The football roster was recently updated. Here are the number changes:
2 Chaz Powell
3 Brandon Beachum
7 Cedric Jeffries
10 Nick Sukay
11 Navorro Bowman
13 Mark Wedderburn
48 Chris Colasanti
50 DeOn'tae Pannell
Here are the numbers of the four freshmen who are already on campus:
6 Gerald Hodges
12 Kevin Newsome
29 Anthony Fera
53 Ty Howle
Comments:
Yes, Chaz Powell is wearing Derrick Williams' #2.
Yes, Lavorro Bowman is wearing LaVar Arrington's #11.
Yes, Kevin Newsome is wearing Michael Robinson's #12.
I'm loving this!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Nonsense update
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A couple quick links
Talk about holding a grudge.
I enjoyed this very much.
I applaud Kansas State coach Frank Martin.
I actually watched the entire game (I'm a diehard Jayhawks hoops fan) and Martin's action was definitely warranted.
I enjoyed this very much.
I applaud Kansas State coach Frank Martin.
I actually watched the entire game (I'm a diehard Jayhawks hoops fan) and Martin's action was definitely warranted.
A couple updates
I was right about Threet transferring from Michigan; it's official, he's gone. Michigan has no viable back-up quarterback and their starter is an undersized true freshman. Get used to "we're one year and one player away" being their annual battle cry.
Speaking of quarterbacks, we ARE going after Devin Gardner, the stud QB from Michigan. If we were to land both Paul Jones and Devin Gardner in the same class, we would be the envy of EVERY SINGLE D1-A football program in the country. Gardner is more of your classic dual-threat type quarterback. He's not quite the passer that Jones is but he's more mobile. This is the best quarterback prospect to come out of the state of Michigan in decades. Gardner has already eliminated Ohio State and Michigan fans are calling him the must get of this year's class and are already saying Forcier who? in hopes of landing Gardner. I definitely think we have a shot but if I had to call it today I'd call it for Michigan State. He's the type of player that could put them back into Big Ten title contention immediately.
I am a big NBA fan and tomorrow (Thursday) is the NBA trade deadline. A couple of days ago the New Orleans Hornets traded away Tyson Chandler basically to dump his salary for next season. This is the worst trade I have seen in some time. They did get two forwards, Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith, in the deal but it is still a very bad trade. New Orleans essentially just took themselves out of being a serious playoff contender. Horrible move. The New Orleans players don't understand it and neither do I.
Apparently just a few hours ago Sacramento sent Brad Miller and John Salmons to Chicago for Drew Gooden and Andres Nocioni. This one's not as bad as what the Hornets did but again, Chicago, what are you doing? All four are recognizable NBA names but I feel as though Nocioni is the best player in this bunch and this is a real questionable move.
Here's hoping my Sixers find a way to get Amar'e Stoudemire. We'll find out tomorrow.
Speaking of quarterbacks, we ARE going after Devin Gardner, the stud QB from Michigan. If we were to land both Paul Jones and Devin Gardner in the same class, we would be the envy of EVERY SINGLE D1-A football program in the country. Gardner is more of your classic dual-threat type quarterback. He's not quite the passer that Jones is but he's more mobile. This is the best quarterback prospect to come out of the state of Michigan in decades. Gardner has already eliminated Ohio State and Michigan fans are calling him the must get of this year's class and are already saying Forcier who? in hopes of landing Gardner. I definitely think we have a shot but if I had to call it today I'd call it for Michigan State. He's the type of player that could put them back into Big Ten title contention immediately.
I am a big NBA fan and tomorrow (Thursday) is the NBA trade deadline. A couple of days ago the New Orleans Hornets traded away Tyson Chandler basically to dump his salary for next season. This is the worst trade I have seen in some time. They did get two forwards, Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith, in the deal but it is still a very bad trade. New Orleans essentially just took themselves out of being a serious playoff contender. Horrible move. The New Orleans players don't understand it and neither do I.
Apparently just a few hours ago Sacramento sent Brad Miller and John Salmons to Chicago for Drew Gooden and Andres Nocioni. This one's not as bad as what the Hornets did but again, Chicago, what are you doing? All four are recognizable NBA names but I feel as though Nocioni is the best player in this bunch and this is a real questionable move.
Here's hoping my Sixers find a way to get Amar'e Stoudemire. We'll find out tomorrow.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The return of JokePa
Right now Joe Paterno is in Puerto Rico for the annual Nike event. He justifies a trip like this by saying it's part of his job. OK JokePa, visiting recruits isn't part of your job? I don't care what the justification, there is no excuse that JokePa can go to Puerto Rico for any reason at all but can't go to Maryland to visit Jelani Jenkins. The man is a joke and he doesn't take his job seriously. And no, being sad in the press conference after your team got throttled by USC doesn't count as taking your job seriously. I hate to bring up the Rose Bowl but I still have one lingering question: how do you go into a game as confident as Paterno appeared and then lay an egg like you did?
This got me thinking, if it were up to me how would I restructure the staff? I would interview Ron Vanderlinden and Larry Johnson Sr. for the head coaching job and promote the "winner" to head coach and the "loser" to defensive coordinator. Vanderlinden is the current linebackers coach and LJ Sr. the current defensive line coach. Those two units have literally carried our team over the past few seasons. What about Tom Bradley? What about him? Bradley is the architect of our infamous bend-but-don't-break defense that is going to make Mark Sanchez millions in the pros. He's also the guy that started Josh Hull in all thirteen games in 2009. While many point to Bradley as being the top recruiter on our staff, he simply is not. Bradley brings in talent from Pittsburgh but he doesn't do it every year. LJ Sr., on the other hand, brings in more talent than Bradley and brings it in on a more consistent basis. While Bradley is a good coach I don't consider him on the elite level of the two aforementioned defensive coaches.
I'm a big fan of running the ball and then when we throw we throw deep, often off of play-action. I would hire former Minnesota head coach Glen Mason as our offensive coordinator. None of this one guy picks run or pass then one guys calls the pass plays and a different guy calls the run plays nonsense. Mason would be a traditional offensive coordinator meaning he has full control. This is the guy who ran over everybody with Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney. This would be the perfect offense to complement our traditionally stout defense. Also, believe it or not, this would help with our WR recruiting. We currently cannot land the stud WR because we spread the wealth too much in the passing game. Going to the style of offense Mason runs, we would have a distinct #1, #2, and #3 and our #1 should finish each season with numbers that tower those that our departing big three have been putting up.
