2009 PSU Recruiting

[FrankBooth]

Originally Posted by PSU42Fan

I'm curious what Penn State did with Logan-El that has made the coach so unhappy.

Was he truly concerned or did he have some sort of stake in the matter?

Perhaps the coach did have a stake indirectly -- ALE seemed ill prepared for the staff expecting him to be in shape to run and stuff like that, and that reflects poorly on the coach. And it wouldn't surprise me if someone on the staff had a conversation with the coach as ALE continued having problems, and he came away from it with his panties all twisted up.

[GoRU]

Sometimes a coach just places complete trust in a school to hold a player's hand. There was a lineman who verballed to Wisconsin a few years ago - Nate Nurse. They dropped him for some reason or another. He ended up at RU, and quit football after a year. Wisconsin's decision turned out to be the correct one, but simply on the principle of the matter, Wisconsin is persona non grata right now in NJ. It'll be a while before anyone trusts them again.

[FrankBooth]

Sometimes a coach just places complete trust in a school to hold a player's hand.

That's a charitable spin on what I was getting at -- the HS coach may hold a talented player's hand and coddle him, but the kid is fine in HS when he isn't really challenged by weaker competition. Then he just isn't prepared when he gets to the next level.

Sounds like what happened to Nate Nurse at Wisconsin and ALE at PSU. And in both cases the HS coaches hold grudges against the colleges when they allowed the kids to be soft.

[GoRU]

It's not just Nate's coach, even though Bosco is NOT a program you want to get on the bad side of. The entire Wisconsin brand is dead here. Same thing happened to Notre Dame a few years ago - they had to hire Weis to fix things. NJ is very parochial and the coaches tend to honor each others' grudges.

[FrankBooth]

Good thing the same thing hasn't happened to PSU in MD because of ALE! But PSU has been pulling kids out of there for decades so one kid being a flop shouldn't have such an impact on their reputation in the region.

Perhaps if Nate Nurse had picked PSU it wouldn't have had much negative impact on recruiting there either for similar reasons. But I'm glad he picked the Badgers instead so we don't get to test that theory . . . yet.

[PSU42Fan]

Originally Posted by FrankBooth

Good thing the same thing hasn't happened to PSU in MD because of ALE! But PSU has been pulling kids out of there for decades so one kid being a flop shouldn't have such an impact on their reputation in the region.

Mike Farrell implied that, in fact, it did happen because of the ALE fiasco.

[GoRU]

For recruits, the Paterno issue | Philadelphia Inquirer | 06/12/2008

Defensive-line coach Larry Johnson, one of the team's best recruiters, has been partly responsible for eight commitments, with most of the players from Maryland. According to several, Johnson has assured them that Paterno's successor will be in-house.

"He said [Paterno's] going to coach for as long as he can," said Derrick Thomas, a cornerback from Greenbelt, Md. "If this year would happen to be his last, someone on the staff would get the head coaching job."

"When I went up there, you could tell that it's not all Coach Paterno," said Gerald Hodges, an undecided safety from Paulsboro. "It's a lot of his coaching staff. You can tell that when he leaves, it's not going to change."

Many recruits said that even if a national search yields a replacement from outside, the climate created by Paterno would be to difficult to transform.

"It's still Penn State," said Mark Arcidiacono, who has committed from St. Joseph's Prep. "And I'm sure if that happened, whoever replaced him would be qualified."

The next thing

Arcidiacono is one of the few recruits who grew up a Penn State nut, and thus, a Paterno fan. Needless to say, the 6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive tackle was an easy sell.

"The school almost recruited me itself," Arcidiacono said. "But I would be lying if I didn't say how much of an honor it would be to play for him."

The only worry about Paterno's leaving is that he will head for the rocker - forcibly or voluntarily - rather than greener pastures. Recruits are savvy enough to know most coaching situations are transient.

"At West Virginia, Rich Rodriguez just left [for Michigan]," said Abdul Smith, an undecided safety from Pennsburg, Pa. "It's happening more commonly with coaches leaving, for money or anything. I just have to find the right situation with a coach."

