Penn State Nittany Lions Consistent. If there is one word that sums up the recruiting efforts of Penn State under Joe Paterno, "consistent" is the one. Each year Penn State manages not only to find character guys, but stars as well. In spite of having a low number of scholarships to give out this year, you can bet that this Penn State class will be as consistent as years past. Led by Larry Johnson, Sr., a man who some feel to be one of the top recruiters in the nation, 2008's class will be a small but packed with guys who can flat out play football.
Penn State fans have always argued that they are Linebacker U. You can bet that this years class of incoming linebackers will do nothing but add to that feeling. Perhaps a bit under the radar, the Lions have put together an amazing class of '08 backers. Super athlete
Mike Yancich (Washington (Pennsylvania) Trinity; Scout #8 WLB) leads the group. Yancich's high school coach and those who have seen him play describe him as a freak athlete. At 6-2 and 220 pounds with 4.5 speed, that's hard to argue. Yancich is joined by the hard-working Penn State legacy
Michael Zordich (Youngstown (Ohio) Cardinal Mooney; Scout #14 MLB) and
Michael Mauti (Mandeville, Louisiana; Scout #26 MLB). Both Zordich and Mauti are guys who bring 100% every single time they step foot on a football field. You can expect to be hearing a lot from "The Three Mikes" in the future. The need for linebackers has been filled early, so now it is up to the Penn State staff to fill out the other areas of concern.
Two of the biggest recruiting needs right now for Penn State are offensive tackle and runningback. The verbal of Pennsylvania OG
Matt Stankiewitch (Schuykill Haven Blue Mountain; Scout #15 OG) caught some Penn State fans off-guard, but it's hard to complain about landing one of the top-rated interior linemen in the country. All that said, tackle is the area of the offensive line that needs to be addressed the most. The Lions have focused their tackle recruiting efforts on three players in particular, Virginia's
Jimmy Bennett (Alexandria West Potomac; Scout #14 OT) and
Vinston Painter (Norfolk Maury; Scout #6 OG), and Michigan's
Deon'tae Pannell (Birmingham Groves; Scout #31 OT). Bennett and Pannell have serious interest in Penn State, while Painter continues to claim Virginia Tech and Florida as his leaders. Should Bennett or Pannell slip away, it will be imperative that JoePa and staff explore other options.
Help appears to be on the way at RB. Ohio runningback
Michael Shaw (Trotwood Madison; Scout #25 RB) possesses the size, speed, and skill it takes to be the number ten player in the state. Even better for PSU fans is that all signs are pointing towards Michael ending up in Happy Valley. After nearly screwing up a sure thing, Shaw and the staff seem to be back on the same page. Other names to keep in mind are Ohioan
Brandon Beachum (Youngstown Cardinal Mooney; Scout #41 RB) and Texan
Michael Thomas (Houston Aldine Nimitz; Scout #63 RB). While there are more "sexy" names at RB, they seem to be uphill battles at this time.
The offense will be looking to get a shot in the recruiting arm this year. The main name, of course, is
Terrell Pryor (Jeannette, Pennsylvania; Scout #1 QB). Coming in at #1 in nearly every ranking system, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound QB has nearly every football powerhouse in the nation after him. Popular thought is that Pryor has become a battle among Penn State, Ohio State, West Virginia, and Florida, with the first two being the most likely choices. Staying on offense, 6-6 Pennsylvania tight end
Mark Wedderburn (Springfield Cardinal O'Hara; Scout #21 TE) is all but in the bag. Penn State will also be looking to bring in a talented group of wideouts. Local prospect
A.J. Alexander (Altoona; Scout #26 WR) may have verballed to Florida State, but rumors continue to circle that he may be re-thinking that choice. Georgia's
Brice Butler (Norcross; Scout #6 WR) will be tough to land, as he seems to be looking elsewhere. While Butler may be a long shot at this point, the Lions remain in contention for Virginia's
Deion Walker (Christchurch; Scout #8 WR) and Ohio's
D.J. Woods (Strongsville; Scout #54 WR).
As Penn State looks to remain in contention for the top position in the Big Ten, it continues to bring in consistent recruiting classes. The question is, will "consistent" alone be enough? Time will tell, but it seems to have worked just fine so far!
Get the latest Nittany Lions recruiting info by visiting the Penn State forum on Recruiting Planet:
07-10-2007, 11:01 PM
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