Tidbits:
This got me thinking, if it were up to me how would I restructure the staff? I would interview Ron Vanderlinden and Larry Johnson Sr. for the head coaching job and promote the "winner" to head coach and the "loser" to defensive coordinator. Vanderlinden is the current linebackers coach and LJ Sr. the current defensive line coach. Those two units have literally carried our team over the past few seasons. What about Tom Bradley? What about him? Bradley is the architect of our infamous bend-but-don't-break defense that is going to make Mark Sanchez millions in the pros. He's also the guy that started Josh Hull in all thirteen games in 2009. While many point to Bradley as being the top recruiter on our staff, he simply is not. Bradley brings in talent from Pittsburgh but he doesn't do it every year. LJ Sr., on the other hand, brings in more talent than Bradley and brings it in on a more consistent basis. While Bradley is a good coach I don't consider him on the elite level of the two aforementioned defensive coaches.
I'm a big fan of running the ball and then when we throw we throw deep, often off of play-action. I would hire former Minnesota head coach Glen Mason as our offensive coordinator. None of this one guy picks run or pass then one guys calls the pass plays and a different guy calls the run plays nonsense. Mason would be a traditional offensive coordinator meaning he has full control. This is the guy who ran over everybody with Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney. This would be the perfect offense to complement our traditionally stout defense. Also, believe it or not, this would help with our WR recruiting. We currently cannot land the stud WR because we spread the wealth too much in the passing game. Going to the style of offense Mason runs, we would have a distinct #1, #2, and #3 and our #1 should finish each season with numbers that tower those that our departing big three have been putting up.
Tidbits:
- RS freshman walk-on quarterback Matt McGloin from Scraton seems to be really impressing the staff. There's a rumor going around that we will not be taking another quarterback in our next class (2010) in addition to Paul Jones because of the progress McGloin has made. Also Kevin Newsome may not be the lock to be #2 on the depth chart once the season begins that many thought he was. In both instances, time will tell. My take? I still think Newsome ascends to the #2 spot by September but I can see the staff holding back on going after another QB due to McGloin's progress. We never err on the side of caution, especially with quarterback recruiting and I can see us making another bad call along those lines.
- Also hearing a rumor that Michigan quarterbacker Steven Threet will be transferring, again. Threet enrolled early at Georgia Tech, transferred to Michigan, sat out the first year (esentially a redshirt year), then played last year as a RS freshman. Threet was head-and-shoulders the best QB on the roster last season but he is not thrilled about Rich Rod presumably annointing true freshman Tate Forcier the starter without having a competition first. Threet was never going to start in 2009 but this essentially would still be a huge and I mean HUGE loss for Michigan. With such a poor offensive line unit returning, I doubt the 5'11" 180 lb Forcier can make it through the season without injury. Threet would without a doubt be Michigan's #2 if he stays. If Threet leaves, Forcier's back-up will be Shav'd Beaver? Nope, Beaver decommited and signed with Tulsa instead. Kevin Newsome? Like Beaver, Newsome changed his mind regarding Michigan and is now a Nittany Lion. Nick Sheridan? You got it, arguably the worst quarterback to start a game last season in D1-A. I'm not gonna lie, I am enjoying this. Oh, and for those saying Threet won't transfer a second time and sit out a year again, keep in mind, due to his very early transfer from Georgia Tech, if he goes he'll still have two seasons to play at school three even if he sits out a year. Did I mention I'm enjoying this?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A few tidbits
- Brandon Felder, one of the WRs in Penn State's incoming class is going to take a greyshirt. Felder missed his senior season after he tore up his knee and will be waiting until January to enroll at Penn State. His scholarship will count towards next year's class and not affect our 85-man scholarship limit for the 2009 season. Felder was going to redshirt this year had he not greyshirted. This one will be interesting to watch because typically Nittany Lions who greyshirt greyshirt and then redshirt, essentially finishing their careers six years after they leave high school. This would place two years separation between him and the WR's in this class who see the field immediately. The only Penn State Nittany Lion to greyshirt and not redshirt in recent memory was Jordan Norwood who goes down in my book as a real warrior.
- Alshon Jeffery, a big smooth wide receiver switched from USC to USC on signing day. Jeffery will be playing his college ball at South Carolina instead of for Pete Carroll in sunny California. The reason? Jeffery was looking for a promise to wear jersey #2. Pete Carroll made no such promise, Steve Spurrior did. In case you were wondering, #2 is currently retired at South Carolina and judging from the quotes coming from Sterling Sharpe, the man who had his "guts ripped out" because of this, he is not happy. Spurrior brought in some nice talent with this haul; regardless, I see this being his last season in Columbia.
- Bryce Brown, the nation's #1 running back still hasn't signed his letter of intent. Signing Day is offically the first day a prospect can sign, it's just tradition that everyone does. The Miami "soft" verbal said he was going to wait until a week after signing day to sign because he was going to be on a week-long family vacation. Earlier this week I was hearing he was going to take a visit to Tennessee then decide in March. Word coming out of the Brown camp now is that if the Canadians can get their money right and make a legit offer that Brown is going to "do the right thing" and skip college and play in the CFL. And yes, this is the same Bryce Brown that tried to set up a website telling people where he was going to go for the reasonable price of $9.95. All of this nonsense is coming from Brown's mentor, Brian Butler, who is basically his manager at this point. This clown did the same for Brown's brother who is currently a linebacker at Miami. The stated reason for having such a relationship is so that nobody takes advantage of the kid. Sir, YOU are taking advantage of the kid. You're going to steer him to skip a free education so you can get a slice of a CFL contract? You are scum Brian Butler, period.
