Patterson picks up additional help
Bill Welt
Issue date: 8/26/09 Section: Sports
The Western Illinois football team is expecting two transfers from the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
According to David Jones' blog on pennlive.com, former Penn State defensive tackle Abe Koroma, 21, is transferring to Western.
Koroma chose the Leathernecks because he wanted to play this year.
"I considered some other schools," Koroma said. "But I wanted to be able to play football this year and transferring to Western Illinois will allow me to do that."
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said he left for "personal reasons," and Koroma did not elaborate on why he was leaving Penn State.
Koroma dealt with significant injuries during his career at Penn State, including a broken foot during his sophomore season in 2007.
"It wasn't easy leaving Penn State, but I'm excited about the chance to play football this year," Koroma said.
Whether Koroma will start at nose tackle for the season opener against Sam Houston State is unknown, but the 'Necks need experience and size in the middle of the line with Chad Groenhagen and Clinton Barley gone from last season.
The second transfer is former Iowa State offensive lineman Matt Hulbert. Hulbert is a 6'7", 297-pound offensive tackle who started six games for the Cyclones last season.
Hulbert decided to leave Iowa State after being listed as a backup on the Cyclones' most recent depth chart.
He may be a welcome addition to an offensive line that lost four of its five starters from last year, and could see some significant playing time this season.
-David Jones' blog and Chicago Tribune contributed to this article
According to David Jones' blog on pennlive.com, former Penn State defensive tackle Abe Koroma, 21, is transferring to Western.
Koroma chose the Leathernecks because he wanted to play this year.
"I considered some other schools," Koroma said. "But I wanted to be able to play football this year and transferring to Western Illinois will allow me to do that."
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said he left for "personal reasons," and Koroma did not elaborate on why he was leaving Penn State.
Koroma dealt with significant injuries during his career at Penn State, including a broken foot during his sophomore season in 2007.
"It wasn't easy leaving Penn State, but I'm excited about the chance to play football this year," Koroma said.
Whether Koroma will start at nose tackle for the season opener against Sam Houston State is unknown, but the 'Necks need experience and size in the middle of the line with Chad Groenhagen and Clinton Barley gone from last season.
The second transfer is former Iowa State offensive lineman Matt Hulbert. Hulbert is a 6'7", 297-pound offensive tackle who started six games for the Cyclones last season.
Hulbert decided to leave Iowa State after being listed as a backup on the Cyclones' most recent depth chart.
He may be a welcome addition to an offensive line that lost four of its five starters from last year, and could see some significant playing time this season.
-David Jones' blog and Chicago Tribune contributed to this article
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