Players often relish the opportunity to go against higher-level opposition especially in familiar areas at well-known, packed stadiums.

As a result, the games at Penn State should serve as a valuable recruiting tool for Delaware, which gets many of its players from Pennsylvania. Second-year UD coach Danny Rocco played his first two college seasons at Penn State, his father, Frank, was a longtime Penn State football staffer, and his brother, Frank Jr., was a Nittany Lions quarterback.

Delaware's 2018 roster has three Penn State transfers — linebacker Troy Reeder, offensive lineman Noah Beh and running back Andre Robinson — and 31 players from Pennsylvania.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.

Dru DeShields verbally commits to play football at Eastern Illinois

BELOIT — Dru DeShields' dream to play football at the next level took another step when he verbally committed to Eastern Illinois University in early August.

His decision came during the preseason practice schedule prior to the start of his senior year with the West Branch Warriors.

Eastern Illinois, located in Charleston, is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Its Division I status was one of the major selling points.

"It was my only D1 full ride scholarship offer," DeShields said. "That was important."

Eastern Illinois has a playoff championship pedigree, capturing the 1978 Division II playoff title with a 10-9 win over Delaware. Since moving a division, the Panthers have experienced success, highlighted by a 12-2 record in 2013 when current Syracuse head coach Dino Babers was in charge of the program.

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In the last three seasons, however, the Panthers struggled, posting an aggregate 3-26 record, resulting in some coaching changes. Following the 2021 season, Chris Wilkerson was hired as head coach and Joe Davis became the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Davis also was the coach who recruited DeShields and his presence played a major factor in the West Branch senior selecting Eastern Illinois.

"Coach Davis was a big help during the recruiting process, especially with me, and that's (one reason) why I think (DeShields) made a good decision," West Branch first-year head coach Tim Cooper said. "He also gets the chance to play for a Division I school without a veteran in the (quarterback) room."

Cooper, who was the West Branch offensive coordinator under previous head coach Ken Harris and intends on staying in that capacity, and Davis share one football commonality that made DeShields feel comfortable when examining the program.

"Coach Davis runs the same offense Coach Cooper runs at West Branch," DeShields added. "I love our offense, because it's a numbers system based on creating mismatches."

In his first year running Cooper's spread offense, DeShields complied video game-like numbers, completing an efficient 68 percent of his passing attempts (259 of 383) for 3,654 yards and 41 touchdowns. He was more than a one-dimensional signal caller, rushing for 1,726 yards and 16 scores.

A three-sport athlete who played basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring as a sophomore, DeShields started intensifying his commitment to football during his junior year, when he gave up baseball for track.

"I switched to track, even though I liked baseball and my dad (Walt) and older brothers (Kip and TJ) had also played it," DeShields said. "I wanted to improve my speed for football, because I wanted to play football in college and I thought the best way to do that was running track. My dad understood and supported me."

His decision was rewarded. Before the 6-2, 187-pound DeShields ran track, his best time in the 40 was a 4.7. By focusing on track last spring, he cut it to 4.5, making him more attractive to college recruiters.

DeShields, who also plays cornerback, was recruited as a quarterback by a university known for developing signal callers. Former National Football League head coaches Mike Shanahan (early 1970s) and Sean Payton (1983-86), along with former Dallas starter Tony Romo (1999-2002) and Jimmy Garoppolo (2010-13), who started for San Francisco the last five seasons, all played quarterback at Eastern Illinois, although Shanahan's career was cut short due to a kidney injury.

"They had successful people who went on to the NFL who played quarterback at Eastern Illinois," DeShields said. "That says a lot."

Lindenwood (Mo.), Murray State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin are Eastern Illinois' OVC rivals, and the Panthers have been ambitious with scheduling non-conference road games in the immediate future, something which impressed DeShields.

"They scheduled games at Illinois (2024), Alabama (2025), Minnesota (2026) and Kentucky (2028)," he added. "That tells me they're serious about turning things around and I'm excited."

But first, West Branch football will command his sole attention in 2022.

"That's all my focus is on, and I plan to take it one day at a time, and my decision allows me to concentrate on West Branch (football)," DeShields said.

