I'm at a loss for words sometimes when I read what national sports writers have to say about college football. Not all but some have pinpointed 2009 as a rebuilding season for Penn State. I know we had a good season last year and I know we don't recruit like USC, but are you kidding? To those who think Penn State takes a major step back in 2009 the only question I have for you is what drugs are you on? Let's look at the facts and break it down. Historically, Penn State is at its best when it has a team full of quality seniors and non-returning juniors. The schedule also has to be taken into consideration. I believe 2009 will be as good or better of a year for Penn State football as 2008 was. I also believe that we will be taking a step back in 2010.
I am going to list the players who will be playing their final season for each of those seasons. To do this I have to make a few assumptions. I am assuming that Navorro Bowman will leave early for the NFL Draft which is a near lock at this point. I am also assuming that Evan Royster will do the same thing. Though it is a mere toss-up at this point, I assume that with the injuries to Stephfon Green and Brent Carter, Royster will receive enough carries and gain enough yards that he will impress and be a first day pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. I am assuming that Stefen Wisniewski stays for his senior year. Wiz is going to be switching from guard to center in 2009 and I feel like he will want two seasons under his belt at center before taking that step up. I am going to assume that Chris Colasanti redshirts in 2009. Colasanti will be behind two seniors at middle linebacker in Sean Lee and Josh Hull and the staff has yet to use Colasanti's redshirt; I think it happens this season. I am also assuming that Jerome Hayes will not be granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. While I'd love to see the Bayonne Bomber back to wreak havoc off the edge, I don't see it happening as the NCAA only typically grants such a request in cases when one specific injury keeps a player out for multiple seasons which is not the situation Hayes finds himself in.
Here are the players who will be playing their final season and also the two toughest road games on the schedule for each year:
2009
Darryl Clark
Evan Royster
James McDonald
Mickey Shuler
Andrew Quarless
Dennis Landolt
Nerraw McCormack
Ako Poti
Jared Odrick
Jerome Hayes
Sean Lee
Navorro Bowman
Josh Hull
A.J. Wallace
Knowledge Timmons
Devin Fentress
Jeremy Boone
at Illinois
at Michigan State
2010
Brent Carter
Brett Brackett
Graham Zug
Stefen Wisniewski
Lou Eliades
Doug Klopacz
Abe Koroma
Ollie Ogbu
Tom McEowen
Bani Gbadyu
Cedric Jeffries
at Alabama
at Ohio State
Look at those lists. It's not even close. Just look at the bolded players names from the 2009 list. And as far as the schedules go, Illinois and Michigan State compared to Alabama and Ohio State!?! Another significant discrepancy. Penn State fans gear up because THIS year is going to be a big one. WE ARE!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
O Line Recruiting
Here's the breakdown for offensive line recruiting for Penn State's 2010 class:
Seth Betancourt - when Mark Arcidiacono committed to Penn State this time last year the thinking was that it was nice but the big catch would be Arcidiacono's teammate and 2010 recruit Seth Betancourt. Whatever the reason, Betancourt never received the top offers from Penn State, Ohio State, or Notre Dame that it was assumed he would receive and without seeing any of them on the horizon Betancourt committed to Boston College. As recently as January, Betancourt was thought to be in the running for top player in the state of Pennsylvania among the 2010 kids. Though no games have been played since then, somehow his stock has plummeted. With Penn State's success recruiting offensive line in this class, it is safe to say that Betancourt will not be receiving an offer no matter how late in the game it gets.
Luke Graham - this future guard hails from outside of Pittsburgh. Graham was Penn State's first offensive line commitment for their 2010 class. Graham is an extremely athletic big man but desperately needs to put on size. While not an elite prospect, Graham has the potential to be a very good guard but Penn State fans are going to have to wait at least three years for that to happen as Graham is nowhere near ready to play college football. Pitt fans were disappointed to see Graham commit to Penn State as they thought they had a good shot at landing this prospect.
Tom Ricketts - this Pittsburgh product has the ideal size (6'6" with long arms) to play offensive tackle at the next level. Like Graham, Ricketts will not be seeing the field anytime soon at Penn State and needs to add weight, but Ricketts has the potential to really be special down the road. Pitt fans were on the ledge when they heard of his commitment to Penn State as Rickett's father, Tom Sr., played football at Pitt and later in the NFL.
