KANSAS CITY -- Former Penn State defensive end Tamba Hali reached an agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN.com reported yesterday. The first-round choice signed a five-year contract, but financial terms were not made available.
The 20th overall draft pick, Hali should play an integral role in head coach Herman Edwards' cover 2 defense.
Hali recorded 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss last year during Penn State's 11-1 season. He also helped lead the defense to an Orange Bowl victory over Florida State.
According to ESPN's Len Pasquarelli, "Hali is noted for his big motor and intensity, along with his big-play skills. Some teams dropped him on their draft boards because of what they felt were slow 40-yard times, but the Chiefs had no such concerns."
Coach Joe Paterno and the 2006 Nittany Lion co-captains will represent Penn State at the 35th Annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon festivities in Chicago, August 1-2.
Senior offensive tackle Levi Brown and senior outside linebacker Paul Posluszny will join Paterno at the prestigious event. Activities will be held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago as the Big Ten prepares for its 111th season of football competition.
The Kickoff festivities will include news conferences with every Big Ten head coach and players from each squad. Interviews with print and electronic media will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Kickoff Luncheon is Wednesday with ABC's Mark Jones serving as emcee. A sellout crowd of 1,800 will attend the Luncheon.
The Lions are entering their 14th season of Big Ten competition. Last year, Penn State was the Big Ten co-champion, earning the conference's automatic berth into the Bowl Championship Series. The Lions defeated ACC champion Florida State, 26-23, in triple overtime in the FedEx Orange Bowl to cap an 11-1 campaign.
Two members of the Penn State field hockey team have been named to the United States Field Hockey Under-21 National Team, which was announced yesterday by USA Field Hockey. Jennifer Long and Allison Scola, who will both be sophomores on this year's team, were both named to the U-21 National Team for the second straight year following trials at the Junior National Camp in Virginia Beach, Va.
Long and Scola were two of 11 selections returning from the 2005-06 U-21 team. While playing for the Big Ten champion Nittany Lions last year, Long compiled three assists while playing a back position, mostly sweeper. She helped the Penn State defense rank among the Big Ten leaders in nearly every defensive statistical category and was also the only freshman to start every game for the Lions last year. Scola scored five goals, including two game-winners, while playing in 20 games.
Head coach Robin Petrini announced Wednesday the hiring of Jocelyn Forest as Penn State's new assistant softball coach. Forest will work with various aspects of the program, including working with the Nittany Lion pitching staff.
Forest spent last season instructing the Boston University pitchers after coaching at Encinal High School in Alameda, Calif. for a year previous to joining the Terriers' staff. Forest has played for the New England Riptide of the National Professional Fast Pitch League for the past three seasons. In 2003, she played for a semi-professional team in the Netherlands, DSC 74, where she helped her squad win its first ever Dutch League championship and was named league MVP. In college as a starter at the University of California-Berkley, Forest boosted to the Golden Bears to their first NCAA championship in 2002.
