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Where we stand with Recruits 4/27

bmw199

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Apr 10, 2013
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Update: It’s been awhile. Things have happened. Since we last spoke we’ve added 4 recruits (Thorpe, Martin, Miranda, and Brown). That gives us 8 out of the current 15 spots we have available. I expect that to rise to around 19/20. I would say there are 5-7 guys in my top 3 categories below that will have a spot in this class no matter what, that is unless a player of equal value to the coaches tries to commit (we aren’t high on many guys ranked higher at their positions), but that means for the guys who aren’t on that level, we will only take 2-3 more until those 5-7 make up their minds. You can disagree on that point but that’s how I see it (I’ll lay out who I mean later).

We weren’t the only one to snag commits from our board. Who you say stole some from us, OSU? Michigan? NOPE: Maryland and Rutgers. UMD got Spence, McNair, Hill, and Eley; Rutgers landed Clark and Melton. Way to sell the stay home movement. Here’s the problem: that message sells in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania bc then they go out and supplement top in state talent with top or near the top talent from out of state. All of UMD’s current commits are from MD, VA, or DC. All of Rutger’s commits are from NJ. Currently PSU has commits from PA, OH, VA, NJ, & GA. OSU has commits from OH, FL, GA, TX, CO, NV, MI, & NY. Michigan has commits from MI, CO, NM, AL, MA, GA, & FL. None of those 3 have really gone to work on their home states yet. When the outside talent doesn’t commit to Ru or UMD the in state talent realizes they won’t have help and bails for greener pastures.

Currently we are in an evaluation period where the coaches can go visit recruits at their high schools. What’s coming up? Well, our non-committed Blue White visitors included Wade (who came right back the week after), Webb, Hansard, Anthony, Pitts, Stueber, Jermani Brown, Singleton, & Njoku. From them Wade had said he was going to commit I Dec and I know when he made his return visit a lot of people were getting antsy that he might be ready, but I don’t see him changing his time frame without announcing that first. Webb just named us his leader today (more on him in a minute). Hansard pushing his announcement was good news for us and the coaches were in his HS today. He’ll be one to watch during the summer and I am hopeful we’ll get him back on campus for the Lasch Bash (The LB). Same goes for Antony whose uncle and cousin went to/ go to PSU. Our main competition for him is from the south. Pitts tweeted and RTed many pictures from BW and his mom also tweeted one of him hugging Franklin saying he had a great time. He then went the next day and won DB MVP at a Rivals camp. He is a possibility to commit over the summer sometime and he was one of the first stops for the coaches. Stueber could very well be out next commit, but I’m not sure if his offer is committable with 3 OL on board and Hainsey still out there. Jermani Brown is new to the list and recently decommitted from ASU, but he was does not have an offer and was clear that the PSU visit did not cause the decommitment. It was nice Singleton and Njoku came but they are heading to Michigan and Miami respectively. I know we are supposedly a close second to Miami, but I don’t buy it.

Those not at BW: Conliffe went to UVA’s Jr day after almost committing at our Jr day and then recently was at Va Tech’s spring game. He is still retweeting PSU stuff and commits, so from his side we are still in it. The coaches have added more DT offers so I’m not sure where they stand with him at the moment. If they don’t visit him during the evaluation period then it doesn’t look good. There was a rumor that Hainsey and Thorpe were going to commit together, so there’s that. He is currently doing his due diligence and recently has been to UF, Au, and FSU. I still have faith we will win this one with main competition coming from UM, MSU, and ND. Since JR day Warren has been to Pitt, Cuse, UMD, and Va Tech; again I’m not sure we take 5 OL this cycle. Since visiting and picking up an offer on 3/25 Holmes has been to RU and Tenn for their spring game. Tenn and Cuse are the competition. Hopefully he’ll be at the LB. Proctor has recently been to UNC, Va Tech, and UMD. He was recently interviewed and did not mention PSU, but did say a few times he wants to get on the field early and favors a depth chart that he can step right into. Bad news: he wants to commit on signing day by picking a hat, we have not traditionally won those. D’Andre Swift has been mentioned on this board a lot recently. 247 has an article up saying him and Webb are cousins and a packaged deal for college. They were both at UGA on 3/31 and Webb didn’t get an offer. Swift went back for the UGA spring game weeks later, but Webb came to PSU and has subsequently named us the leader. I don’t often buy packaged deals (look at Haskins/Diggs, or the moronic Triumphant Trio of Burrell/McClean/Settle), but if they are package I can’t wait for the postman to deliver it to James Franklin. Old rumors had it (one from a source I know) that he loved PSU and wanted to follow Reid there, but like I said those are almost a year old rumors we’re talking. I’m of the opinion both Swift and Webb wait to see what the new offense looks like, hopeful both come to the LB. Looks like Bell will be landing at Rutgers soon. Josh Kaindoh shocked everyone by leaving UMD out of his top 4 (ND, PSU, OSU, UM) right after he got back from ND, there was a rumor he may commit May 3rd and has trended to ND in his crystal balls. We’ll see if that happens, I’m more inclined to believe this will take longer than some are predicting. (If you want to see delusion at its best head over to UMD sites and check out their theories that he left them off his top 4 to generate surprise and attention when he picks them.)
JgWTm8.gif

