Recruiting Update

Not last weekend but the weekend before, Penn State had a big recruiting weekend that ended with three public verbals. I say public verbals because it is thought that at least one other prospect ended his recruitment that weekend in a silent verbal.

The three:

Evan Hailes - a big defensive tackle from Virginia who chose Penn State over many offers including Virginia Tech, Tennessee and LSU.

DaQuan Jones - a big defensive tackle from New York who chose Penn State over many offers including Boston College, Maryland and NC State.

Levi Norwood - a skinny wide receiver from Texas, Levi is Jordan Norwood's younger brother. (The Norwoods moved to Texas a year ago when Brian Norwood took the job of defensive coordinator at Baylor after being safeties coach for Penn State.) Despite not playing football his junior year of high school, Levi earned an offer by catching the ball well while camping at Penn State. Levi is taller (6'2") than brother Jordan and I believe he could be a similar type of player on the field and an asset to the program off the field.

Hailes and Jones are both big and powerful football players. The consensus among experts seems to be that Jones may be a shade better than Hailes despite not having as impressive of an offer list. This is due to the fact that Hailes hails from talent-rich Virginia while Jones is from New York. Despite Penn State bringing in two big time defensive tackles, Penn State is still very much in it for the big fish in Philadelphia's Sharrif Floyd. Floyd is one of the nation's elite defensive tackles as evidenced from his receiving five stars from all of the recruiting websites. Don't expect Floyd to make a college decision any time soon.

Speaking of soon, Penn State could very well have another huge recruiting weekend this coming weekend. Friday is the annual Lift for Life and many top prospects are scheduled to be there and rumored to be making a public announcement. Look for possible verbal commitments to Penn State from Michigan quarterback Robert Bolden, State College wide receiver Alex Kenney, New Jersey tight end Kevin Haplea, Manheim defensive end/outside linebacker Dakota Royer, and Connecticut outside linebacker Khairi Fortt (a truly elite prospect).