- I know the three Heisman finalists from last year are all coming back but I have my eye on two Pac 10 running backs who could join them in New York, not looking great at the moment though. Jahvid Best, running back from Cal, will miss spring practice after having surgery. Best is an explosive running back that is very very similar to our own Stephfon Green; Best is probably a step or two faster though. LeGarrette Blount, possibly the funnest player to watch in all of college football was my gun to the head pick to win the 2009 Heisman last week. Blount is an enormous running back with speed that likes to jump over defenders while wearing his Oregon Duck uniform. Blount is currently suspended for reportedly violating a slew of team rules. I was actually surprised to see that Blount did not leave early for the NFL draft. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A few tidbits
- I saw Gerald Hodges on campus yesterday. I wanted to get a good look so I could describe him to my blog followers. He did not appreciate me staring at him. Hodges is a legit 6'3" and jacked up top. I hear the biggest issue with Hodges at this point is endurance and I believe it because he has some real skinny legs. It's all good though because he's already on campus and the season doesn't start for another seven months.
- Lots of people asking me how with Clark being a senior in '09 I can say that, barring injury, I don't expect Kevin Newsome to start a game at Penn State. The answer to that question is Paul Jones. Jones, a quarterback from McKees Rocks, is a high school junior who has already committed to play for Penn State. Jones is the second verbal commitment in Penn State's 2010 class. Jones, who will also be enrolling early, is Daunte Culpepper on film. Who was our first commit for 2010? Canonsburg linebacker Mike Hull. Hull is widely regarded as the best linebacker in the state going into next season just as Jones holds that distinction at the quarterback position.
- Penn State recently released their official list regarding their 2009 football recruiting class. They have Garry Gilliam listed as a DE so I guess I was wrong there. They have Sean Stanley as a DL which could mean either DE or DT. They have both Derrick Thomas and Curtis Drake listed as an ATH. I think it would be a real shame if they didn't utilize Drake's talents on offense; he was ultra-productive on the offensive side of the ball in high school. And I'm happy to report that I was right about Gerald Hodges playing safety and not linebacker as they have him listed as a DB.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Player by player breakdown pt. 2
Alright, and on to the defense.
Defensive End
Sean Stanley
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/4
Both sites had Stanley listed as a four star DE then they both changed him to a three star DT. He does have a big frame but I think he stays at end. I would say Stanley is a less athletic version of Maurice Evans certainly without the dominating first step but hopefully with a better head on his shoulders.
expectations: I thought Stanley would be a certain redshirt but with the departures of three DE's that may not be the case. Look for a defensive end depth chart breakdown blog post sooner than later.
Defensive Tackle
Jordan Hill
from: Steelton
stars: 3/2/3
Another Rutgers decommit, this extremely athletic DT jumped on board when Penn State extended an offer in the 11th hour. Weak high school competition and a recent move to DT stopped Hill from garnering the attention nationwide he may have deserved. It might not look like it on paper but this is a big get for Penn State right here.
expectations: Hill's going to need to redshirt and get bigger. I expect Hill to take advantage of a wide open depth chart when Karoma and Ogbu graduate two years from now.
Linebacker
Glenn Carson
from: New Jersey
stars: 4/4/4
The next great linebacker for Linebacker U. In the mold of Posluszny, Connor, and Lee.
expectations: I would have to assume Carson will redshirt, but then again I had assumed Chris Colasanti would have redshirted as well two years ago. If Michael Mauti doesn't move inside at some point then I would think Carson could start in 2010. Either way, I expect Glenn Carson to be a multi-year starter at middle linebacker at Penn State.
Cornerback
Darrell Givens
from: Maryland
stars: 4/4/4
Givens was an outstanding high school cornerback with some size. Givens doesn't have the ideal corner speed like a Justin King or a Darrell Revis but he's certainly faster than Alan Zemaitis and Zemaitis had an outstanding career here. I would consider Givens a boarderline five star prospect; his four stars are a lot different than Newsome or Stanley's four stars. Elite 4.3 cornerback speed is the only thing this guy is missing.
expectations: I expect Givens to either start at corner or at nickelback this year, probably the latter at least in the early going.
Stephon Morris
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
They say if he wasn't 5'9" he'd have that fourth star. OK, well regardless if he was I'd still like Givens more. A good corner who has no chance against receivers with size.
expectations: I expect Morris to redshirt then be in the mix for playing time in 2010. He's a good player and I expect him to start at least one game in his career.
Michael Wallace
from: Maryland
stars: 2/2/2
Another 5'9" corner. Wallace is Jelani Jenkins' BFF and that is the only reason he was offered a scholarship. Would have been worth it had Jenkins chose Penn State, something he did not.
expectations: We have a dozen walk-ons on the roster who have a better shot at seeing the field. Sadly, this is only one of about a half dozen questionable offers in this class.
Safety
Gerald Hodges
from: New Jersey
stars: 4/4/5
The first of the Rutgers decommits and the last of our four early enrollees on our list. Both sites have Hodges as a four star linebacker, I have him as a five star safety. He's a bad man and he's going to play safety. I've heard Hodges compared to Taylor Mays, OK not quite but physically he is now ready for the college game and possibly the NFL.
expectations: I expect Gerald Hodges to be our starting strong safety game one of this year and from here on out. Period.
Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
from: New York (Bronx)
stars: 3/3/3
Another virtual unknown commodity, SOA hails from the same high school as current Nittany Lion Stephfon Green. He's undersized and needs to put on weight before he sees the field. No idea why the early offer but I'm going to go out on a limb here and trust the staff, I mean, they had to have seen something they liked out of SOA when they were recruiting Green, right?
expectations: With Astorino and Hodges at safety for the foreseeable future, I don't see SOA seeing meaningful reps anytime soon. I fully expect him to redshirt.
Malcolm Willis
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
Definitely a known commodity as he plays in the Maryland hotbed of football. No other reported offers and yet committed in April. These questionable early offers have got to stop if we want to ever beat a team like USC. Willis earned his third star from me by showing on film that he's a strong, aggressive, powerful football player. If Willis never plays a down in college he would have still done his part as I got him as Penn State's #2 recruiter this year just below LJ Sr. Without Willis, Darrell Givens would be an Ohio State Buckeye.
expectations: Assuming there's depth behind Hodges at strong safety (Cedric Jeffries come on down), I expect Willis to redshirt. I expect Willis to be Hodges' backup but then take advantage of that fifth year and become a starter.