Now I hate saying of the remaining scholarships X go to this position and Y go to this position because that’s not always how it works bc value of the player matters too. That said I see 5-7 guys who have spots that will be held for them until they are off the board before we move on to the next guy and let them commit. Now that doesn’t mean if a surprise player of equal value comes along we wouldn’t take them instead ie. I’m not sure we’d take a commitment from Stueber with Hainsey on the board but we’d certainly take Wilson and not worry about Hainsey spot in that unlikely scenario. Those guys are: Wade, Hainsey, Swift, Hansard, Webb, Anthony/Proctor. That would mean there are 5 wild card spots or so. You would think they would go to another DT, a S or two, maybe another WR, ATH, or OL or the one DE we’d still take, Kaindoh. The very young roster almost becomes an extension of the sanctions affecting us years later. The good and bad of it is a lot of these guys will wait until into the season, which should help us with better results, the bad of it is anyone waiting until signing day normally isn’t good for us. It’ll be interesting to see who the coaches visit during the evaluation period.

Feel free to add or discuss.

Commit Watch:
4/5* CB Wade, 4* WR Webb, 3/4* DL Conliffe, 3* OT Stueber

Very Good Chance:
4* OT Hainsey, 4* OLB Proctor, 3* OT Warren, 3* ATH Pitts, 3* ATH Holmes

In The Battle:
5* DE Kaindoh, 5* RB Swift, 4* RB/LB Anthony, 4* DT Hansard, 4* CB Brown, 4* WR Capehart, 3* DT Wade-Perry, 3* CB Johnson, 3* OT Honigford, 3* OT Locklear, 3* DT Reitmayer, 3* WR Njoku, 3* WR Sullivan-Brown

Work Left To Do:
4* RB McFarland Jr., 4* CB Thomas, 4* OLB Singleton, 4* CB Jones, 4* DE Vilain, 4* DL Williams, 4* DL Jeter, 4* LB Marchiol, 4* TE Bryant, 4* TE Dotson, 4* WR Hamler, 3* OT Lynch, JUCO OT Traore

Have To Get Really Lucky:
5* OT Wilson, 4* DE Young, 4* ATH Hunter, 4* C Ruiz, 4* DE Malone-Hatcher, 4* DT Bolds, 3/4* ATH Bell

My opinion on where we stand with recruits based on rumors, where the coaching staff has made serious effort, offers, tweets (sometimes) and gut feeling. My categories(and their meanings) are Commit Watch (changed from Locks as to not offend recruiting gods), Very good chance(we sit very well with the recruit and are either the leader or perceived leader), In the Battle(We have a good shot and are equal to others or just slightly behind), Work left to do(there is another perceived leader or little information known on recruits intentions), Have to get really lucky(small chance to little to none), and Former Interest(players that Penn State was previously interested in that most likely no longer have committable offers).
 
Update: It’s been awhile. Things have happened. Since we last spoke we’ve added 4 recruits (Thorpe, Martin, Miranda, and Brown). That gives us 8 out of the current 15 spots we have available. I expect that to rise to around 19/20. I would say there are 5-7 guys in my top 3 categories below that will have a spot in this class no matter what, that is unless a player of equal value to the coaches tries to commit (we aren’t high on many guys ranked higher at their positions), but that means for the guys who aren’t on that level, we will only take 2-3 more until those 5-7 make up their minds. You can disagree on that point but that’s how I see it (I’ll lay out who I mean later).

We weren’t the only one to snag commits from our board. Who you say stole some from us, OSU? Michigan? NOPE: Maryland and Rutgers. UMD got Spence, McNair, Hill, and Eley; Rutgers landed Clark and Melton. Way to sell the stay home movement. Here’s the problem: that message sells in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania bc then they go out and supplement top in state talent with top or near the top talent from out of state. All of UMD’s current commits are from MD, VA, or DC. All of Rutger’s commits are from NJ. Currently PSU has commits from PA, OH, VA, NJ, & GA. OSU has commits from OH, FL, GA, TX, CO, NV, MI, & NY. Michigan has commits from MI, CO, NM, AL, MA, GA, & FL. None of those 3 have really gone to work on their home states yet. When the outside talent doesn’t commit to Ru or UMD the in state talent realizes they won’t have help and bails for greener pastures.