Blue Hens continue dominance of Delaware State, but will it be ...

The Blue Hens met the challenge, secured the desired result and avoided the historic consequences that failure against Delaware State would invite.

A 35-9 victory over the Hornets in the home opener at Delaware Stadium was, a little belatedly, worry free and typically one-sided.

But Delaware’s ongoing dominance of its First State rivals didn’t hide the fact that, with the treacherous Colonial Athletic Association schedule now looming, the Blue Hens must be better.

Eventual success Saturday night swung on a couple third-quarter plays – Kedrick Whitehead’s 42-yard fumble return that set up one touchdown and Marcus Yarns’ subsequent 82-yard touchdown gallop. They put the Blue Hens in command 28-3.

Delaware also needed a blocked punt to take the lead for good early.

FINAL STATS: Delaware 35, Delaware State 9

"I think we're going to have continue to make big plays," coach Ryan Carty said of what personified this win.

"That's who we're gonna have to be. That's who we want to be. That's how you win games in college football . . . We had to make some big plays and we didn't in the first half, minus the blocked punt."

Quarterback Nolan Henderson completed 21 of 36 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns, the second a 7-yarder on fourth-and-6 to Braden Brose four plays after Whitehead’s runback on a bobble forced by Noah Plack.

Henderson later passed 27 yards to the tight end Brose for another touchdown to close the scoring with 4:51 left.

Thyrick Pitts caught seven passes for 94 yards, including the first UD touchdown, on a night he was targeted a dozen times. He earned the Nate Beasley Award as game MVP for the second time, having also gotten it 2019.

"It's nowhere near where we want to be," Pitts said of the Blue Hens' development. "We left a lot out there today I think . . . We settled down a little bit. We made some strides from game one to game two . . . There's definitely still a lot we need to work on."

HENS PLAY HOME OPENER:Why Delaware Stadium is the place to be Saturday night for UD-DSU football

The Blue Hens had 400 total yards against a DSU defense that was No. 1 in the MEAC last year and returned much of its personnel. The Hornets had 311 total yards but couldn't extract more then a touchdown and field goal from them.

It was the 11th meeting between the state’s lone college football teams, both members of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The Blue Hens were presented the traditional First State Cup as the victor in ex-Hen QB Carty's first home game as UD coach.

Delaware has won every game by a double-digit margin. Their next two scheduled meetings are in 2024 and 2025 at Delaware State.

Delaware (2-0), ranked No. 10 nationally in FCS, was coming off a 14-7 win at FBS-level Navy. Delaware will open CAA play next Saturday at 1 p.m. with a tough test at 22nd-ranked Rhode Island. The Rams won 35-21 at Bryant Saturday night.

"We keep getting better," Carty said. "We're cleaning things up as we go. We're still trying to figure each other out, still trying to be a football team. But I know that we played really hard."

RECRUITING REUNION:Delaware coach's faith in starting QB rooted in failed recruiting effort years ago

Delaware State (1-1) had romped 34-0 over Division II Lincoln University in its opener.

The crowd of 17,176 featured a massive student turnout, typical for opening night but a throng Delaware has had difficulty retaining on subsequent Saturdays as the season progresses.

The Hornets cut the gap to 28-9 early in the fourth quarter on Jared Lewis’ 57-yard TD heave to Rahkeem Smith. The game ended with DSU being thwarted on a goal-line stand by the Blue Hens' defense.

The Hornets struck first on the game’s opening drive as Jonathan Cardoza-Chicas tied a school record by booming a 54-yard field goal on his first career attempt for DSU. It was just the second time DSU has ever led Delaware, the other being by a 6-3 score in the 2019 game here.

It didn’t last long.

Delaware was stopped on its first series, but Ben Dinkel’s punt was downed at the DSU 1. That paid dividends for the Hens, who forced a DSU punt from the end zone.

Middletown High grad Trey Austin blocked Matt Noll’s kick and Quincy Watson recovered for a touchdown with 5:39 left in the first quarter.