Athlete
Derrick Thomas
from: Maryland
stars: 3/4/3
I call him an athlete because I don't know what position he's going to play at Penn State. Thomas claims the staff told him he's going to start his career at WR then move to corner. Thomas is also from the same high school as classmate Stephon Morris and departing Lion Derrick Williams. Thomas' mom didn't want him to go to Penn State because of that ESPN Outside the Lines Nightly witch hunt. He was a soft verbal for so long that quite frankly, I lost interest. I hear he's an electric athlete that could play WR, CB, or safety. Whatever, we'll see.
expectations: I have no idea what he's going to do this season and it's not because I don't care it's because nobody knows. Gun to my head guess is Thomas will play as a true freshman and play both wideout and corner and see very little playing time at both positions. By the sheer numbers of the WR's in this class it is almost obvious that Thomas will be playing CB after this season and that is what I expect.
If you have any player by player breakdown related questions or have any questions in general, I will be starting a mailbag sooner than later. Feel free to email me questions at der164@psu.edu
Defensive End
Sean Stanley
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/4
Both sites had Stanley listed as a four star DE then they both changed him to a three star DT. He does have a big frame but I think he stays at end. I would say Stanley is a less athletic version of Maurice Evans certainly without the dominating first step but hopefully with a better head on his shoulders.
expectations: I thought Stanley would be a certain redshirt but with the departures of three DE's that may not be the case. Look for a defensive end depth chart breakdown blog post sooner than later.
Defensive Tackle
Jordan Hill
from: Steelton
stars: 3/2/3
Another Rutgers decommit, this extremely athletic DT jumped on board when Penn State extended an offer in the 11th hour. Weak high school competition and a recent move to DT stopped Hill from garnering the attention nationwide he may have deserved. It might not look like it on paper but this is a big get for Penn State right here.
expectations: Hill's going to need to redshirt and get bigger. I expect Hill to take advantage of a wide open depth chart when Karoma and Ogbu graduate two years from now.
Linebacker
Glenn Carson
from: New Jersey
stars: 4/4/4
The next great linebacker for Linebacker U. In the mold of Posluszny, Connor, and Lee.
expectations: I would have to assume Carson will redshirt, but then again I had assumed Chris Colasanti would have redshirted as well two years ago. If Michael Mauti doesn't move inside at some point then I would think Carson could start in 2010. Either way, I expect Glenn Carson to be a multi-year starter at middle linebacker at Penn State.
Cornerback
Darrell Givens
from: Maryland
stars: 4/4/4
Givens was an outstanding high school cornerback with some size. Givens doesn't have the ideal corner speed like a Justin King or a Darrell Revis but he's certainly faster than Alan Zemaitis and Zemaitis had an outstanding career here. I would consider Givens a boarderline five star prospect; his four stars are a lot different than Newsome or Stanley's four stars. Elite 4.3 cornerback speed is the only thing this guy is missing.
expectations: I expect Givens to either start at corner or at nickelback this year, probably the latter at least in the early going.
Stephon Morris
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
They say if he wasn't 5'9" he'd have that fourth star. OK, well regardless if he was I'd still like Givens more. A good corner who has no chance against receivers with size.
expectations: I expect Morris to redshirt then be in the mix for playing time in 2010. He's a good player and I expect him to start at least one game in his career.
Michael Wallace
from: Maryland
stars: 2/2/2
Another 5'9" corner. Wallace is Jelani Jenkins' BFF and that is the only reason he was offered a scholarship. Would have been worth it had Jenkins chose Penn State, something he did not.
expectations: We have a dozen walk-ons on the roster who have a better shot at seeing the field. Sadly, this is only one of about a half dozen questionable offers in this class.
Safety
Gerald Hodges
from: New Jersey
stars: 4/4/5
The first of the Rutgers decommits and the last of our four early enrollees on our list. Both sites have Hodges as a four star linebacker, I have him as a five star safety. He's a bad man and he's going to play safety. I've heard Hodges compared to Taylor Mays, OK not quite but physically he is now ready for the college game and possibly the NFL.
expectations: I expect Gerald Hodges to be our starting strong safety game one of this year and from here on out. Period.
Stephen Obeng-Agyapong
from: New York (Bronx)
stars: 3/3/3
Another virtual unknown commodity, SOA hails from the same high school as current Nittany Lion Stephfon Green. He's undersized and needs to put on weight before he sees the field. No idea why the early offer but I'm going to go out on a limb here and trust the staff, I mean, they had to have seen something they liked out of SOA when they were recruiting Green, right?
expectations: With Astorino and Hodges at safety for the foreseeable future, I don't see SOA seeing meaningful reps anytime soon. I fully expect him to redshirt.
Malcolm Willis
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
Definitely a known commodity as he plays in the Maryland hotbed of football. No other reported offers and yet committed in April. These questionable early offers have got to stop if we want to ever beat a team like USC. Willis earned his third star from me by showing on film that he's a strong, aggressive, powerful football player. If Willis never plays a down in college he would have still done his part as I got him as Penn State's #2 recruiter this year just below LJ Sr. Without Willis, Darrell Givens would be an Ohio State Buckeye.
expectations: Assuming there's depth behind Hodges at strong safety (Cedric Jeffries come on down), I expect Willis to redshirt. I expect Willis to be Hodges' backup but then take advantage of that fifth year and become a starter.
Athlete
Derrick Thomas
from: Maryland
stars: 3/4/3
I call him an athlete because I don't know what position he's going to play at Penn State. Thomas claims the staff told him he's going to start his career at WR then move to corner. Thomas is also from the same high school as classmate Stephon Morris and departing Lion Derrick Williams. Thomas' mom didn't want him to go to Penn State because of that ESPN Outside the Lines Nightly witch hunt. He was a soft verbal for so long that quite frankly, I lost interest. I hear he's an electric athlete that could play WR, CB, or safety. Whatever, we'll see.
expectations: I have no idea what he's going to do this season and it's not because I don't care it's because nobody knows. Gun to my head guess is Thomas will play as a true freshman and play both wideout and corner and see very little playing time at both positions. By the sheer numbers of the WR's in this class it is almost obvious that Thomas will be playing CB after this season and that is what I expect.