Currently we are in an evaluation period where the coaches can go visit recruits at their high schools. What’s coming up? Well, our non-committed Blue White visitors included Wade (who came right back the week after), Webb, Hansard, Anthony, Pitts, Stueber, Jermani Brown, Singleton, & Njoku. From them Wade had said he was going to commit I Dec and I know when he made his return visit a lot of people were getting antsy that he might be ready, but I don’t see him changing his time frame without announcing that first. Webb just named us his leader today (more on him in a minute). Hansard pushing his announcement was good news for us and the coaches were in his HS today. He’ll be one to watch during the summer and I am hopeful we’ll get him back on campus for the Lasch Bash (The LB). Same goes for Antony whose uncle and cousin went to/ go to PSU. Our main competition for him is from the south. Pitts tweeted and RTed many pictures from BW and his mom also tweeted one of him hugging Franklin saying he had a great time. He then went the next day and won DB MVP at a Rivals camp. He is a possibility to commit over the summer sometime and he was one of the first stops for the coaches. Stueber could very well be out next commit, but I’m not sure if his offer is committable with 3 OL on board and Hainsey still out there. Jermani Brown is new to the list and recently decommitted from ASU, but he was does not have an offer and was clear that the PSU visit did not cause the decommitment. It was nice Singleton and Njoku came but they are heading to Michigan and Miami respectively. I know we are supposedly a close second to Miami, but I don’t buy it.

Those not at BW: Conliffe went to UVA’s Jr day after almost committing at our Jr day and then recently was at Va Tech’s spring game. He is still retweeting PSU stuff and commits, so from his side we are still in it. The coaches have added more DT offers so I’m not sure where they stand with him at the moment. If they don’t visit him during the evaluation period then it doesn’t look good. There was a rumor that Hainsey and Thorpe were going to commit together, so there’s that. He is currently doing his due diligence and recently has been to UF, Au, and FSU. I still have faith we will win this one with main competition coming from UM, MSU, and ND. Since JR day Warren has been to Pitt, Cuse, UMD, and Va Tech; again I’m not sure we take 5 OL this cycle. Since visiting and picking up an offer on 3/25 Holmes has been to RU and Tenn for their spring game. Tenn and Cuse are the competition. Hopefully he’ll be at the LB. Proctor has recently been to UNC, Va Tech, and UMD. He was recently interviewed and did not mention PSU, but did say a few times he wants to get on the field early and favors a depth chart that he can step right into. Bad news: he wants to commit on signing day by picking a hat, we have not traditionally won those. D’Andre Swift has been mentioned on this board a lot recently. 247 has an article up saying him and Webb are cousins and a packaged deal for college. They were both at UGA on 3/31 and Webb didn’t get an offer. Swift went back for the UGA spring game weeks later, but Webb came to PSU and has subsequently named us the leader. I don’t often buy packaged deals (look at Haskins/Diggs, or the moronic Triumphant Trio of Burrell/McClean/Settle), but if they are package I can’t wait for the postman to deliver it to James Franklin. Old rumors had it (one from a source I know) that he loved PSU and wanted to follow Reid there, but like I said those are almost a year old rumors we’re talking. I’m of the opinion both Swift and Webb wait to see what the new offense looks like, hopeful both come to the LB. Looks like Bell will be landing at Rutgers soon. Josh Kaindoh shocked everyone by leaving UMD out of his top 4 (ND, PSU, OSU, UM) right after he got back from ND, there was a rumor he may commit May 3rd and has trended to ND in his crystal balls. We’ll see if that happens, I’m more inclined to believe this will take longer than some are predicting. (If you want to see delusion at its best head over to UMD sites and check out their theories that he left them off his top 4 to generate surprise and attention when he picks them.)
JgWTm8.gif

Now I hate saying of the remaining scholarships X go to this position and Y go to this position because that’s not always how it works bc value of the player matters too. That said I see 5-7 guys who have spots that will be held for them until they are off the board before we move on to the next guy and let them commit. Now that doesn’t mean if a surprise player of equal value comes along we wouldn’t take them instead ie. I’m not sure we’d take a commitment from Stueber with Hainsey on the board but we’d certainly take Wilson and not worry about Hainsey spot in that unlikely scenario. Those guys are: Wade, Hainsey, Swift, Hansard, Webb, Anthony/Proctor. That would mean there are 5 wild card spots or so. You would think they would go to another DT, a S or two, maybe another WR, ATH, or OL or the one DE we’d still take, Kaindoh. The very young roster almost becomes an extension of the sanctions affecting us years later. The good and bad of it is a lot of these guys will wait until into the season, which should help us with better results, the bad of it is anyone waiting until signing day normally isn’t good for us. It’ll be interesting to see who the coaches visit during the evaluation period.

Feel free to add or discuss.

