Q&A: WR Norval Black Opens Up About Junior College & His Path to Penn State

It's been a unique journey for WR Norval Black, but now the former Lackawanna College wide receiver is ready to take the next step, officially becoming a Nittany Lion this weekend. Growing up in Germantown, Md., Black never thought football would be the sport that got him a scholarship, but now he's ready to take advantage of the situation.

Ahead of this weekend's enrollment, Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder caught up with Black to discuss his high school career, what Lackawanna did for him and much more!

Snyder: Growing up, what did you know about Penn State? What was college football to you? I know you were more of a basketball guy.

Black: To be honest, it wasn’t really that big to me. I always loved playing NCAA Football, the [video] game, and that’s how I knew the sport. I watched it sometimes, but it wasn’t anything that I followed real close. I never thought that I’d be at this stage now. Never once did I think this would be where I’m at. I was always a basketball guy growing up. I always thought that would be my route. But yeah, Penn State was just another team on the game. I actually do remember making a quarterback one time and I ended up picking Penn State as my school. I always loved the big stadiums when I picked schools in the game. [laughs] Now I’m going to get to play in one.

Snyder: Did you play football at all when you were young?

Black: Yeah, I played when I was little. I started when I was like seven. I played for the Montgomery Village Chiefs. I played for them all the way up until middle school. That’s when I ended it because they didn’t have a middle school team. I played basketball, too. I kind of shifted my focus to basketball around then.

Snyder: What was basketball to you growing up? Did you play AAU ball when you were young?

Black: Basketball was real serious for me. I played I-270 teams when I was young and then I played on AAU teams when I got a little older. That was always the sport I took real serious. That was the sport I thought I was going to play in college.

Snyder: So how did you get back into football then? Did your coach talk you into playing? Friends? What led you back to football?

Black: I did play football my freshman year, but I was on the junior varsity. Honestly, I didn’t like it that much. That’s when I was unsure if I wanted to play football. My sophomore year then is when I got moved up to the varsity basketball team. I was also ineligible to play that fall because of my grades, so I wasn’t able to play football my sophomore year. That all had a big impact on me. But even when I was sitting out, I still kind of kept thinking to myself that maybe I should keep playing football.

So, I did come back my junior year, but I didn’t play that much because I was still the star basketball player for our team and that was still my focus. I actually almost left then and went to a private school for basketball. But then, I remember having a talk with my [football] coach, Coach [Mike] Neubeiser. He told me that he was really going to need me next season for my senior year. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave, so I stayed and when my senior year came around, I had a pretty good year. I didn’t get a ton of looks from big schools, but that was mainly still because my grades weren’t great. I did talk to Temple and they had me visit, but my grades kind of held me back with them.

Snyder: You ended up committing to Lackawanna during your basketball season in February. Did any schools show interest in you as a basketball player?

Black: No, my grades held me back with both football and basketball schools. Like I said, Temple was interested in me for football. I actually camped there and they liked me as a defensive back, but I wasn’t going to get an offer because of my grades.

Snyder: What was it about Lackawanna that won you over? Did you have any other juco or postgraduate opportunities?

Black: I found out about juco schools my senior year and Lackawanna was the first school I learned about. One of my coaches just showed me that this would be a good route for me and that it could allow me to keep playing and get my grades up. I did look at some other juco schools. I remember looking at Hutchinson, but Lackawanna was the school I was interested in and they also accepted me in like two weeks. When that all happened, I knew I was going to Lackawanna to play football.

Snyder: How important was Lackawanna to you? How much did it help you mature off the field and as a person?

Black: Going into Lackawanna was a real new experience. It was a totally new surrounding for me. I was away from my parents, too, so there was a lot that I wasn’t sure about. When I first got up there, there was no one on campus. It was just the football team, so everything was about football. When I look back now, that actually probably helped me mature a lot. Just being around my teammates and other guys that went this same route was good for me. Also, I can’t focus on girls or anything like that. It was just all about football. That’s what Coach [Mark] Duda is all about. But man, I’ll be honest, when I first got there, I wasn’t sure if this was what I wanted to do.

Snyder: Were you just homesick? Did you almost leave? What was the problem?