If you have any player by player breakdown related questions or have any questions in general, I will be starting a mailbag sooner than later. Feel free to email me questions at der164@psu.edu
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Player by player breakdown
Here is the much anticipated player by player breakdown of the 2009 Penn State recruiting class. As I said before I gather as much information as I can, I watch player highlight videos, I check out the big recruiting websites, then I form my own opinions. The opinions on here are my own and at times they may seem harsh regarding a 17-year old kid. I'm not trying to be harsh, I'm just trying to provide you all with the information you seek. And if I say something like this kid should have never received an offer, take that as a knock on the staff (Penn State coaching staff) and not the kid. Overall I was not impressed by the 2009 class nationally and because of this I did not do a top 25 classes because I was so disinterested with the average players that most comparable schools landed. That said, I think some of our players in this class are overrated and our class as a whole is too. Scout has Penn State's class at #10 in the country, Rivals has us at #25. If I had done team rankings this year I would have us no higher than 15 and no lower than 20.
The player's position is not the position they played in high school but the position I think they're going to end up playing at Penn State. The number of stars the player has is the number of stars Scout gave them/stars Rivals gave them/stars I gave them. For example, Kevin Newsome 4/4/4. Expectations is what MY expectations of them and their Penn State career is. Let's get started.
Quarterback
Kevin Newsome
from: Virginia
stars: 4/4/4
I really had a tough time giving Newsome the fourth star and if this were a stronger class overall nationally or even at QB he probably wouldn't have gotten it. Penn State fans, Kevin Newsome is Michael Robinson. Now, before you lose your mind with excitement, he's not the Michael Robinson that left Penn State, he's the one that arrived which means Newsome also cannot throw the ball worth a lick at this point in his career. He has a very strong arm but his mechanics and accuracy are not good. Unlike Darryl Clark who runs as the last resort, Newsome is a run-first quarterback as evidenced by his happy feet once the ball is snapped. Think back a year, in the face of his poor throwing mechanics current Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor was an accurate high school quarterback and he's struggling mightily right now. Despite being a poor thrower, Newsome is a powerful runner with some speed. I like Kevin Newsome and I like his game but we needed to take two QBs in this class and once Pat Devlin transferred we really needed to take two QBs in this class...and we didn't. Did I mention Newsome decommitted from Michigan to come to Penn State?
expectations: Barring injury I don't think Newsome will start a game in his Penn State career. He enrolled early (already on campus) and I expect him to be the #2 quarterback on the depth chart this season. I also expect us to do very little except for run the ball when he does play.
Running Back
Curtis Dukes
from: New York
stars: 4/3/4
At 6'2" and 235 lbs, Dukes is built similarly to past college football stars like Curtis Enis and Beanie Wells. Dukes also has speed as he runs a legit sub-4.5 forty. The knock on Dukes is that the conference he played in and the competition he played against was very poor. If you watch his highlights he cuts everything outside and simply runs by everyone despite playing at 235 lbs. Dukes will need to redshirt and become accustomed to playing against quality competition while learning how to run inside, but after that watch out!
expectations: He'll redshirt this year and probably won't see much action in 2010 but after that Dukes should see the field...and plenty of it. I expect Dukes to be a household name and potential All-American when it's all said and done. While Dukes doesn't have the agility of Curtis Enis, he does have the same size and speed to be a dominant college football player like Enis was.
Wide Receiver
Justin Brown
from: Delaware
stars: 4/4/4
There are no questions about Brown's size (6'3" 210 lbs) but people do question his speed. I have seen Brown on film and while not a blazer he looks plenty fast to me. I would compare Justin to former Nittany Lion Bryant Johnson, who if you remember was the last PSU player to take a punt back for a touchdown before Derrick Williams arrived. The thing I most like about Justin Brown is the way he goes up for and comes down with jump balls. I don't need to say I think he's going to be a good one because I already think he is.
expectations: I expect Brown to come in and play, maybe even push for a starting spot by the second half of the season, maybe earlier. We'll see how he does this year before I start making career predictions. Doesn't have the highest ceiling among the WR haul (Shawney Kersey does) but along with Curtis Drake is the most ready to play now.
Shawney Kersey
from: New Jersey
stars: 3/3/4
Kersey needs to put on weight but he is tall and he is fast. Kersey is 6'3" and very fast. He has the highest ceiling out of all of the WRs on the team. He stuck by his word saying that he was going to play college ball with friend Gerald Hodges as Kersey switched his commitment from Rutgers to Penn State a little over a month after Hodges did the same thing.
expectations: I expect Kersey to see the field as a true freshman in '09 but I don't expect him to put up the numbers that Brown or Drake will. I expect him to have a monster college career and be a first day NFL draft pick one day.
Curtis Drake
from: Philadelphia
stars: 3/2/4
Drake had a monster senior season which he capped off by winning a state title. Drake had committed early to Penn State and was very solid throughout and that is why he didn't pick up a lot of the late offers he would have received after such a fine senior year. The knock on Drake is the competition as he played PA Class A but if you're scoring at home, so did Pryor. Curtis Drake played quarterback for his option-oriented high school team and his senior year put up roughly the numbers that Derrick Williams had put up for his high school team during his junior year. Drake doesn't have the size of a Justin Brown or the speed of a Shawney Kersey but he's a winner and he has tons of wiggle. I would compare Drake to a Deon Butler or a Jordan Norwood, only Drake's a bigger version as he stands at 6' even.
expectations: I think Drake plays right away and has a great career. I hear the staff will give him a quick look at QB first but I don't buy it.
Brandon Felder
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
Felder committed early and apparently the staff is real high on him as they told him to be ready to play this year. A torn knee later, that's not going to happen. Felder is a very similar WR to Kersey.
expectations: A solid career. With all of these WRs is one going to transfer down the road? I can see it happening. Felder will be behind the WRs in his class because of injury and he should be behind the WRs in the next class as far as talent goes so we'll see.
Devon Smith
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
At 5'7" and 145 lbs, Devon Smith was recruited to return kicks and play a little WR. Devon Smith is fast. How fast? He's the fastest high school senior in the country, period. You can google all of his records yourself if you don't believe me as I feel I've said enough.
expectations: No idea. Does he redshirt? Is he the heir apparent to departed punt returner Derrick Williams? I have no idea. Sorry folks.
