Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your
contribution is not tax-deductible.)
PayPal Acct: 
Feedback: 
Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):
|
| Subject: huge weekend at psu | |
|
Author: hafer |
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 15:40:08 01/24/14 Fri Penn State is hoping to sprint to the finish line with its first big official visit weekend under new head coach James Franklin. Welcome back to the 'S' Zone, a collaboration of notes on the Nittany Lions and Penn State recruiting put together by Lions247 editor Sean Fitz, 247Sports.com National Recruiting Writer Steve Wiltfong and Lions247 recruiting analyst Cory James. It's important to note right now that we're working with the understanding that Penn State has four more scholarships to give in the Class of 2014. Visit Weekend On Tap Penn State is set to kick off its first official visit weekend in the James Franklin era. Right now we have eight prospects set to begin their visits on Friday, six of which are already committed to the Nittany Lions. Ironically, all eight visitors hail from different states. Riverside (Calif.) Notre Dame safety/linebacker Koa Farmer has made the cross-country trip, and Tampa (Fla.) Gaither defensive back Amani Oruwariye will be up from the Sunshine State as uncommitted prospects. We've mentioned several times that we expect Oruwariye to leave a Nittany Lion, and all signs point to that happening by Sunday. Farmer still has a visit to Wisconsin set for next weekend, and the Top247 Cal commit will likely decide on signing day. Penn State has a shot to make a real splash this weekend. For the other visitors, it will be a reunion of sorts. Five of the six committed prospects were previously Vanderbilt pledges. Linebacker Jason Cabinda had to bump his visit from December because of his state championship game. Here is the list that we have confirmed as of Friday morning, but don't be surprised if Penn State tries to sneak a surprise or two in for a visit. More on that later. Koa Farmer - Saf./LB - Riverside (Calif.) Notre Dame Amani Oruwariye - DB - Tampa (Fla.) Gaither Brendan Brosnan - OL - Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine South Jason Cabinda - LB - Flemington (N.J.) Hunterdon Central Grant Haley - CB - Atlanta (Ga.) Lovett School Trace McSorley - Ath. - Ashburn (Va.) Briar Woods Chance Sorrell - OL - Middletown (Ohio) Lloyd Tubman - DE - Louisville (Ken.) Seneca Valley In addition, Penn State will also host a number of committed prospects on unofficial visits. Mark Allen - RB - Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Marcus Allen - Saf. - Upper Marlboro (Md.) Wise Troy Apke - WR - Mount Lebanon (Pa.) Noah Beh - OL - Scanton (Pa.) Prep Chris Godwin - WR - Middletown (Del.) Troy Reeder - LB - Wilmington (Del.) Salesianum Johnathan Thomas - RB - Danvers (Mass.) St. John's Prep Penn State will also hold the annual Kevin Dare High School invitational this weekend, and Coatesville (Pa.) safety Jay Stocker will be a participant. The Top247 prospect has arranged, through his coach, to meet with the Penn State staff in his down time. James Franklin and Bob Shoop came by his school last week to see him and meet with 2014 commitment DaQuan Worley. At the same time last year, Worley actually came up for the Invitational and met with Bill O'Brien's staff. Aiming High Give it to Franklin, he's setting his sights high for the remaining spots in the class. A number of prospects, many of which fall in the Top247, are considering the Nittany Lions once again. District Heights (Md.) Bishop McNamara offensive lineman Damian Prince was visited by new Penn State offensive line coach Herb Hand on Thursday. Right now Prince is looking to visit Penn State sometime next week, before his official visit to Florida next weekend. Right now I'm told details of the visit have not been set up, but if the Nittany Lions get him on campus they certainly have a shot. Prince is familiar with Franklin from his days at Vanderbilt. Englishtown (N.J.) Manalapan wide receiver Saeed Blacknall was in for what was actually an unofficial visit last weekend. By all accounts, the four-star prospect really enjoyed his time on campus and had a good connection with the new staff in Happy Valley. When he left, the Nittany Lions' staff felt good about where they stood with him. This weekend, he's scheduled to visit Rutgers. There was speculation that he may make the trip to Penn State for his official visit instead, but I'm told he will indeed be in Piscataway. He still has the option to visit and he remains a potential flip. There is concerns that he does not want to deal with the pressure of decommitting from the Scarlet Knights, however. Right now, he wants to see what kind of plan Rutgers has in place for building its depleted coaching staff. Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway athlete Montae Nicholson is a name that we've heard regularly over the last week. The Penn State coaches have been by the school, and with the addition of Terry Smith to the coaching staff things seem to be getting interesting. Smith was Nicholson's coach at Gateway, and that could be a very big deal moving forward. Nicholson and his family are adamant that they're firmly committed to Michigan State, but nothing would surprise me in this recruitment. Also, you'll notice I've listed Nicholson as an athlete. It's my understanding that Penn State is recruiting him as a wide receiver at this point, which is something that he wants to hear. Michigan State is expecting Nicholson on campus in an unofficial capacity this weekend. If he makes it to East Lansing on his own dime, it could be a telling sign that he won't end up in the Penn State class. In regards to Blacknall and Nicholson, I'm told that Penn State would only take one of the two due to numbers. Virginia wide receiver commit Jamil Kamara is still on the board as well, but he remains committed to the Cavaliers. No word if he actually