Black: I was real homesick. I remember having a talk with my coach. He sat me down and was telling me that I need to look past that because I had a real chance at doing something with this and maybe being recruited. That first week or two wasn’t good though. I wasn’t feeling it. I’ll never forget this one moment I had though. It was the first day we put on pads during preseason and I had this one-handed catch. It was nice. That’s when everyone started to notice me. Before that, during the whole week before, I remember calling home to my mom and telling her I was probably going to redshirt. I remember telling her that football probably isn’t for me. I was seriously thinking about going home, but then that happens and they start giving me more looks. That right there changed my life. No doubt. Everything changed after that catch.

Snyder: You had a real solid freshman season, averaging almost 30 yards per catch. What schools started to show interest then?

Black: I didn’t really get much attention from schools until spring [2019]. I remember talking to Bethune-Cookman first. After that, Maryland showed interest. At the time, Maryland was my top school. I loved them at the time. I’m from there and I would’ve definitely given them a look, but we didn’t talk much. It was around that same time that Coach [Ricky] Rahne came to our practice. He started talking to me then and that’s when it really started with Penn State. I was talking to Coach [Gerad] Parker a lot, too. They just kept hitting me up between classes to try and get to know me. They really showed me that they were serious.

But West Virginia was another school that reached out. N.C. State and Pitt did the same. They all hit me up. It felt like these schools were all interested, but they didn’t build a relationship with me anything like Penn State did. There were other schools, too. Honestly, a lot of schools kept telling me that they wanted me to camp. Most of these schools wanted me to come camp with them. I remember Maryland telling me that if I came to their camp, there was a good chance they were going to offer me. West Virginia did the same thing. I was looking into camping at all of those schools, but by then, I was real interested in Penn State. That’s the place I wanted to camp at first and then figure it out.

Snyder: You visited Penn State in May 2019. What was that experience like? What stood out to you?

Black: Man, that was incredible. That was the first school I ever visited. I came in and they showed so much love right from the start. It felt like I was already on the team. They just took me in and took me all over the school. I got to see how big the campus was. I remember seeing the stadium. That was an experience. That really popped out to me, but also learning about their fan support and their facilities. It was fun.

Snyder: You came up to Penn State for camp that next month and not only earned an offer but ended up committing that day. What was your mindset going into camp?

Black: My mindset was to just kill. [laughs] I remember going to this workout earlier that day, before Penn State, but I cut it short. I was just focused on Penn State. That’s all I was thinking about. Going up there, I was sitting in the car thinking about what an offer would mean. I remember talking to Coach [James] Franklin and Coach Parker before, when I was there for that unofficial visit, and they told me then that they were seriously interested but wanted me to work out first. So, I knew going into the camp that I had a chance with them. I knew I just had to kill it that day. So, when I did get the offer, it was easy for me to commit. I already felt like I knew Penn State. I knew this was where I wanted to go.

Snyder: Were you not curious to learn which other schools may offer you?

Black: Not really. I remember talking to West Virginia and they basically said they can’t compete with Penn State so they’re not going to really keep pushing for me. Once I committed, a lot of schools just started looking elsewhere. I was happy. I wasn’t changing anything.

Snyder: What were your thoughts when Gerad Parker left? Also, what are your thoughts on Taylor Stubblefield?

Black: I didn’t even hear from Coach Parker when he left. That kind of upset me. He didn’t call me or anything. With Coach Stubblefield, he came up to see me at Lackawanna. I remember playing ping pong with him. Him traveling up there to see me, it was a good time. We’ve built a good relationship since then. I’m excited to finally get to work with him and all the guys up there.

Snyder: Penn State needs help at wide receiver this season. What have you been doing to help prepare yourself, especially over the past three months? You have an opportunity to make a big impact. How much have you been thinking about that?

Black: I’ve been running routes every chance I can. I know I need to get more crisp and do everything I can to compete with the guys already up there. Seeing KJ [Hamler] leave made me realize the opportunity I have up there. They have a lot of good players. Jahan [Dotson] is great and Daniel George and all those guys are good players, but I’m coming in with a chance to win a spot or at least make an impact. Seeing how quick KJ blew up, it shows that anyone can really become a top player quick if you do the little things right and take advantage of your chances. That’s what I plan to do.

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