Christian Kuntz
from: Camp Hill
stars: 2/2/2
Tall, fast, and strong, Kuntz has no wiggle. He also has no position. I don't know why we offered him a scholarship. I don't know why we offered him so early.
expectations: I am under the impression that this high school running back/safety was recruited to play wide receiver at Penn State. Taller, faster and stronger than Mark Rubin was at this stage, I doubt he has as successful of a career as Rubin did. I don't expect any career starts regardless of position.
Tight End
Garry Gilliam
from: Hershey
stars: 3/2/3
While most think he was recruited to play DE, I like him more as a TE (I'd have him as a two star DE). Gilliam's already the size of a college TE and has great speed for his size, he's just not a very good football player right now.
expectations: I expect Gilliam to redshirt, sit on the bench for a couple of years, then contribute and maybe even start his last year or two whether it be at TE or DE. There's no reason an athletic kid his size cannot get coached up eventually.
Offensive Line
Eric Shrive
from: Scranton
stars: 5/4/4
Big and strong and built for right tackle, (sorry guys, I'm not about to give a RT five stars) Shrive had offers from everyone. The national media never gave Penn State a chance regarding Shrive. Everyone and their brother expected Shrive to go to Illinois or Notre Dame and when he didn't the Zooker and Fat Cholly weren't happy. Shrive told me that Ron Zook called him up right after he committed to Penn State and was screaming and cursing at him and told him he made the biggest mistake of his life. Instead of changing his mind and decommitting from Penn State, Shrive picked up the phone and along with Malcolm Willis made sure that the class he was entering Penn State with was as good as it could be. Very physical, our biggest worry with Shrive is probably going to be personal foul penalties.
expectations: I expect Shrive to come in and be the second team right tackle behind Dennis Landolt as a true freshman and then start for three years. I expect everyone reading this blog at least once, after Shrive pancakes a Buckeye or Wolverine, to scream out "I love Eric Shrive!".
Mark Archidiacono
from: Philadelphia
stars: 4/2/4
I justify my giving Archie four stars by his early offers from Florida and Notre Dame. Archie's high school teammate, rising senior Seth Betancourt, is the five star LT to complement our "five star RT".
expectations: I expect Archie to redshirt and have a great career at guard. I definitely see him as a multi-year starter.
Ty Howle
from: North Carolina
stars: 3/3/3
This center prospect from North Carolina was the first commitment in our 2009 class and has also enrolled early. Said to be short and soft. Also said to be very strong.
expectations: He's a Penn State center. He'll redshirt and then work his way up the depth chart. Penn State doesn't typically have stud centers; A.Q. Shipley was the exception rather than the rule.
Nate Cadogan
from: Ohio
stars: 3/3/3
Departing senior Gerald Cadogan's brother. Similar build (just as tall but not as big) to when Gerald showed up; similar hype as well.
expectations: I'll go with similar expectations (lower actually as I saw Gerald at the Big 33 that year and he was very impressive). I see Nate Cadogan playing LT like his brother did, I see him having a quality career at Penn State as well.
Adam Gress
from: West Mifflin
stars: 3/3/2
Gress is a project LT. He is already the size at 6'7" 290 lbs. Gress needs vast improvement as evidenced from the fact that he wasn't even selected to the Big 33 game.
expectations: We have offensive linemen who quit the team all the time. Is this the next one? Folks I really have no idea. It is hard to evaluate talent along the offensive line, especially when they weren't very good in high school.
John Urschel
from: New York
stars: 2/2/2
An undersized guard prospect who was a virtual unknown until a couple of months ago when numerous programs started knocking on his door.
expectations: I don't expect that he'll ever start a game at Penn State.
Frank Figueroa
from: Virginia
stars: 2/2/2
I know nothing about this guard prospect. I know he's from a military family and we were the only school recruting him. I'm guessing good grades and high character helped earn him this scholarship. Another questionable offer especially when you consider how early he was offered. This is the one you look at and say hey if they didn't offer early, when Urschel emerged Figueroa's scholarship could have went to Urschel and Urschel's scholarship could have went to a big time last minute recruit. I may be being a bit harsh on this one as this is only one of at least five questionable offers.
expectations: I have no idea. I do not expect Figueroa to do much in his career quite frankly.
Kicker
Anthony Fera
from: Texas
stars: 3/3/4
Recruiting services don't like to give kickers more than three stars. That's cool, I on the other hand remember when Mike Nugent was a legit Heisman candidate as a real weapon for Ohio State. Fera's got a big leg; he's already an upgrade to Kevin Kelly as far as distance is concerned. Another early enrollee, Fera wants to get a leg up on his competition. Built like a linebacker, Fera's going to be the biggest kicker you've seen in Blue and White in a while. Unlike how Newsome decommitted from Michigan and then down the road verballed to Penn State, Fera decommitted from Michigan and committed to Penn State at the same time effectively making the switch and putting a smile on my face.
expectations: None, I'm good. When Fera did what he did to Michigan that was enough for me. Seriously though, it could be argued that this is our most important recruit in this class as I believe he starts game one as both kickoff specialist and place kicker.
I'll give you guys a couple of days to digest this before I breakdown our defensive signings.
The player's position is not the position they played in high school but the position I think they're going to end up playing at Penn State. The number of stars the player has is the number of stars Scout gave them/stars Rivals gave them/stars I gave them. For example, Kevin Newsome 4/4/4. Expectations is what MY expectations of them and their Penn State career is. Let's get started.