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The Blue Hens then marched 70 yards on 12 plays and a roughing-the-passer penalty on their next series, culminating with Henderson’s 18-yard TD pass to Pitts. The sixth-year wideout turned around just in time to get his hands on the football on the left edge of the end zone on the first play of the second quarter. Brandon Ratcliffe’s second extra-point kick put the Hens up 14-3.

But Delaware’s next two series ended with Henderson’s pass being picked off by Jayden Estes, ending the third longest streak without an interception in UD history at 156 passes, and Ratcliffe missing a 39-yard field-goal try.

DSU drove to the UD 37 on its final series of the first half but Cardoza-Chicas’s chance to tie his record on another 54-yard try was short.

Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.

Delaware dominance continues in first football visit to Delaware State

DOVER – The location may have been unique.

The outcome was quite conventional.

The University of Delaware’s traditional football superiority over Delaware State continued Saturday night in the schools’ first-ever collision at DSU’s Alumni Stadium.

The Hornets did have moments where they held their own defensively and also blocked two punts against the visiting Blue Hens. But they also proved to be overly gracious hosts.

Proposed NCAA cost increase for move to FBS impacts FCS Delaware

When it comes to rising costs and inflation, it’s difficult to beat the price increase that’ll potentially be instituted by the NCAA.

It certainly could impact the University of Delaware.

The cost to move from the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, in which Delaware dwells, to the Football Bowl Subdivision will likely climb from $5,000 to $5 million.

Which men's basketball recruits will be at Ohio State this weekend?

A top-10 football showdown inside Ohio Stadium this weekend will also be a showcase recruiting event for the Ohio State men’s basketball program.

As the Buckeyes prepare for Sunday’s charity exhibition game at Dayton, they are also planning to host at least 10 recruits in the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes before the football team hosts Penn State for a noon kickoff. The Buckeyes have two players committed for the 2024 class in Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy guard John “Juni” Mobley Jr. and Ottawa (Ohio) Ottawa-Glandorf wing Colin White.

Ohio high school boys basketball's top 24 players for 2023-2024

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The state of Ohio continues to produce high-quality high school basketball players who will put their talents on display this winter.

As a preview to this season, the high school sports staff of the USA Today Network's 21 Ohio newspapers and websites compiled a who's who of the Buckeye State's prep boys basketball players.

Georgia football's payout to Ball State for 2023 game released

Georgia lined up its replacement game for Oklahoma in July to fill a spot on its 2023 football schedule.

The guarantee for the Mid-American Conference school to play in Sanford Stadium in Athens on Sept. 9, 2023 is $1.6 million, according to a contract obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday from Ball State via an open records request. The schools entered into the agreement effective on July 12.

The SEC announced Sept. 14 that it had directed Georgia to scrap a game with Oklahoma for that same date in 2023 because Oklahoma joining the SEC by 2025 would not allow the home-and-home series to be completed when the Sooners were to play at Georgia in 2031.

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UGA president Jere Morehead signed the Ball State game contract two days before the SEC announcement. Ball State associate vice president and chief budget officer Scott Stachler signed the contract on Sept. 1.

Ball State receives 3,000 tickets for the game to sell and 300 complimentary tickets, per the contract.

More:What's behind Kent State's rugged schedule that includes Georgia, Oklahoma and Washington?

Ball State is getting $1.65 million for a game next season at Kentucky and received $1.5 million to play this month at Tennessee, according to the Muncie (Ind.) Star Press.

UW Badgers football transfer portal latest: Tackett Curtis

Here's what we know about the Wisconsin Badgers players leaving the program (and those heading in) for the 2024 season. The first transfer portal window closed Jan. 2, with another window opening from April 15 to 30.

2023 Badgers declared for NFL draft

The three-year standout from Fond du Lac finishes his career ninth in career rushing yards with the Badgers. He cleared 100 rushing yards in 20 games at UW.

After four years with the Badgers, the versatile offensive lineman (who spent the 2023 season at center) announced he was submitting his name for the NFL Draft on Dec. 13, shortly after teasing that outcome when he was selected to participate in the Reese's Senior Bowl.