Miles Dieffenbach - also hailing from Pittsburgh, Dieffenbach is more suited to play center or guard. Dieffenbach is an extremely smart football player with excellent footwork. Like Ricketts, Dieffenbach has a high ceiling and also like Ricketts, Dieffenbach also had a Florida State offer in hand when committing to the Nittany Lions. The Pitt fans who were on the ledge because of Ricketts jumped off said ledge when they heard about Dieffenbach commitment. Why? Dieffenbach's father, George, is the current and long-time women's tennis coach at Pitt. Dieffenbach has what it takes both physically and mentally to be a multi-year starter at center for Penn State.
Robby Havenstein - even though he holds an offer from Penn State, I believe this mammoth offensive tackle's ship has sailed regarding his place in the Nittany Lions 2010 class. This will be a small class with no more than 20 signees and between the three offensive line verbals from this class and the seven we took last year, we are just about done on the offensive line until the 2011 class comes around.
Arie Kouandjio - is Kouandjio better than Havenstein? Probably not, but there is a reason we would still welcome a commitment from this Maryland offensive tackle even though we are basically full on the offensive line at this point. Arie's brother Cyrus. Cyrus Kouandjio is a year behind brother Arie and plays the same position (OT) but instead of being a nice prospect like his brother, Cyrus is a future can't-miss-five-star-stud! It's only June but I will be keeping an eye on this one as it will be no doubt interesting to see how it all plays out.
Seth Betancourt - when Mark Arcidiacono committed to Penn State this time last year the thinking was that it was nice but the big catch would be Arcidiacono's teammate and 2010 recruit Seth Betancourt. Whatever the reason, Betancourt never received the top offers from Penn State, Ohio State, or Notre Dame that it was assumed he would receive and without seeing any of them on the horizon Betancourt committed to Boston College. As recently as January, Betancourt was thought to be in the running for top player in the state of Pennsylvania among the 2010 kids. Though no games have been played since then, somehow his stock has plummeted. With Penn State's success recruiting offensive line in this class, it is safe to say that Betancourt will not be receiving an offer no matter how late in the game it gets.
Luke Graham - this future guard hails from outside of Pittsburgh. Graham was Penn State's first offensive line commitment for their 2010 class. Graham is an extremely athletic big man but desperately needs to put on size. While not an elite prospect, Graham has the potential to be a very good guard but Penn State fans are going to have to wait at least three years for that to happen as Graham is nowhere near ready to play college football. Pitt fans were disappointed to see Graham commit to Penn State as they thought they had a good shot at landing this prospect.
Tom Ricketts - this Pittsburgh product has the ideal size (6'6" with long arms) to play offensive tackle at the next level. Like Graham, Ricketts will not be seeing the field anytime soon at Penn State and needs to add weight, but Ricketts has the potential to really be special down the road. Pitt fans were on the ledge when they heard of his commitment to Penn State as Rickett's father, Tom Sr., played football at Pitt and later in the NFL.
Miles Dieffenbach - also hailing from Pittsburgh, Dieffenbach is more suited to play center or guard. Dieffenbach is an extremely smart football player with excellent footwork. Like Ricketts, Dieffenbach has a high ceiling and also like Ricketts, Dieffenbach also had a Florida State offer in hand when committing to the Nittany Lions. The Pitt fans who were on the ledge because of Ricketts jumped off said ledge when they heard about Dieffenbach commitment. Why? Dieffenbach's father, George, is the current and long-time women's tennis coach at Pitt. Dieffenbach has what it takes both physically and mentally to be a multi-year starter at center for Penn State.
Robby Havenstein - even though he holds an offer from Penn State, I believe this mammoth offensive tackle's ship has sailed regarding his place in the Nittany Lions 2010 class. This will be a small class with no more than 20 signees and between the three offensive line verbals from this class and the seven we took last year, we are just about done on the offensive line until the 2011 class comes around.
Arie Kouandjio - is Kouandjio better than Havenstein? Probably not, but there is a reason we would still welcome a commitment from this Maryland offensive tackle even though we are basically full on the offensive line at this point. Arie's brother Cyrus. Cyrus Kouandjio is a year behind brother Arie and plays the same position (OT) but instead of being a nice prospect like his brother, Cyrus is a future can't-miss-five-star-stud! It's only June but I will be keeping an eye on this one as it will be no doubt interesting to see how it all plays out.
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