Quarterback
Kevin Newsome
from: Virginia
stars: 4/4/4
I really had a tough time giving Newsome the fourth star and if this were a stronger class overall nationally or even at QB he probably wouldn't have gotten it. Penn State fans, Kevin Newsome is Michael Robinson. Now, before you lose your mind with excitement, he's not the Michael Robinson that left Penn State, he's the one that arrived which means Newsome also cannot throw the ball worth a lick at this point in his career. He has a very strong arm but his mechanics and accuracy are not good. Unlike Darryl Clark who runs as the last resort, Newsome is a run-first quarterback as evidenced by his happy feet once the ball is snapped. Think back a year, in the face of his poor throwing mechanics current Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor was an accurate high school quarterback and he's struggling mightily right now. Despite being a poor thrower, Newsome is a powerful runner with some speed. I like Kevin Newsome and I like his game but we needed to take two QBs in this class and once Pat Devlin transferred we really needed to take two QBs in this class...and we didn't. Did I mention Newsome decommitted from Michigan to come to Penn State?
expectations: Barring injury I don't think Newsome will start a game in his Penn State career. He enrolled early (already on campus) and I expect him to be the #2 quarterback on the depth chart this season. I also expect us to do very little except for run the ball when he does play.
Running Back
Curtis Dukes
from: New York
stars: 4/3/4
At 6'2" and 235 lbs, Dukes is built similarly to past college football stars like Curtis Enis and Beanie Wells. Dukes also has speed as he runs a legit sub-4.5 forty. The knock on Dukes is that the conference he played in and the competition he played against was very poor. If you watch his highlights he cuts everything outside and simply runs by everyone despite playing at 235 lbs. Dukes will need to redshirt and become accustomed to playing against quality competition while learning how to run inside, but after that watch out!
expectations: He'll redshirt this year and probably won't see much action in 2010 but after that Dukes should see the field...and plenty of it. I expect Dukes to be a household name and potential All-American when it's all said and done. While Dukes doesn't have the agility of Curtis Enis, he does have the same size and speed to be a dominant college football player like Enis was.
Wide Receiver
Justin Brown
from: Delaware
stars: 4/4/4
There are no questions about Brown's size (6'3" 210 lbs) but people do question his speed. I have seen Brown on film and while not a blazer he looks plenty fast to me. I would compare Justin to former Nittany Lion Bryant Johnson, who if you remember was the last PSU player to take a punt back for a touchdown before Derrick Williams arrived. The thing I most like about Justin Brown is the way he goes up for and comes down with jump balls. I don't need to say I think he's going to be a good one because I already think he is.
expectations: I expect Brown to come in and play, maybe even push for a starting spot by the second half of the season, maybe earlier. We'll see how he does this year before I start making career predictions. Doesn't have the highest ceiling among the WR haul (Shawney Kersey does) but along with Curtis Drake is the most ready to play now.
Shawney Kersey
from: New Jersey
stars: 3/3/4
Kersey needs to put on weight but he is tall and he is fast. Kersey is 6'3" and very fast. He has the highest ceiling out of all of the WRs on the team. He stuck by his word saying that he was going to play college ball with friend Gerald Hodges as Kersey switched his commitment from Rutgers to Penn State a little over a month after Hodges did the same thing.
expectations: I expect Kersey to see the field as a true freshman in '09 but I don't expect him to put up the numbers that Brown or Drake will. I expect him to have a monster college career and be a first day NFL draft pick one day.
Curtis Drake
from: Philadelphia
stars: 3/2/4
Drake had a monster senior season which he capped off by winning a state title. Drake had committed early to Penn State and was very solid throughout and that is why he didn't pick up a lot of the late offers he would have received after such a fine senior year. The knock on Drake is the competition as he played PA Class A but if you're scoring at home, so did Pryor. Curtis Drake played quarterback for his option-oriented high school team and his senior year put up roughly the numbers that Derrick Williams had put up for his high school team during his junior year. Drake doesn't have the size of a Justin Brown or the speed of a Shawney Kersey but he's a winner and he has tons of wiggle. I would compare Drake to a Deon Butler or a Jordan Norwood, only Drake's a bigger version as he stands at 6' even.
expectations: I think Drake plays right away and has a great career. I hear the staff will give him a quick look at QB first but I don't buy it.
Brandon Felder
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
Felder committed early and apparently the staff is real high on him as they told him to be ready to play this year. A torn knee later, that's not going to happen. Felder is a very similar WR to Kersey.
expectations: A solid career. With all of these WRs is one going to transfer down the road? I can see it happening. Felder will be behind the WRs in his class because of injury and he should be behind the WRs in the next class as far as talent goes so we'll see.
Devon Smith
from: Maryland
stars: 3/3/3
At 5'7" and 145 lbs, Devon Smith was recruited to return kicks and play a little WR. Devon Smith is fast. How fast? He's the fastest high school senior in the country, period. You can google all of his records yourself if you don't believe me as I feel I've said enough.
expectations: No idea. Does he redshirt? Is he the heir apparent to departed punt returner Derrick Williams? I have no idea. Sorry folks.
Christian Kuntz
from: Camp Hill
stars: 2/2/2
Tall, fast, and strong, Kuntz has no wiggle. He also has no position. I don't know why we offered him a scholarship. I don't know why we offered him so early.
expectations: I am under the impression that this high school running back/safety was recruited to play wide receiver at Penn State. Taller, faster and stronger than Mark Rubin was at this stage, I doubt he has as successful of a career as Rubin did. I don't expect any career starts regardless of position.
Tight End
Garry Gilliam
from: Hershey
stars: 3/2/3
While most think he was recruited to play DE, I like him more as a TE (I'd have him as a two star DE). Gilliam's already the size of a college TE and has great speed for his size, he's just not a very good football player right now.
expectations: I expect Gilliam to redshirt, sit on the bench for a couple of years, then contribute and maybe even start his last year or two whether it be at TE or DE. There's no reason an athletic kid his size cannot get coached up eventually.
Offensive Line
Eric Shrive
from: Scranton
stars: 5/4/4
Big and strong and built for right tackle, (sorry guys, I'm not about to give a RT five stars) Shrive had offers from everyone. The national media never gave Penn State a chance regarding Shrive. Everyone and their brother expected Shrive to go to Illinois or Notre Dame and when he didn't the Zooker and Fat Cholly weren't happy. Shrive told me that Ron Zook called him up right after he committed to Penn State and was screaming and cursing at him and told him he made the biggest mistake of his life. Instead of changing his mind and decommitting from Penn State, Shrive picked up the phone and along with Malcolm Willis made sure that the class he was entering Penn State with was as good as it could be. Very physical, our biggest worry with Shrive is probably going to be personal foul penalties.
expectations: I expect Shrive to come in and be the second team right tackle behind Dennis Landolt as a true freshman and then start for three years. I expect everyone reading this blog at least once, after Shrive pancakes a Buckeye or Wolverine, to scream out "I love Eric Shrive!".