The Badgers' No. 1 nickel corner in 2023 announced Dec. 14 that he would not be participating in the ReliaQuest Bowl and would instead be prepping for the NFL Draft. Maitre transferred into the program from Boston College and played one year, starting nine games and playing in all 12 in the regular season. He had one interception. Maitre would not have been back in 2024 anyway, having completed eligibility.

Rucci, who has been with the Badgers program for five seasons, will be pursuing the NFL after appearing in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The native of Pennsylvania played in 35 games at UW, including 22 the past two seasons, and younger brother Nolan is also an offensive lineman in the program.

2023 Badgers leaving Wisconsin via transfer portal

Barrett spent time as the No. 2 center on the depth chart behind Tanor Bortolini when transfer Jake Renfro was sidelined by injury, though Renfro returned to health by season's end. The redshirt junior from Illinois played in nine games on special teams last year and saw the field sparingly in 2023. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining.

Bell will have two seasons of eligibility left after he announced he was departing the program Dec. 4. He had a productive two seasons with the Badgers, catching 69 balls for 740 yards and six touchdowns over the past two seasons.

The native of Whitefish Bay has been in the program since 2019 but has played only sparingly. His younger brother, Joe, is a Badgers offensive lineman.

The Franklin High School standout led his school to a state title and played in two games as a redshirt freshman last season. He was the lone holdover among quarterbacks on the roster from 2022, and at times, he rose as high as second on the depth chart when Braedyn Locke was pressed into starting duty. He committed to Albany on Jan. 8.

Dike announced Dec. 4 that he would be leaving the program and use his final year of eligibility elsewhere as a graduate transfer. The Waukesha North High School alumnus has been at Wisconsin the past four years, playing in 44 games and catching 97 passes for 1,478 yards and nine touchdowns, including six in 2022. He'll leave the program in the top 20 of receiving yards. He announced Dec. 20 he'd be transferring to Florida, where former UW quarterback Graham Mertz is expected back next season.

Delavan-Darien High School alumnus has been in the program since 2020 and played in nine games over the past two years, often on special teams.

Johnson played in 13 games each of the past two seasons, and he finished this year with a sack and five tackles. The native of St. Paul will have a year of eligibility remaining.

The fifth-year defensive lineman started 22 games and played in 38 for UW, entered the transfer portal Dec. 18, leaving Wisconsin thin at this position. Johnson recorded one-half sack, two tackles for loss and 18 total tackles in his final season at UW.

Freshman from Pennsylvania did not see the field in 2023. He committed to the program in June of 2022 when Paul Chryst was still leading the program.

Hayden's younger brother was a five-star recruit out of Pennsylvania and was working his way up the depth chart; he played in three games in 2023 and three in 2022. His claim to fame at Wisconsin will be his game-deciding touchdown catch as an eligible receiver against Illinois.

The Michigan native had three sacks and a forced fumble as a senior in 2023, part of a career in which he appeared in 30 games (three interceptions, five sacks, 12½ tackles for loss). He was named honorable mention All-Big Ten and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl defensive MVP in 2022. Turner will have one year of eligibility remaining and announced Dec. 18 that he'd be landing at Michigan State.

Varner transferred from Temple before the 2023 season and played just one year at Wisconsin, finishing with 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in his redshirt junior season. Varner, a first-team All Conference choice in the American Athletic Conference before arriving at UW, wasn't able to match his on-field success that he had at Temple.

Michigan recruit has been in the program the past two years and saw brief field action.

The four-star prospect from Kettle Moraine High School was a top in-state recruit in 2020, and he was part of a guard rotation early this season and saw action in 12 games, but his snaps decreased as the year went on. Played in 34 career games at Wisconsin.

Heading to Wisconsin in transfer portal

The Illinois native has played in 11 games the past two years. He'll have three years of eligibility remaining.

The highly regarded linebacker recruit out of Louisiana played 12 games as a true freshman with USC this past year, recording 40 tackles (four for loss), two sacks, a forced fumble, two recoveries and one pass defended. He'll have three years of eligibility remaining with the Badgers.

The cornerback from Miami has played in 38 games over three years at Toledo and has one year of eligibility remaining. He has two career interceptions but was credited with 11 passes defended just last year and 16 for his career, plus a forced fumble.