"I'm really comfortable with Coach Paterno's situation," said Eric Shrive, an offensive tackle from Scranton who has committed to the Lions. "The coaching staff has to play a factor in your situation, but there are other reasons to pick a school."

Next, please

Still, there are many who have crossed off Penn State or have it low on their list because of the potential for Paterno's retirement or new leadership.
"I want to go somewhere where I have a relationship with the coach," said Nyshier Oliver, an undecided cornerback from Jersey City, N.J. "I think I would have a hard time getting on the field if I didn't have a close relationship with the head coach."

One coach, who asked not to be identified to protect his relationships with college coaches, said his high school player chose another school over Penn State because of Paterno's uncertain future. "It was a factor, no doubt," the coach said. "There's just this feeling out there that even if he makes it back for next year, there's no way he's coaching beyond 2009."

Some of that sentiment comes from the negative recruiting of rival coaches, which has a little more bite than in years past.

"A few have tried to slip it in there," said Jaleel Clark, an undecided wide receiver from Allentown. "They say, 'Why are you going to go there if he's not going to be there much longer?' "

For Arcidiacono, Penn State separated itself, and that's why he committed in April. He cannot sign a binding letter of intent until Feb. 3. Penn State's season, provided the Lions play in the postseason, will likely be over anywhere from late December to early January.

That gives Spanier, the university president, and athletic director Tim Curley a little over a month to decide Paterno's future should they wish to have a resolution in place before signing day.

Arcidiacono is committed even if Paterno is gone after 2008.

"That wouldn't affect his signing," said his father, Mark Arcidiacono Sr. "If he didn't come back, whoever came in there - whether it's internal or external - I'm sure they're going to bring in a top-notch coach."

[Undercover Brother]

Pretty sure the NJ kid that chose another school over PSU due to the fact Paterno might not be around much longer was Dejuan Miller.

[GoRU]

Who said it's necessarily NJ?

I don't think it was Miller, that contradicts some things I was hearing last year.

[Undercover Brother]

Originally Posted by GoRU

Who said it's necessarily NJ?

I don't think it was Miller, that contradicts some things I was hearing last year.

He was quoted by Rivals when he verballed to Oklahoma that the coaching situation at PSU was a major reason why he didn't chose PSU. If not for that, PSU would have had a very good shot keeping him in the east.

[FrankBooth]

After hearing Dorian Bell say that he wasn't interested in PSU because of the depth at LB and then picking tOSU as if they aren't also deep at LB, I wonder how often kids make up crap to justify decisions they've already made. Miller also has family ties to Oklahoma, so I suspect if JoePa had already retired he would have said something like he didn't like PSU's offense.

If Miller had picked someplace like Pitt or BC I'd believe it, but with that family connection in OK I think the JoePa factor is being grossly exaggerated.

[GoRU]

Not really PSU related, but I'm sure any Scout subscribers are getting a kick out of PantherDigest backtracking on Harmon. This guy was 100% RU, yet they made up a nonsense story to sell to their subscribers.

[Undercover Brother]

Originally Posted by GoRU

Not really PSU related, but I'm sure any Scout subscribers are getting a kick out of PantherDigest backtracking on Harmon. This guy was 100% RU, yet they made up a nonsense story to sell to their subscribers.

Agree ... Harmon was a supposed Pitt lock according to Bob L.

Then again, Jordan Hill is not as solid on Rutgers. I think Pitt will get him in the end on a decommit.

[GoRU]

Eh. We're still recruiting other DL. They're going to have to win some games first too.

BTW, I saw that Carson will be in Happy Valley over the weekend. Either way, I'd like to see that resolved soon. Hodges will be in Piscataway and the other South Jersey/Philly commits will be working him.

[immikefazz]

Originally Posted by Undercover Brother

Then again, Jordan Hill is not as solid on Rutgers. I think Pitt will get him in the end on a decommit.

I have heard the exact same thing about Hill just this week...apparently visited Pitt recently with his family.