Commit Watch:
4/5* CB Wade, 4* WR Webb, 3/4* DL Conliffe, 3* OT Stueber

Very Good Chance:
4* OT Hainsey, 4* OLB Proctor, 3* OT Warren, 3* ATH Pitts, 3* ATH Holmes

In The Battle:
5* DE Kaindoh, 5* RB Swift, 4* RB/LB Anthony, 4* DT Hansard, 4* CB Brown, 4* WR Capehart, 3* DT Wade-Perry, 3* CB Johnson, 3* OT Honigford, 3* OT Locklear, 3* DT Reitmayer, 3* WR Njoku, 3* WR Sullivan-Brown

Work Left To Do:
4* RB McFarland Jr., 4* CB Thomas, 4* OLB Singleton, 4* CB Jones, 4* DE Vilain, 4* DL Williams, 4* DL Jeter, 4* LB Marchiol, 4* TE Bryant, 4* TE Dotson, 4* WR Hamler, 3* OT Lynch, JUCO OT Traore

Have To Get Really Lucky:
5* OT Wilson, 4* DE Young, 4* ATH Hunter, 4* C Ruiz, 4* DE Malone-Hatcher, 4* DT Bolds, 3/4* ATH Bell

My opinion on where we stand with recruits based on rumors, where the coaching staff has made serious effort, offers, tweets (sometimes) and gut feeling. My categories(and their meanings) are Commit Watch (changed from Locks as to not offend recruiting gods), Very good chance(we sit very well with the recruit and are either the leader or perceived leader), In the Battle(We have a good shot and are equal to others or just slightly behind), Work left to do(there is another perceived leader or little information known on recruits intentions), Have to get really lucky(small chance to little to none), and Former Interest(players that Penn State was previously interested in that most likely no longer have committable offers).
Fwiw regarding Kaindoh... the UMD posters may not be that far off. Once his top 4 list came out UMs recruiting analyst posted that there's a good chance UMD is the team to beat. And he's usually very accurate with his intel.
 
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Fwiw regarding Kaindoh... the UMD posters may not be that far off. Once his top 4 list came out UMs recruiting analyst posted that there's a good chance UMD is the team to beat. And he's usually very accurate with his intel.
My take is that Josh and those around him are of higher character than to purposely do that. If things change and UMD jumps back that's different but would take much longer into the process.
 
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I think Proctor, Pitts and Webb pull the trigger sooner. Hansard too. To say someone will be smart enough to see the opportunity to fill those voids is master of the obvious stuff. Based on when Kaindoh visited I think we are right there as well. Given how Bates and Jenkins played in Blue White I think a few spots could open up from older OL guys sliding down the depth chart.
 
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"Those guys are: Wade, Hainsey, Swift, Hansard, Webb, Anthony/Proctor. That would mean there are 5 wild card spots or so. You would think they would go to another DT, a S or two, maybe another WR, ATH, or OL or the one DE we’d still take, Kaindoh."

Nice work. With what I've read the staff is not looking for many DB's in this class, but they seem to have lots of offers out to CB's, Safety's, and Athletes that project to Safety's. And I agree that 5 OL is hard to believe when the class is projected at 20 max. Magoo and I have postulated about the breakdown in the class by position in the past, but he seems to be in hibernation since the Bruins season didn't extend into the playoffs and the NFL came down somewhat on the pats..... So I'll give it a try solo.....

QB (1-2) Clifford committed. Staff not really pursuing another heavily at this time (since Hill committed to MD). Will CJF try and get a 2nd QB as he evaluates H.S. players in their senior seasons? CJF has said a number of times that he wants to have 5 scholarship QB's in the program, so I believe he will pursue other QB's later in this cycle.

RB (1) None committed. Swift or another top RB at this point, or another to be identified in the Summer/Fall.

WR (2) None committed. Webb seems to be the top target, and I believe we will see 2 total. Lots of offers out at WR, with Njoku and Sullivan-Brown being interested.

OL (4 and possibly 5 ??) 3 Committed. 1 or 2 more, if Hansey and another top talent wants in. But for all we know CJF wants 5 total on the OL in this class. He obviously now knows the potential of the 4 2014 recruits (Brosnan, Sorrel, Beh and Wright) so maybe some of them won't ever seriously compete for starting OL jobs.

TE (1) None committed. Limited offers to top TE's, and most committed elsewhere. Will CJF find some additional TE's and get one? I believe he will, with only 4 scholarship TE's now on the roster (and Gesicki could bolt to the NFL with a big 2016 season)

DB (2-3) 1 Committed. Still need a Safety and another CB. Top targets are Wade at CB and Pitts and Holmes at Safety. DB seems to be the position with the greatest depth on the current roster, and plenty of it is young, but the staff has identified lots of DB talent in the 2017 class)

LB (3) 1 Committed. Proctor and Anthony (with Adams and Roberts committed elsewhere) seem to be the top 2 candidates at LB, but I'd be surprised if the staff did not issue additional offers in the next couple of months unless both of Proctor and Anthony commit to PSU by then, or are at least still uncommitted.

DE (2-3) With 2 committed only a top DE such as Kaindoh would make for 3 total. Could he take a big DE that potentially projects to DT? Neither Matos or Barber look like DT's, but Barber seems like the more stout of the 2...

DT (2) None committed. Hansard is the top choice, and if CJF does not get him he will likely make additional offers to have at least 1 committed by the end of the summer.

That adds to approximately 20. Of all the position groups. LB at 3+ and DT at 2 seem to be the highest position priorities, meaning that if the staff does not get their top targets they will likely make offers to lower rated (by them) prospects in order to fill those positions in this class.

Thoughts?


 
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Interviewed by scout saying his dream scenario is picking a hat on signing day.

LB is such a need that I hope the staff has 3 solid LB commitments before signing day. Before the season would be great....
 
"Those guys are: Wade, Hainsey, Swift, Hansard, Webb, Anthony/Proctor. That would mean there are 5 wild card spots or so. You would think they would go to another DT, a S or two, maybe another WR, ATH, or OL or the one DE we’d still take, Kaindoh."

Nice work. With what I've read the staff is not looking for many DB's in this class, but they seem to have lots of offers out to CB's, Safety's, and Athletes that project to Safety's. And I agree that 5 OL is hard to believe when the class is projected at 20 max. Magoo and I have postulated about the breakdown in the class by position in the past, but he seems to be in hibernation since the Bruins season didn't extend into the playoffs and the NFL came down somewhat on the pats..... So I'll give it a try solo.....

QB (1-2) Clifford committed. Staff not really pursuing another heavily at this time (since Hill committed to MD). Will CJF try and get a 2nd QB as he evaluates H.S. players in their senior seasons? CJF has said a number of times that he wants to have 5 scholarship QB's in the program, so I believe he will pursue other QB's later in this cycle.

RB (1) None committed. Swift or another top RB at this point, or another to be identified in the Summer/Fall.

WR (2) None committed. Webb seems to be the top target, and I believe we will see 2 total. Lots of offers out at WR, with Njoku and Sullivan-Brown being interested.

OL (4 and possibly 5 ??) 3 Committed. 1 or 2 more, if Hansey and another top talent wants in. But for all we know CJF wants 5 total on the OL in this class.

TE (1) None committed. Limited offers to top TE's, and most committed elsewhere. Will CJF find some additional TE's and get one? I believe he will, with only 4 scholarship TE's now on the roster (and Gesicki could bolt to the NFL with a big 2016 season)

DB (2-3) 1 Committed. Still need a Safety and another CB. Top targets are Wade at CB and Pitts and Holmes at Safety. DB seems to be the position with the greatest depth on the current roster, and plenty of it is young, but the staff has identified lots of DB talent in the 2017 class)

LB (3) 1 Committed. Proctor and Anthony (with Adams and Roberts committed elsewhere) seem to be the top 2 candidates at LB, but I'd be surprised if the staff did not issue additional offers in the next couple of months unless both of Proctor and Anthony commit to PSU by then, or are at least still uncommitted.

DE (2-3) With 2 committed only a top DE such as Kaindoh would make for 3 total. Could he take a big DE that potentially projects to DT? Neither Matos or Barber look like DT's, but Barber seems like the more stout of the 2...

DT (2) None committed. Hansard is the top choice, and if CJF does not get him he will likely make additional offers to have at least 1 committed by the end of the summer.

That adds to approximately 20. Of all the position groups. LB at 3+ and DT at 2 seem to be the highest position priorities, meaning that if the staff does not get their top targets they will likely make offers to lower rated (by them) prospects in order to fill the positions in this class.

Thoughts?

Like I said, I hate doing by position, the only reason I kind of broke it down that way is because I think with limited scholarships are top targets being ranked so highly and showing legit interest are going to have spots held for them. That said I don't think we'll go for another QB. I don't think we will get a TE. The only offers out to uncommitted players are two 4*s, we may pursue them and that's it and if we miss then go all in on getting Kuntz in '18, who honestly may be committed before the 2017 signing day anyway. If we don't get Swift then I see us going for Murray from Steel High, whether he is committed elsewhere or not I think we could flip him from anyone, but while I have Swift in "In the battle" I actually feel very good about what's going to happen there. Just having talked to the person I did and reading others comments about St. Joseph's and Reid. Have to go super hard for Proctor and Anthony, Proctor a kid who wants on the two deep and Anthony with relatives who are Alums and current students, I will say the pictures of him from BW are of him looking very comfortable, more like going home then going on a visit. IDK about Hansard, seems all over the place and is probably best he is taking more time. 247 currently lists his warm interests as PSU, RU, & Pitt, we should win that battle 99/100. I think Wade-Perry is very underrated and would love to see us ramp up on him.
 
