2009 PSU Recruiting

[reigle9]

I have the memory of a fruit fly, when do the team rankings come out?

[GoRU]

It's the fat guy, but info is info.

Lions land two more

Penn State has landed it’s No. 1 target ... at running back.

Curtis Dukes, a 6’2 235 pound bruiser from Philadelphia, N.Y., gave a verbal commitment to play for the Nittany Lions on Wednesday afternoon. Dukes is the 14th member in the Class of 2009, and was the second recruit to declare for Penn State on the day.

Earlier, West Mifflin offensive tackle Adam Gress gave his commitment to defensive coordinator Tom Bradley.

As a junior Dukes rushed for 900 yards and 15 touchdowns for Indian River High School. He earned all-state honors as a sophomore after rushing for over 1,600 yards.

“I just wanted to move on, and work hard and focus on my senior year,” Dukes told Blue White Illustrated. “I want to be able to support my coaches and teammates without and distractions.”

Dukes is the lone running back currently committed to the Nittany Lions, but is unranked according to one national recruiting service.

“I’ve heard about him, but haven’t been able to see him in person or evaluate film on him so that’s why he’s unranked,” said Rivals.com recruiting expert Mike Farrell.

Dukes chose the Nittany Lions over Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Buffalo, Villanova and Temple.

“Out of those schools Penn State was clearly his biggest offer,” said Farrell. “They have the best fan base, best facilities and it’s within driving distance.”

Gress chose the Nittany Lions over Michigan and, according to Farrell, is still growing into his 6’7, 294 pound frame but could turn out to be a serious asset to the Nittany Lions.

“When you look at him, he’s got a huge, thick neck, broad shoulders and when I first saw him he was 240 pounds and had the same neck and shoulders so he looked awkward,” Farrell said. “Now he’s 294 and is growing into his body, but like most kids coming out of high school he needs to get sculpted, hit the weight room and get a lot stronger. As far as upside he’s 6’7, so he can carry 320 pounds on his frame easily. He’s a hard worker and is a kid that’s coachable.”

Farrell saw Gress at Penn State’s Nike camp and liked what he saw when Gress worked with coaches.

“He’s a kid that responds well to coaching, that doesn’t think he’s all that,” Farrell said. “The Michigan offer surprised some and maybe pushed Penn State a little, but the kid wanted to go to Penn State, he always has. To me, this wasn’t even a decision, I’m surprised it took him this long (to commit).”

Despite 14 commitments by early July, the Nittany Lions are still in need of a quarterback and wide receivers. Penn State remains in the mix for California quarterback Tate Forcier, but Farrell feels they must act quickly and bring in at least two signal callers for 2009.

“Last year they limited themselves in the guys they were going after,” Farrell said. “There are more offers they could have put out there. They might say academics are the reason they don’t go after certain guys, but I don’t believe that.

“I think Penn State can get them in. They don’t have Notre Dame standards, Duke standards or Stanford standards, they do have standards, but not to the point they couldn’t get a four or five star receiver in to help them.”

Farrell said Penn State is in with Delaware receiver Justin Brown and Todd Thomas, a four-star prospect from Beaver Falls in Western Pennsylvania. “Skill positions they struggle recruiting because of a lack of innovation on offense,” Farrell said. “They aren’t an exciting offense so wide receivers aren’t going to be clamoring to go to Penn State. They don’t get the ball to guys in space where they can make people miss. If you have an offer from say Florida, and you are a catch and run receiver, that’s an exciting style of offense. Look at USC, they are a pro-style, but it’s exciting because they use their receivers to stretch the field.”

As far as other quarterbacks go, Farrell said Penn State is still quietly pursuing Kevin Newsome, the Virginia prospect who committed to Michigan earlier this year.

“They need to start offering more (quarterbacks),” Farrell said. “Quarterback wise, maybe they assumed they were getting (Philadelphia’s) Tom Savage, maybe they didn’t, but if they did it was a bad assumption because he was never going to Penn State. They have an offer to Forcier, and he’s down to 10 schools, but that’s still far away from committing. (Indiana prospect) Morgan Newton is on their radar.”

Farrell added that it’s a down year in state for quarterbacks aside from Savage, same for the states of New Jersey, Ohio and really any state in the Midwest.

“I think they’ve got to take two this year and it’s surprising they aren’t spreading their web out more. They’re Penn State, they can recruit in Florida, they can go to Maryland. There are areas where they should be able to compete for recruits even in California, especially with the playing time they can offer.

“They are too slow in offering some kids, I don’t know why, I can’t figure it out,” Farrell said.

[PSU42Fan]

That article demonstrates why Farrell is worthless. He says we are in it for Todd Thomas and that we were banking on Savage.

Really?

Really?

[reigle9]

National guys should stick to harassing kids at camps, making biased or self serving rankings, and let the actual info to the team specific guys. Well I guess that doesn't even work all the time.

[Undercover Brother]

That article proved Mike Farrell knows nothing about what PSU wants. Savage was like PSU's fourth or fifth option and it told the kid he DIDN'T HAVE WHAT IT TOOK TO RUN psu'S OFFENSE. PSU still in it for Todd Thomas? Funny considering he is going to be an academic casuality.

The guy is a complete moron.

[GoRU]

The new Ray Graham article talks about his PSU visit and puts them in his top 3. I didn't bother adding him to the PSU forum though, he won't qualify.

Josh Evans is in a similar boat. A lot of the reported offers for both are conditional, based on getting qualifying scores.

I'm not saying someone won't get a commit from either, but that's a lot different than suiting up next fall.

[AustinScottistheone]

Originally Posted by GoRU

The new Ray Graham article talks about his PSU visit and puts them in his top 3. I didn't bother adding him to the PSU forum though, he won't qualify.

Josh Evans is in a similar boat. A lot of the reported offers for both are conditional, based on getting qualifying scores.

I'm not saying someone won't get a commit from either, but that's a lot different than suiting up next fall.

What are your thoughts on Raymond saying that the coaches at Penn State are/will (be) waiting for his SAT scores, though "there is no reason for concern with regards to his GPA?"

I found that interesting...

[Undercover Brother]

Originally Posted by AustinScottistheone

What are your thoughts on Raymond saying that the coaches at Penn State are/will (be) waiting for his SAT scores, though "there is no reason for concern with regards to his GPA?"

I found that interesting...

PSU waiting on test scores is the ultimate slow play. Think about everyone they have said that to ... either slow play, or they are questionable academically.

[GoRU]

Originally Posted by AustinScottistheone

What are your thoughts on Raymond saying that the coaches at Penn State are/will (be) waiting for his SAT scores, though "there is no reason for concern with regards to his GPA?"

I found that interesting...

I'm trying to sugarcoat this, because I genuinely like Graham. His brother signed with us last Feb, and I sincerely wish he was qualified, and hope that he'll prep or JUCO and come to Piscataway in the future.

[AustinScottistheone]

OUCH!

Lions' recruiting march again cuts deep into Md. -- baltimoresun.com

The main reason Penn State has had such success in Maryland is defensive line coach Larry Johnson Sr., who coached at McDonough for 19 years. His approach, along with his contacts, have enabled him to swoop up recruits below the Pennsylvania line.

"Kids really relate to him, high school coaches like him a lot and kids look at him like a father figure," said Bob Lichtenfels, a regional manager for Scout.com. "He still has some great in-roads in Maryland, probably some better than the coaching staff at Maryland."

Johnson's positive, straightforward approach, also has resonated with high school coaches.

"He doesn't put down other schools, doesn't discuss other schools; he just talks about what Penn State has to offer and their plans for the kids," Eleanor Roosevelt coach Tom Green said. "He basically talks to them about the positives of Penn State, and that's it."

[GoRU]

Here's the flipside of that, an "OSU is invading WPIAL" story: Ohio State sacking Western Pa. - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"I think (Ohio State has) come in and mined the field a little bit, and they keep coming back," Trinity coach Ed Dalton said. "These were kids that would have been at Penn State 10 years ago. Everyone has a great recruiter on staff, but when the head coach is a great recruiter, that is an additional thing."

"Penn State hasn't done as well in Western Pa. recently," Farrell said. "The last huge name was (Gateway graduate) Justin King. It hurts both (Pitt and Penn State), but both have found other kids to focus on. For Penn State, it's Maryland. Pitt, for the most part, is focusing on the remaining guys in (Western Pennsylvania). Only three of them leaving is not a killer."

With Bell considered a five-star prospect and Hall and Brown rated as four-star players, Ohio State has claimed the WPIAL's top three recruits -- not to mention Pryor, who turned down overtures from Pitt and Penn State.

"I think he really liked Tressel and them being in the national championship the last two years. Those were intangibles," Jeannette coach Ray Reitz said. "Pitt is on the verge of doing some great things, but that wasn't the type of offense Terrelle was interested in. Penn State has been in the middle of the pack, and these kids don't want to be a part of it. Everybody wants that chance to be on the big stage."

Er, I'm a BE partisan and even I wouldn't go that far.

[Undercover Brother]

Originally Posted by GoRU

Here's the flipside of that, an "OSU is invading WPIAL" story: Ohio State sacking Western Pa. - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review





Er, I'm a BE partisan and even I wouldn't go that far.

Until Wanny leaves, Pitt isn't on the verge of great things. There hasn't been one player on that roster outside of McKillop that has gotten better under his tutelage. After McCoy leaves following this season, they will fall back to where they are accustomed to. We have heard this comment from Farrell about Pitt for the past two years.

[immikefazz]

Originally Posted by Undercover Brother

Until Wanny leaves, Pitt isn't on the verge of great things. There hasn't been one player on that roster outside of McKillop that has gotten better under his tutelage. After McCoy leaves following this season, they will fall back to where they are accustomed to. We have heard this comment from Farrell about Pitt for the past two years.

Hey, he does have Chris Burns waiting in the wings!!!

[wadc45]

Scout.com: Lions Set to Feel the Pain

By Mark Brennan
FightOnState.com
Posted Jul 10, 2008

Find out when your favorite players will be put to the physical test at Friday's Lift For Life Challenge. Also learn how you can help the team in its fight against kidney cancer.

Continued...

[GoRU]

Newsome didn't make it to VT camp. He still might visit there over the summer.