Galvan led his FCS squad in tackles with 77 in 2023 as a redshirt freshman with three years of eligibility remaining. He's a former all-state player as a high-school standout in Iowa.

The wide receiver and return specialist spent two seasons with the Spartans had 24 catches for 195 yards and three touchdowns last season. He also averaged 6.8 yards on punt returns and 17.1 yards on kickoff returns.

Hills, who will have one year of eligibility left, posted nine tackles for loss in 2023, with three fumble recoveries and three blocked kicks.

The 6-foot-4, 239-pound outside linebacker played 25 games at Syracuse over the last two seasons, has two years of eligibility remaining. He started all 12 games as a redshirt sophomore this season and recorded 3 ½ sacks, 7 ½ tackles for loss and 46 total tackles. It's been a bit of a journey for him after he committed Dec. 3 to the Badgers but decommitted the next day, only to re-commit Dec. 7.

With the Badgers and LSU about to face off in the ReliaQuest Bowl, McGohan announced his intention to play for Wisconsin on Dec. 14. The 6-4 freshman from Ohio played sparingly in eight games for the Tigers.

The three-year starter at Luke Fickell's former program joins Wisconsin as a graduate transfer and has appeared in 49 career games. The incumbent at UW, senior Peter Bowden, is one of several finalists for the Patrick Mannelly Award acknowledging the nation's best long snapper.

The FCS All-American and native Virginian has one year of eligibility left after recording 24½ sacks at William and Mary in his career, including 9½ this past season.

He started his career at Cincinnati under current Badgers coach Luke Fickell but then went to Arkansas, where he posted 3.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and 90 tackles overall, ranking top-five in the SEC in the latter category through the regular season. He'll have one year of eligibility left.

The junior racked up 19 touchdowns and 2,703 passing yards this season with the Hurricanes, one of his three years under center at Miami. He's thrown for 7,469 yards and 54 touchdowns overall, with 23 interceptions. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Walker, who will have one year of eligibility remaining, joins a suddenly crowded running back room that includes returnee Chez Mellusi and a trio of talented freshmen. He rushed 102 times for 513 yards and seven touchdowns this season at Oklahoma.

Leaving Wisconsin for other reasons

Jack Pugh, tight end

Pugh posted Dec. 4 that he was choosing to leave football to focus on his mental health. The recruit from Ohio played in one career game, in 2022.

Top 2023 contributors completing eligibility with Badgers

This list does not include players who have the option to return, unless they indicated an expectation to depart.

Tanner Mordecai, quarterback. Transfer from SMU served as the team's starter all season when healthy, throwing for 1,687 yards through the regular season with six touchdowns.

Transfer from SMU served as the team's starter all season when healthy, throwing for 1,687 yards through the regular season with six touchdowns. Alexander Smith, cornerback. Played in 53 games at Wisconsin and recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack this season.

Played in 53 games at Wisconsin and recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack this season. Michael Furtney, offensive line. Guard has been a regular on the offensive line each of the past two seasons, starting all 12 games this season.

Guard has been a regular on the offensive line each of the past two seasons, starting all 12 games this season. C.J. Goetz, linebacker. Waukesha Catholic Memorial grad registered 58 games played and more than 25 tackles for loss in his career, including team-leading 11 in 2023.

Notes:Kahmir Prescott (Philadelphia) a 6-1, 190 pound safety from Philadelphia who committed in April of 2023, de-committed on Dec. 7.

Booker announced he was de-committing from Wisconsin June 21 and announced his intention one day later to play for UCLA instead, but he flipped back to Wisconsin on signing day, Dec. 20.

Also on June 21, cornerback Vernon Woodward III (Winter Park, Florida) announced he was de-committing from Wisconsin and pledging to Illinois instead.

Chicago cornerback Austin Alexander de-committed Jan. 25, 2023.

2025 commitments

OU football: 2024 SEC schedule brings excitement, challenges

OU lost the 2024 Southeastern Conference football scheduling derby.

Or did the Sooners win?

Depends on who you are and what you wanted.

The SEC announced the 2024 opponents for each school, via a one-hour show Wednesday on the SEC Network.