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Like I said, I hate doing by position, the only reason I kind of broke it down that way is because I think with limited scholarships are top targets being ranked so highly and showing legit interest are going to have spots held for them. That said I don't think we'll go for another QB. I don't think we will get a TE. The only offers out to uncommitted players are two 4*s, we may pursue them and that's it and if we miss then go all in on getting Kuntz in '18, who honestly may be committed before the 2017 signing day anyway. If we don't get Swift then I see us going for Murray from Steel High, whether he is committed elsewhere or not I think we could flip him from anyone, but while I have Swift in "In the battle" I actually feel very good about what's going to happen there. Just having talked to the person I did and reading others comments about St. Joseph's and Reid. Have to go super hard for Proctor and Anthony, Proctor a kid who wants on the two deep and Anthony with relatives who are Alums and current students, I will say the pictures of him from BW are of him looking very comfortable, more like going home then going on a visit. IDK about Hansard, seems all over the place and is probably best he is taking more time. 247 currently lists his warm interests as PSU, RU, & Pitt, we should win that battle 99/100. I think Wade-Perry is very underrated and would love to see us ramp up on him.


Yea, that's how QB and TE look now. But CJF got Bowers and Stevens late..... And with Gesicki being such a talent and playing his 3rd year in 2016, I don't think CJF risks going into 2017 with 3 scholarship TE's. Who knows, maybe Barber or Matos could play TE if they were needed there, or maybe Joseph who will be practicing in August. QB I believe depends on further Spring and then H.S. season evaluations. Lots of time between now and February and lots will happen that will surprise us.

With the 3 OL commits, LB is really the only position that screams out for players...... Even DT, with the couple DE's that are now playing DT, and the JC kids, and the couple of other young DT's, CJF has a pretty good group of DT's now as well.
 
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Last year the staff kept the pressure on the DT position from the get go. The Gilman School kid stuck even though many in Maryland thought he would flip. The staff then went through a series of maneuvers to land a couple more DT's. Colon left, JC kids came in etc. I think it will be the same with LB. The next commit sets off the dominoes. Proctor won't wait for commit day when Anthony or Singleton commit. CJF is relentless (on that I think we all agree) and will make some adds that make us say "whoa, didn't see that coming". By the next kickoff in 4 months we will have a much better idea on how the roster fills in. These threads are fun BMW as the posters who respond (GIP) are deep in to this thing called recruiting and all have a useful perspective on the future. Now if the Ravens can hold on and draft Hack in round 2 my world view gets even better.
 
"Those guys are: Wade, Hainsey, Swift, Hansard, Webb, Anthony/Proctor. That would mean there are 5 wild card spots or so. You would think they would go to another DT, a S or two, maybe another WR, ATH, or OL or the one DE we’d still take, Kaindoh."

Nice work. With what I've read the staff is not looking for many DB's in this class, but they seem to have lots of offers out to CB's, Safety's, and Athletes that project to Safety's. And I agree that 5 OL is hard to believe when the class is projected at 20 max. Magoo and I have postulated about the breakdown in the class by position in the past, but he seems to be in hibernation since the Bruins season didn't extend into the playoffs and the NFL came down somewhat on the pats..... So I'll give it a try solo.....

QB (1-2) Clifford committed. Staff not really pursuing another heavily at this time (since Hill committed to MD). Will CJF try and get a 2nd QB as he evaluates H.S. players in their senior seasons? CJF has said a number of times that he wants to have 5 scholarship QB's in the program, so I believe he will pursue other QB's later in this cycle.

RB (1) None committed. Swift or another top RB at this point, or another to be identified in the Summer/Fall.

WR (2) None committed. Webb seems to be the top target, and I believe we will see 2 total. Lots of offers out at WR, with Njoku and Sullivan-Brown being interested.

OL (4 and possibly 5 ??) 3 Committed. 1 or 2 more, if Hansey and another top talent wants in. But for all we know CJF wants 5 total on the OL in this class. He obviously now knows the potential of the 4 2014 recruits (Brosnan, Sorrel, Beh and Wright) so maybe some of them won't ever seriously compete for starting OL jobs.

TE (1) None committed. Limited offers to top TE's, and most committed elsewhere. Will CJF find some additional TE's and get one? I believe he will, with only 4 scholarship TE's now on the roster (and Gesicki could bolt to the NFL with a big 2016 season)

DB (2-3) 1 Committed. Still need a Safety and another CB. Top targets are Wade at CB and Pitts and Holmes at Safety. DB seems to be the position with the greatest depth on the current roster, and plenty of it is young, but the staff has identified lots of DB talent in the 2017 class)

LB (3) 1 Committed. Proctor and Anthony (with Adams and Roberts committed elsewhere) seem to be the top 2 candidates at LB, but I'd be surprised if the staff did not issue additional offers in the next couple of months unless both of Proctor and Anthony commit to PSU by then, or are at least still uncommitted.

