The 2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. The 2006 season began with the Nittany Lions ranked #19 in the AP and Coaches preseason polls. The team dropped out of the rankings with losses to Notre Dame and Ohio State, but finished the season ranked #25 in the Coaches Poll and #24 in the AP Poll with a final record of 9–4. Preseason Shortly after the end of the 2006 season, junior linebacker and 2006 Bednarik Award finalist Dan Connor announced he would remain at Penn State for his senior year. Redshirt junior offensive lineman Elijah Robinson was forced to give up football after being diagnosed with a tight spinal canal, a condition that could lead to paralysis if Robinson ever sustained a head impact that pinches the spinal cord. Redshirt junior safety Spencer Ridenhour chose to transfer from Penn State, after being unable to win a starting position with returning safety Anthony Scirrotto and converted cornerback Tony Davis ahead of him on the depth charts. Seniors Dan Connor, Terrell Golden, and Anthony Morelli were elected tri-captains by their teammates prior to the season. Penn State was ranked #17 in the AP and #18 in the Coaches college football preseason polls. Recruiting class The Nittany Lions received 21 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 7, 2007. Spring practice The public got their first look at the 2007 squad during the annual Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium on April 21, a 70-degree sun-splashed day. A record crowd of 71,000 turned out for the scrimmage, the third highest in the nation for a spring football game, and surpassing the previous record of 62,000 set in 1996. Thousands of fans in the huge crowd wore maroon and orange shirts, in tribute to the victims of the previous week's events at Virginia Tech, including a section of 800 fans that formed a large "VT" block. The White team defeated the Blue team 30–6, led by junior quarterback Paul Cianciolo who ran for one touchdown and passed for two more, finishing 8-of-9 for 126 yards passing, and sophomore receiver Chris Bell who led all receivers with 116 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Daryll