As Penn State football season rolls on, already with four conference losses and sitting 16th in the 18-team Big Ten Conference, those poor performances have offered a cloak of invisibility for a few potentially prominent football-adjacent personalities this season.
There are four people who you’d see more of if the team were better, and maybe one or two will return before the season ends.
They’ve not been abducted or lost. There’s no need to attach an AirTag, look on the back of a milk carton or scour the internet to find them.
They’re all alive and well — you’re just not seeing them as much on Penn State football Saturdays.
Whither Gus, Pat, LaVar and Anthony?
Gus Johnson is the most prominent, the lead play-by-play man for Fox and its coverage of college football. He’s the energy-brining, nickname-giving master of the mic, the perfect match for his network’s approach to college football coverage.
Big games at noon bring Gus and Joel Klatt to your campus, and they may bring “Big Noon Kickoff” along as well.
Not this season at Penn State.
Johnson has worked at least one Penn State game for six of the past seasons (missing only the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign). Overall, he’s worked 14 Penn State games during that time and all of them were big or interesting games. There’s no such opportunity for him this season.
Some fans might not appreciate his approach, but he’s good at what he does. Johnson is an unstoppable original. And his total absence means it’s not a good season for Penn State.
Also missing, well, not missing, just not as prominent on the sideline with his high-five-giving, former-linebacker loving approach is athletic director Pat Kraft.
He’s been the object of some pushback from the fanbase and perhaps some not-so-positive PR. He’s the one who (eventually) selected Matt Campbell as football coach — after relying on himself as the sole member of the search committee. So, the on-field results are on Kraft at least a little bit, and the fanbase has not proven to be all that patient.
Add to that the Beaver Stadium construction, coming price hikes for football tickets and the increasing need for financial support for name, image and likeness efforts and Kraft has a lot on his plate. The pressure of being the face of the athletic department’s many changes (even though he says he’s not interested in being a front-facing guy) can be a challenge.
Plus, there’s simply been less to celebrate so far this season. That may change down the stretch. That may change with basketball season. It’ll certainly change with wrestling season.
We’ll see a glad-handing and smiling version of the athletic director at some point, but the lack of that has been noticeable.
Two parents, a pair of successful football dads, round out the quiet quartet.
First up, LaVar Arrington, father of LaVar Arrington Jr. The former Penn State All-American and All-Pro was the most prominent face of the ROAR+ effort last season. He brought contacts and some media experience to the crowded content-creation effort the athletic department tried to cobble together.
From the outside it seemed unfocused and unproductive — a mishmash of competing goals and ideas. Was it something to prepare student-athletes for careers? Was it a cross-promotional effort for DisruptU PSU (his company) or ST1X C1TY (his brand)? Was it a money-making endeavor?
It was all. And it was none.
Whatever it was, when it was good Arrington was the face, often of interviews with former coach James Franklin. With the latter’s departure, content got lighter, though, and Arrington eventually become less visible.
Now, thanks to an investment from Penn State, Arrington seems poised to return, so maybe the second half of the season will offer a comeback, of sorts. Yes, he unveiled a Penn State-related podcast earlier this month, but there might be more in the works. And all of it comes with a focus on Arrington himself, no matter if similar things already exist. It’ll again be interesting to see how it all plays out, if it lasts and who it really benefits. .
Finally, Anthony Becht, Rocco’s dad, rounds out the quartet. He’s a Pennsylvania native and new to Penn State, but he knows the drill and knows football. He was a collegiate standout at West Virginia, played a decade in the NFL for five teams and has been coaching spring pro football for the past half-decade.
With his broadcasting experience (stints with ESPN and Westwood One), he’d be a good podcast guest, too. Just saying.
As this season began, he was proudly public with support of his son and the team on social media — offering a weekly postgame picture with the family. As the losses grew, the postgame social media shoutouts diminished.
It was a shame to see him go, or do not do more. He has not gone negative, as some parents have, but he’s gone silent. And that’s too bad.
He obviously brings expertise and a personality, though. Plus, his business savvy in the NIL era would seem like a good thing. Anything with the elder Becht was only going to be a one-year effort but with a little more success he could be entertaining and prominent.
Maybe there’s time for that to happen during the season’s five remaining games.
If Becht becomes more prominent — if any of them do, actually — it’ll be a good thing for Penn State football. At least it’ll probably mean good things are happening on the field.
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