DE (2-3) With 2 committed only a top DE such as Kaindoh would make for 3 total. Could he take a big DE that potentially projects to DT? Neither Matos or Barber look like DT's, but Barber seems like the more stout of the 2...

DT (2) None committed. Hansard is the top choice, and if CJF does not get him he will likely make additional offers to have at least 1 committed by the end of the summer.

That adds to approximately 20. Of all the position groups. LB at 3+ and DT at 2 seem to be the highest position priorities, meaning that if the staff does not get their top targets they will likely make offers to lower rated (by them) prospects in order to fill those positions in this class.

Thoughts?


Saw the tweet today that Webb has PSU #1 currently in the lead and North Carolina #2... Time for coach to close the deal.... :)
 
Update: It’s been awhile. Things have happened. Since we last spoke we’ve added 4 recruits (Thorpe, Martin, Miranda, and Brown). That gives us 8 out of the current 15 spots we have available. I expect that to rise to around 19/20. I would say there are 5-7 guys in my top 3 categories below that will have a spot in this class no matter what, that is unless a player of equal value to the coaches tries to commit (we aren’t high on many guys ranked higher at their positions), but that means for the guys who aren’t on that level, we will only take 2-3 more until those 5-7 make up their minds. You can disagree on that point but that’s how I see it (I’ll lay out who I mean later).

We weren’t the only one to snag commits from our board. Who you say stole some from us, OSU? Michigan? NOPE: Maryland and Rutgers. UMD got Spence, McNair, Hill, and Eley; Rutgers landed Clark and Melton. Way to sell the stay home movement. Here’s the problem: that message sells in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania bc then they go out and supplement top in state talent with top or near the top talent from out of state. All of UMD’s current commits are from MD, VA, or DC. All of Rutger’s commits are from NJ. Currently PSU has commits from PA, OH, VA, NJ, & GA. OSU has commits from OH, FL, GA, TX, CO, NV, MI, & NY. Michigan has commits from MI, CO, NM, AL, MA, GA, & FL. None of those 3 have really gone to work on their home states yet. When the outside talent doesn’t commit to Ru or UMD the in state talent realizes they won’t have help and bails for greener pastures.

Currently we are in an evaluation period where the coaches can go visit recruits at their high schools. What’s coming up? Well, our non-committed Blue White visitors included Wade (who came right back the week after), Webb, Hansard, Anthony, Pitts, Stueber, Jermani Brown, Singleton, & Njoku. From them Wade had said he was going to commit I Dec and I know when he made his return visit a lot of people were getting antsy that he might be ready, but I don’t see him changing his time frame without announcing that first. Webb just named us his leader today (more on him in a minute). Hansard pushing his announcement was good news for us and the coaches were in his HS today. He’ll be one to watch during the summer and I am hopeful we’ll get him back on campus for the Lasch Bash (The LB). Same goes for Antony whose uncle and cousin went to/ go to PSU. Our main competition for him is from the south. Pitts tweeted and RTed many pictures from BW and his mom also tweeted one of him hugging Franklin saying he had a great time. He then went the next day and won DB MVP at a Rivals camp. He is a possibility to commit over the summer sometime and he was one of the first stops for the coaches. Stueber could very well be out next commit, but I’m not sure if his offer is committable with 3 OL on board and Hainsey still out there. Jermani Brown is new to the list and recently decommitted from ASU, but he was does not have an offer and was clear that the PSU visit did not cause the decommitment. It was nice Singleton and Njoku came but they are heading to Michigan and Miami respectively. I know we are supposedly a close second to Miami, but I don’t buy it.

Those not at BW: Conliffe went to UVA’s Jr day after almost committing at our Jr day and then recently was at Va Tech’s spring game. He is still retweeting PSU stuff and commits, so from his side we are still in it. The coaches have added more DT offers so I’m not sure where they stand with him at the moment. If they don’t visit him during the evaluation period then it doesn’t look good. There was a rumor that Hainsey and Thorpe were going to commit together, so there’s that. He is currently doing his due diligence and recently has been to UF, Au, and FSU. I still have faith we will win this one with main competition coming from UM, MSU, and ND. Since JR day Warren has been to Pitt, Cuse, UMD, and Va Tech; again I’m not sure we take 5 OL this cycle. Since visiting and picking up an offer on 3/25 Holmes has been to RU and Tenn for their spring game. Tenn and Cuse are the competition. Hopefully he’ll be at the LB. Proctor has recently been to UNC, Va Tech, and UMD. He was recently interviewed and did not mention PSU, but did say a few times he wants to get on the field early and favors a depth chart that he can step right into. Bad news: he wants to commit on signing day by picking a hat, we have not traditionally won those. D’Andre Swift has been mentioned on this board a lot recently. 247 has an article up saying him and Webb are cousins and a packaged deal for college. They were both at UGA on 3/31 and Webb didn’t get an offer. Swift went back for the UGA spring game weeks later, but Webb came to PSU and has subsequently named us the leader. I don’t often buy packaged deals (look at Haskins/Diggs, or the moronic Triumphant Trio of Burrell/McClean/Settle), but if they are package I can’t wait for the postman to deliver it to James Franklin. Old rumors had it (one from a source I know) that he loved PSU and wanted to follow Reid there, but like I said those are almost a year old rumors we’re talking. I’m of the opinion both Swift and Webb wait to see what the new offense looks like, hopeful both come to the LB. Looks like Bell will be landing at Rutgers soon. Josh Kaindoh shocked everyone by leaving UMD out of his top 4 (ND, PSU, OSU, UM) right after he got back from ND, there was a rumor he may commit May 3rd and has trended to ND in his crystal balls. We’ll see if that happens, I’m more inclined to believe this will take longer than some are predicting. (If you want to see delusion at its best head over to UMD sites and check out their theories that he left them off his top 4 to generate surprise and attention when he picks them.)
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Now I hate saying of the remaining scholarships X go to this position and Y go to this position because that’s not always how it works bc value of the player matters too. That said I see 5-7 guys who have spots that will be held for them until they are off the board before we move on to the next guy and let them commit. Now that doesn’t mean if a surprise player of equal value comes along we wouldn’t take them instead ie. I’m not sure we’d take a commitment from Stueber with Hainsey on the board but we’d certainly take Wilson and not worry about Hainsey spot in that unlikely scenario. Those guys are: Wade, Hainsey, Swift, Hansard, Webb, Anthony/Proctor. That would mean there are 5 wild card spots or so. You would think they would go to another DT, a S or two, maybe another WR, ATH, or OL or the one DE we’d still take, Kaindoh. The very young roster almost becomes an extension of the sanctions affecting us years later. The good and bad of it is a lot of these guys will wait until into the season, which should help us with better results, the bad of it is anyone waiting until signing day normally isn’t good for us. It’ll be interesting to see who the coaches visit during the evaluation period.

Feel free to add or discuss.

Commit Watch:
4/5* CB Wade, 4* WR Webb, 3/4* DL Conliffe, 3* OT Stueber

Very Good Chance:
4* OT Hainsey, 4* OLB Proctor, 3* OT Warren, 3* ATH Pitts, 3* ATH Holmes

In The Battle:
5* DE Kaindoh, 5* RB Swift, 4* RB/LB Anthony, 4* DT Hansard, 4* CB Brown, 4* WR Capehart, 3* DT Wade-Perry, 3* CB Johnson, 3* OT Honigford, 3* OT Locklear, 3* DT Reitmayer, 3* WR Njoku, 3* WR Sullivan-Brown

Work Left To Do:
4* RB McFarland Jr., 4* CB Thomas, 4* OLB Singleton, 4* CB Jones, 4* DE Vilain, 4* DL Williams, 4* DL Jeter, 4* LB Marchiol, 4* TE Bryant, 4* TE Dotson, 4* WR Hamler, 3* OT Lynch, JUCO OT Traore

Have To Get Really Lucky:
5* OT Wilson, 4* DE Young, 4* ATH Hunter, 4* C Ruiz, 4* DE Malone-Hatcher, 4* DT Bolds, 3/4* ATH Bell

My opinion on where we stand with recruits based on rumors, where the coaching staff has made serious effort, offers, tweets (sometimes) and gut feeling. My categories(and their meanings) are Commit Watch (changed from Locks as to not offend recruiting gods), Very good chance(we sit very well with the recruit and are either the leader or perceived leader), In the Battle(We have a good shot and are equal to others or just slightly behind), Work left to do(there is another perceived leader or little information known on recruits intentions), Have to get really lucky(small chance to little to none), and Former Interest(players that Penn State was previously interested in that most likely no longer have committable offers).
Finally it's about time
 
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LMAO, yes...

At this point I think we are something like 0 for 134 in the hat game, which is WHEN we make it INTO the game in the first place.
Simmons picked us as a hat but it was a year and a half before signing day. On signing day, I don't ever remember winning a hat pick.
 
Simmons picked us as a hat but it was a year and a half before signing day. On signing day, I don't ever remember winning a hat pick.
There's bags of money under quite a few of those hats on signing day. Penn State doesn't play that game. On another note, SEC! SEC! SEC! Well, and SEC North if you know what I mean.
 
Simmons picked us as a hat but it was a year and a half before signing day. On signing day, I don't ever remember winning a hat pick.

Brandon Wimbush picked us with a hat too! We were winning that one for a little! haha
 
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