Mark Archidiacono
from: Philadelphia
stars: 4/2/4
I justify my giving Archie four stars by his early offers from Florida and Notre Dame. Archie's high school teammate, rising senior Seth Betancourt, is the five star LT to complement our "five star RT".
expectations: I expect Archie to redshirt and have a great career at guard. I definitely see him as a multi-year starter.
Ty Howle
from: North Carolina
stars: 3/3/3
This center prospect from North Carolina was the first commitment in our 2009 class and has also enrolled early. Said to be short and soft. Also said to be very strong.
expectations: He's a Penn State center. He'll redshirt and then work his way up the depth chart. Penn State doesn't typically have stud centers; A.Q. Shipley was the exception rather than the rule.
Nate Cadogan
from: Ohio
stars: 3/3/3
Departing senior Gerald Cadogan's brother. Similar build (just as tall but not as big) to when Gerald showed up; similar hype as well.
expectations: I'll go with similar expectations (lower actually as I saw Gerald at the Big 33 that year and he was very impressive). I see Nate Cadogan playing LT like his brother did, I see him having a quality career at Penn State as well.
Adam Gress
from: West Mifflin
stars: 3/3/2
Gress is a project LT. He is already the size at 6'7" 290 lbs. Gress needs vast improvement as evidenced from the fact that he wasn't even selected to the Big 33 game.
expectations: We have offensive linemen who quit the team all the time. Is this the next one? Folks I really have no idea. It is hard to evaluate talent along the offensive line, especially when they weren't very good in high school.
John Urschel
from: New York
stars: 2/2/2
An undersized guard prospect who was a virtual unknown until a couple of months ago when numerous programs started knocking on his door.
expectations: I don't expect that he'll ever start a game at Penn State.
Frank Figueroa
from: Virginia
stars: 2/2/2
I know nothing about this guard prospect. I know he's from a military family and we were the only school recruting him. I'm guessing good grades and high character helped earn him this scholarship. Another questionable offer especially when you consider how early he was offered. This is the one you look at and say hey if they didn't offer early, when Urschel emerged Figueroa's scholarship could have went to Urschel and Urschel's scholarship could have went to a big time last minute recruit. I may be being a bit harsh on this one as this is only one of at least five questionable offers.
expectations: I have no idea. I do not expect Figueroa to do much in his career quite frankly.
Kicker
Anthony Fera
from: Texas
stars: 3/3/4
Recruiting services don't like to give kickers more than three stars. That's cool, I on the other hand remember when Mike Nugent was a legit Heisman candidate as a real weapon for Ohio State. Fera's got a big leg; he's already an upgrade to Kevin Kelly as far as distance is concerned. Another early enrollee, Fera wants to get a leg up on his competition. Built like a linebacker, Fera's going to be the biggest kicker you've seen in Blue and White in a while. Unlike how Newsome decommitted from Michigan and then down the road verballed to Penn State, Fera decommitted from Michigan and committed to Penn State at the same time effectively making the switch and putting a smile on my face.
expectations: None, I'm good. When Fera did what he did to Michigan that was enough for me. Seriously though, it could be argued that this is our most important recruit in this class as I believe he starts game one as both kickoff specialist and place kicker.
I'll give you guys a couple of days to digest this before I breakdown our defensive signings.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Delaware's finest
Justin Brown, the top high school player from the state of Delaware, just selected Penn State over Rutgers. Justin is a big, fast wide receiver who should make an impact as a true freshman in 2009. The wide receiver position at Penn State in 2009 could seem a bit similar to what we saw in 2005 as we have three impact true freshmen who should see plenty of reps in 2009 at wide receiver in Curtis Drake, Shawney Kersey, and now Justin Brown. Big pick up for Penn State.
With this, the Penn State class of 2009 closes out with 27 players. Four of the 27 enrolled early, are at school now, and will be participating in the Blue/White game. The other 23 as of now are scheduled to arrive in the summer.
With this, the Penn State class of 2009 closes out with 27 players. Four of the 27 enrolled early, are at school now, and will be participating in the Blue/White game. The other 23 as of now are scheduled to arrive in the summer.
Other Big Ten schools
Other than Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, the rest of the Big Ten didn't do so hot this year when it came to landing the big time recruit. Michigan State got a good linebacker and two nice running backs. Illinois and Wisconsin each got a big play wideout. Minnesota got a very talented corner that switched his commitment from West Virginia today, and that's about it regarding the Little Brothers of the Big Ten.
It was like a dream come true
I knew it was over when Jelani Jenkins, going through his list of five finalists, looked up at the camera and smiled when he mentioned Florida. I hoped we were back in it when he said that Penn State was like a dream come true but in the end he felt it was more important to enjoy your time when you're awake in the warm weather than have a great time sleeping, dreaming. I have Jenkins as the nation's top outside linebacker and top linebacker overall. He's like a normal-sized LaVar Arrington. At Florida, Jenkins should receive immediate playing time in some capacity. Look for Jelani Jenkins to be a household name within SEC circles and on a national stage before he moves on to the NFL.
Start to Signing Day
Welcome to Signing Day everybody, and welcome to my new blog. The purpose of this blog is to give my friends information on Penn State recruiting, Penn State football, college football recruiting, and college football in general. I make my own rankings. I form my own opinions. I get as much information as I can and I get it from a variety of sources then I think for myself and form my own opinions.
Penn State enters today with 26 commits. We have two big fish left on the board. Jelani Jenkins, the nation's top linebacker, will be choosing around 11:00 AM ET between Penn State and Florida. Justin Brown, a WR who could make an impact as a true freshman, will be choosing between Penn State and Rutgers around 2:30 PM ET.
Updates all day.
Penn State enters today with 26 commits. We have two big fish left on the board. Jelani Jenkins, the nation's top linebacker, will be choosing around 11:00 AM ET between Penn State and Florida. Justin Brown, a WR who could make an impact as a true freshman, will be choosing between Penn State and Rutgers around 2:30 PM ET.
Updates all day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)