'10 PA DE Dakota Royer (Penn State Signee)

[AustinScottistheone]

Scout.com: Royer Will Start Visits Soon

3/12

By Matt Alkire. Dakota says he has his visits planned for the next 2 months and will just try and evaluate everything for now. Will visit PSU on March 27th, and follow it up with visits to Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Illinois through April 16th-19th...will also visit West Virginia and Virginia in May, and hopes to begin narrowing it all down so he can make his decision (public or not) before the football season.

[AustinScottistheone]

Scout.com: Royer Updates Recruiting Picture

4/2

By Matt Alkire. Dakota has received new offers from Syracuse and UCLA. Gives a recap of his visit to PSU and says it was a good visit. Will make a trio of visits to Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Illinois in mid-April, and may consider making a commitment on June 16th, his birthday.

[Undercover Brother]

This one will be done after he visits those three schools IMO.

[Salandrion]

ya i have a good feeling this kid will be ours

[AustinScottistheone]

http://www.nittanynetwork.com/index.php/component/resource/article/7-recruiting-stories/313-lions-make-royer's-first-cut [w/video]

4/6

By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst
bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com
April 6, 2009

If Joe Paterno is going to dominate recruiting in his home state this year, landing linebacker/defensive end Dakota Royer from Manheim (Pa.) Central is close to a must get.

The 6-foot-3 and 220-pound Royer is one of the Keystone State’s top 10 prospects. He has been a starter since the beginning of his sophomore season when he had 11 sacks. Royer made 86 tackles, including 11 sacks, during his junior season and also caught 56 passes for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns.

Royer visited Penn State on March 27. He looked back on the trip and told Nittany Network about his State College experience.

CONTINUED....

[AustinScottistheone]

Royer gets the message -

4/28

By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst
bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com
April 28, 2009

Linebacker/defensive end Dakota Royer from Manheim (Pa.) Central, one of Joe Paterno’s top 2010 recruiting targets, attended the Blue-White Spring Game on Saturday. Even though Royer has visited Penn State a number of times, he came away impressed.

CONTINUED....

[AustinScottistheone]

Scout.com: Michigan Making Play for Royer

5/1

By Eugene Hankerson. UM coach Gibson visited his school yesterday, and Dakota says the visit went well....says he never really followed any one school in particular and that he is playing in the Under Armour game so he will make a late decision.

[AustinScottistheone]

Bill Kurelic: It's no surprise that the region's top linebackers were the showstoppers at Penn State - ESPN

Cream of the crop

Whether he is listed as a defensive end or outside linebacker, Dakota Royer (Manheim, Pa./Central) is an absolute stud. He worked out with the defensive linemen Saturday and showed a fluid and aggressive style. Royer runs like a deer, with long strides. He does not weigh enough right now to play on the defensive line at the next level, but give him two years and he should fill out into the 230-to-240-pound range. One thing Royer has that can't be taught is the ability to get to the ball in a hurry. In college, he has the potential to be an edge player who must be accounted for at all times.

[AustinScottistheone]

Scout.com: Royer Weighing His Options

5/4

By Matt Alkire. Talks PSU visit, said meeting players and a lot of other recruits was cool and the Blue-White game was really nice. PSU is a school Dakota likes a lot and is up there, says PSU, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Illinois, Pittsburgh and UCLA are at the top for him.

[AustinScottistheone]

Royer on recruiting process - [w/ video interview]

5/4

By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst
bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com
May 4, 2009

One of the stars of this past weekend’s NIKE Football Training Camp at Penn State was linebacker/defensive end Dakota Royer from Manheim (Pa.) Central.

The 6-foot-3 and 220-pound Royer is one of the Keystone State’s top 10 prospects and looked every bit the part on Saturday. Royer, with a lean but muscular frame, got to the ball quickly in an almost effortless way during drills.

Royer has linebacker size right now and could play that position at the next level. However, he has plenty of room to gain weight. Royer could be in the 250-pound range in a couple years and put his hand down as a pass rushing terror.

CONTINUED....

[AustinScottistheone]

Bill Kurelic: Overheard in Happy Valley - ESPN

Star trio to end up at Penn State?
Fortt, defensive end/linebacker Dakota Royer (Manheim, Pa./Central) and running back Silas Redd (Stamford, Conn./King) were seen together quite a bit on Saturday. The three have seemed to become pretty good friends and obviously enjoyed their time together.

Redd committed to Penn State on Sunday. Fortt has Penn State among his top choices and Royer has spoken highly of the Nittany Lions' program. After observing the three together on Saturday it would be anything but a surprise to see all three eventually commit to Joe Paterno. That would be quite a coup for the legendary coach.

[AustinScottistheone]

Dakota Royer jumps out of a pool

[AustinScottistheone]

BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Lions' recruiting success hits all-time high (FREE - 5/29)

Phil Grosz
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Publisher

Personally, I believe Penn State is the team to beat for the following Rivals.com-rated four-star prospects: defensive end/linebacker Dakota Royer from Manheim Central High School in Manheim, Pa.

[AustinScottistheone]

ESPN.com - Four DEs will pick schools this summer

Defensive end Dakota Royer (Manheim, Pa./Central) has 24 scholarship offers, but unless something changes his decision will come down to Penn State, Pitt, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Illinois, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, UCLA and Oregon.

Royer would like to cut that list down to five or less by the end of June, and then make a decision on his college as soon as possible. The Nittany Lions may be tough to beat.

[AustinScottistheone]

Class of 2010
Pennsylvania’s Top Seniors
By Chris Dokish

For those of you who follow our yearly rankings, you may have noticed that the Top 50 has become the Top 25. The reason for this is because of the lack of depth in the state. It's become more difficult to find 50 prospects yearly that are at a high-major level. For that reason, we have decided to just report on the very best the state has to offer.

While the depth is not what it used to be in a state that has seen its population plunge over the last few decades, there is still some excellent talent out there. You may notice, however, that there are really only two prospects who received attention from the high level programs around the country. This is a significant drop from past seasons.

Lastly, as we always try to do, we do our best to leave out "scout talk," hyperbole and biases. We try to speak as bluntly, and accurately, as possible, while still remembering that these are high school kids we're talking about.

5. Dakoya Royer, Manheim Central HS (Manheim) LB/DE- He came on to the scene as a sophomore when he was named the MVP of a national combine. He has since lived up to his potential. Royer is currently a skinny 6'3" and 220 pounds needing to gain size, especially if he plays with his hand down at the next level. He’s an excellent pass rusher because of his great range and relentless attitude. He’s also an underrated athlete who has a youtube video of himself jumping out of four feet of water in a pool, and landing effortlessly on his feet. His final ten, in no order, are Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Oregon, UCLA, Illinois, Michigan State and North Carolina; all have offered. Bottom line- Possesses everything it takes to be an excellent football player at the next level, expect for size. If he can add the weight in college, he could turn into a dominating pass rusher at the next level. If he can't gain the size, he will need to learn the linebacker position. Either way, he is too good not to be a major contributor in college.