What can fans expect to see at Penn State's Blue-White Practice?

By Greg Pickel

Penn State football will finish its first set of spring practices in the Matt Campbell era in State College this Saturday. The Blue-White practice will be at 1 p.m. ET on April 25. All indications leading up to the event suggest fans should expect a traditional open practice rather than a game. At the very least, this will certainly not be a typical intrasquad scrimmage like the Lions have put on for years during practice No. 15. So, what will it look like? The first-year leader of the program was asked, and answered, that very question on Tuesday following spring practice No. 13.

“We can’t waste a great practice,” Campbell said. “I think these are critical reps for our football team. So I kind of see the first 20-25 minutes like what normal practice would look like. A team stretch. And then obviously, get ourselves a little bit individual, inside run, a little bit of seven on seven. But then, you know, really, the bulk load of the rest of the day will be driving.

“We’ll get an opportunity to just continue to work on our football team and work on driving the football in different areas of the field. But, a lot like probably what you see of most spring games.

Campbell made clear back when drills started in late March that not having a game was a distinct possibility. He made clear that he wanted to hold some kind of open-to-the-public event in Beaver Stadium. But that did not mean it would definitely pit Team Blue against Team White. With that said, there will be scrimmage aspects.

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“Number one, I think it’s really important for us and how critical our fan base is to our football program that we get out and have an opportunity for our fans to be with us, but I think equally it’s critical for our players to be in that stadium and to feel what that fan base feels like and looks like and what Beaver Stadium looks like, replicating that environment to the best of our ability before we step in and play a game obviously next fall,” Campbell said.

“What we won’t do is waste a day. What we will do is I think it’s really important for us to be out there and make sure we do a great job of being there for our fans and equally being able to be with our fans because I think it’s really important.”

Blue-White practice details

Parking lots will open at 8 a.m. around Beaver Stadium. If you need to purchase parking, you can learn more here. Team arrival is at 10:45 a.m. ET. Stadium Gates A, B, C, and E will open at 11 a.m. ET. An autograph session will also run with the football team from 11 a.m. – Noon ET. Here’s where each position group will be:

RB/OL – Gate A | LB/DL – Under SE | TE/DB – Under SF | QB/WR/ST – Gate B

The practice starts at 1 p.m. ET. It will not be televised this year. This is the second time this spring Penn State will be in Beaver Stadium. It was also there last Saturday.

“I think one of the neat things for our kids this time around is you’re going to get to experience what this fan base feels like and how special this place really is,” Campbell said. “And I think even last Saturday, there were a lot of big eyes walking into that stadium and how powerful it feels to walk in there. And [we have] the opportunity to do that with our fan base this weekend.”