has an offer, but the staff has remained in touch with him and was expected to visit with him on Thursday. Here's a new name in the WR/DB mold - Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral athlete Ladarius Wiley. The three-star prospect, who is currently one of the better kids committed to Purdue, has been in touch with the new staff through Ricky Rahne in the last week. He visited Virginia last weekend and is set to visit San Jose State this weekend. We haven't confirmed an offer from Penn State, but he's a versatile athlete who Purdue was really excited about getting. Just a name for the memory bank. We said earlier about possible surprises over the next two weeks, and none are bigger than a potential visit from St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn. The Top247 prospect is currently committed to Georgia, but he had a had a very good relationship with the staff at Vanderbilt and has been in touch with Herb Hand since he came on staff. While he has not confirmed a visit with us, sources around him said that he was heavily considering making the trip to State College before signing day. Before committing to Georgia in July, Wynn had scholarship offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. One well-respected college coach told us that he believes Wynn is one of the top five players at his position in the country. Obviously it's a very steep uphill climb for this one, but it would be a very, very big fish for Franklin to land. Next Weekend We're not looking past this weekend at all, obviously, but there are a few notes worth documenting regarding the weekend of Jan. 31. We've noted that some committed prospects that can't make it this weekend Penn State still has official visits set up with Florida defensive back Lamont Simmons and Illinois athlete Trent Sherfield. Simmons' offer was with the old staff, but he has spoken to the new coaches since their arrival. Right now, I think that visit will depend on how much space the Nittany Lions have. Penn State has remained in regular touch with Sherfield, but they have been up front with him in saying that there may not be a spot available by the time that he visits. They still plan on bringing him in for a visit and have told him that they hope there is space available for him in this class. Sherfield remains committed to Vanderbilt, but not having James Franklin there does make a difference. He's slated to visit Vanderbilt this weekend. Penn State is also getting ready to hold a visit day for walk-ons next weekend. I'll work more on getting names next week, after the big visit weekend, but so far three players have told me that they'll be on campus. Walk-on commit Troy Stivason will be on hand after taking yet another unofficial visit last weekend. Hummelstown (Pa.) Lower Dauphin all-state kicker Joe Julius officially decommitted from SIU-Edwardsville, where he had a scholarship to play soccer, to pursue football. Penn State has been in touch since the coaching change and will have him visit next weekend. He has spoken to new running backs coach/special teams coordinator Charles Huff about joining the program, and has also been in talks with Cincinnati about kicking for the Bearcats. One more name to add for next weekend is Andover (Mass.) linebacker Will Eikenberry. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound prospect is currently committed to Delaware to play lacrosse, but he'll likely pass up that opportunity to play football at Penn State. Eikenberry spoke with James Franklin on Saturday and was invited down. He actually was set to visit on Jan. 17 with the old staff, but obviously had to postpone. Eikenberry was a first team all-MVC selection as a senior. He recorded 112 tackles, forced five fumbles and picked off three passes. He had been getting football interest from Boston College, Delaware and New Hampshire. Quick Hitters - We've mentioned Penn State holding its Junior Day on Saturday, Feb. 15. Add another big target to the list of attendees, as Lexington (Va.) Rockbridge County offensive tackle Austin Clark will be on campus for the event. He has been in touch with the new staff and says he's excited to meet them. - On Thursday we had an update on St. Peter's Prep quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who will be attending the Junior Day on February 15. His teammate, four-star defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, told me this week that he would be getting out to Penn State for a spring practice. - It's starting to become evident that the new staff is casting its net in a wider radius than the old staff. That's not saying the new way or the old way will be more productive, but the new staff is looking a little harder at the Midwest than Bill O'Brien and Co. did. Penn State was back in Detroit this week, and don't be shocked if underclassmen like Daelin Hayes make it back to campus soon to check things out. Hayes was emerging on the radar for the O'Brien regime, most recently visiting for a game in November. He'll be a bigtime target in 2016 if he does not commit elsewhere early. - Penn State offered five-star Florida wide receiver George Campbell out of Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake late this week. While it may seem like (and probably is) a pipe dream for Penn State to land Campbell, there is a back story worth exploring. Campbell plays for a Team Tampa, one of the premier 7-on-7 teams in the country, which is coached by Woodrow Grady. Grady's son, Josh, is a sophomore quarterback at Vanderbilt. I'm told that the elder Grady has a great relationship with James Franklin and it's not out of the question he would bring kids up from that area to visit Penn State when time allows. Also playing for Campbell as a part of Team Tampa? Gaither defensive back, official visitor and potential commitment Amani Oruwariye. That's going to be a relationship worth watching in the coming years. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |