A look at 2014 recruiting thus far.

In college football the recruiting process never ends. Coaches recruit year around, and they always get help from recruits (look at Breneman and Hackenberg last year). Recruiting is the life blood of a good college football program. Without good recruiting class, no matter how good of coaching you may have, you will not be a successful program.

Coach O’Brien and his staff are off to a great start with the 2014 recruiting class. The class, which has a limit of 15 commitments due to NCAA sanctions, currently sits at 9 players. However, some of these players will enroll early and count toward the 2013 class freeing up a few more spaces in this class.

WR Troy Apke.

This class is highlighted this far by a trio of 4 star recruits in the form of defensive back Marcus Allen, and WRs Troy Apke and Chris Godwin. Penn State has also done a good job of targeting two of their biggest positions of need so far in this class, those two positions are linebacker and defensive back. So far the Nittany Lions have added a pair of linebackers in Troy Reeder, and their latest commit, Jake Wangler. Reeder hails from Delaware, and Wangler from Michigan. Both are 3 star recruits, even though I feel Reeder is very underrated and one of the better linebackers in this year’s class. The Nittany Lions have also added a pair of DBs in safety Marcus Allen and CB Daquan Worley. Allen is a huge get for the Nittany Lions as he is undoubtedly one of the top 20 defensive backs in this year’s class. Penn State may also be getting another huge boost in the secondary as they are one of the 3 favorites, along with Michigan and Stanford, to land the nation’s top CB New Jersey native Jabrill Peppers. Penn State also appears to be the front runner to land 4 star DB Troy Vincent Jr., the son of the former NFL All-Pro safety. Vincent’s decision on where he will play college football should be known within the next week or so.

However there are still two big areas of need Penn State needs to address, defensive line and offensive line. Now defensive line is a much bigger need right now than offensive line. But this class that currently consist of 3 WRs, 2 DBs, 2 LBs, and 2 RBs has neither of both. Penn State has 6 spots left to fill in this class, and will add 3 or 4 linemen, at least, between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Penn State remains hot on the trail of Nashville, Tennessee, offensive tackle Alex Bars, the brother of current Nittany Lion Brad Bars. Also Alexandria, Virginia, native 3 star DT Jeremiah Clarke recently named Penn State as one of his  finalists. The Nittany Lions also appear to be well on their way to landing Scranton native defensive end Noah Beh. There is also JUCO offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, who is arguably the top JUCO player in this year’s class, who Penn State is hot on the trails of. In the end the Nittany Lions will add 4 or 5 linemen in this class, and just a question of who.

One thing this class already has a ton of is offensive weapons for Christian Hackenberg to play with in the coming years. Along with Apke and Godwin there is also a pair of extremely talented running backs in Nick Scott and Mark Allen, even though Scott could possibly end up at slot receiver. There is also athlete De’Andre Thompkins, who will almost assuredly end up at WR. Thompkis is very fast and very quick in the open field, and is someone that is very good at making tacklers miss. He will be a great addition to the offense in a few years.

Bill O’Brien and his staff continue to do a great job of recruiting despite NCAA sanctions. Last year they pulled in a top 30 recruiting class, and appear to be well on their way to doing so again. This year’s class currently sits 11^th nationally according to Scout, 14^th according to 24/7 Sports, and also 14^th according to our good friends over at ESPN. You pair good recruiting classes with top notch coaching like the Nittany Lions have, and you’re going to have a very successful program. I cannot wait to see both these players in Nittany Lion uniforms, but also how well this staff can/will recruit once the sanctions are over.




P.S.
Only 110 days until the Nittany Lions travel to the Meadow Lands to take on Syracuse in the season opener…..WE ARE!

Looking at the Nittany Lions who were drafted.

Three Penn State Nittany Lions were selected in this past weekend’s NFL Draft. Defensive tackle Jordan Hill came off the board first, going in the 3^rd round to the Seattle Seahawks. He was followed by linebacker Gerald Hodges who the Minnesota Vikings took in the 4^th round. Last, but certainly not least, was one of the most popular players in the long and storied history of Penn State football linebacker Michael Mauti who went in the 7^th round also to the Vikings. All three of these guys have tremendous upside in the NFL, and all have the chance to make an early impact on very good teams.

Jordan Hill
The former All-Big Ten defensive tackle joins a crowded, and talented, Seahawks defensive line. At 6’1 292 pounds Hill might be a tad undersized in the eyes of some, but he uses his great leverage and lower body power to his advantage to control larger offensive linemen. There were some games during his Penn State career where Hill just absolutely took over, with the season finale against Wisconsin last year quickly coming to mind. The Seahawks are arguably the league’s most physical team, and Hill will fit right in there. Seattle is also neck and neck with the San Francisco 49ers for being the NFC’s best team, at least in my opinion. The Seahawks return 6 defensive tackles from last season, and also drafted Alabama DT Jesse Williams in the 5^th round of the draft, however I certainly see hill sticking with the Seahawks. Of their 6 returning defensive tackles three of them are age 28 or older, so Seattle will be looking to get younger. Hill may not play a ton right away, but I could certainly see him spelling in on the defensive line this season and working his way into a position to be a starter in another year or two. Hill also will play with Penn State legend Michael Robinson, who is an All-Pro fullback for the Seahawks, and he will have a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl Ring his rookie season.

Gerald Hodges
The 6’1 240 pound Hodges could prove to be a nice steal for the Vikings in the 4^th round. I projected Hodges as a 2^nd or 3^rd round pick. He is a great tackler, has outstanding football instincts, a nose for the ball, and is a great athlete. Remember he started out as a safety at Penn State after playing quarterback in high school. Minnesota is a team that has a dire need at linebacker, and my second favorite NFL team so I follow them pretty closely. This might be a bit of a bold prediction, but, not only do I think Hodges have an outstanding chance at starting as a rookie in the fall I think that he will. I am predicting right now that Gerald Hodges will be the Minnesota Vikings starting outside linebacker by season’s end. Minnesota is a team that came out of nowhere last year to go 10-6 and make the playoffs, thanks in large part to NFL MVP Adrian Peterson and his 2,000+ rushing yards, so Hodges finds himself in a good position. He also gets to work with a great coach in Leslie Frazier. Out of the three Nittany Lions that were drafted this past weekend, I personally believe Hodges has the brightest future of them all in the NFL. The Vikings only have 6 linebackers on their roster, and Chad Greenway and Erin Henderson are the only ones with any real playing experience, this also factors into my prediction that Hodges will end up a starter for the Vikings this season. Minnesota got great value with Hodges as a 4^th round pick.

Gerald Hodges (6) and Michael Mauti (42) will remain teammates in the NFL.

Michael Mauti
This could end up as one of the biggest steals of the entire draft. In 2012 Mauti was both a first team All-Big Ten and All-American linebacker. Michael appeared to be well on his way to being a first round draft pick, until he tore his ACL, for a third time, against Indiana in the next to last game of the season. This caused Mauti’s draft stock to plummet, even more than I thought it would, and he fell into the Vikings lap in the 7^th round. As I said above, the Vikings currently have just 6 linebackers on their roster. This helps Michael immensely, as if he needs any help. He will have a chance to contribute right away, both at linebacker and on special teams. Another thing working into his favor is the fact he is very versatile. At Penn State he played all 3 linebacker positions, and Minnesota needs help at 2 of the 3. Mauti is also the definition of hard work, character, and heart. Michael will show up to Vikings training camp in late July ready to work his tail end off to earn himself playing time. I could see Mauti contributing right away on special teams, and possibly even on defense. The big question will be health, and rather his knee is 100% by the start of the season. All along he has vowed it will be, and if it is, he’ll find his way onto the field. Michael Mauti is one of the most popular PSU players of all-time, and did a lot for this program to help keep the team together when the sanctions were brought down last summer. Because of this, I feel like he helped the Minnesota Vikings gain a lot of new fans today.

Steven Bench is transferring, now what?

Steven Bench (12) and Tyler Ferguson (5) in the Blue White Game.

As I am sure you have all heard by now sophomore quarterback Steven Bench is transferring. This is something that I do not think anyone saw coming. Bench was in a battle with JUCO transfer Tyler Ferguson to be the Nittany Lions signal caller in the fall, and had the advantage of already having been on campus for a year and knowing the offense inside and out. Adding to the confusion was Bench's Tweet that announced his departure. In the Tweet Bench said "I've decided to leave Penn State and go to a school that will give me the opportunity to compete for the QB spot and reach my full potential", uhhhh pretty sure you were in a battle to start here. Whatever, Ferguson is more talented anyway.

Rumor was that Bench met with Head Coach Bill O'Brien on Tuesday night, and that O'Brien told Bench that Ferguson was ahead of him in the QB battle. Also, the rumor went, that Bench was told he would be bumped down to third string QB once prized recruit Christian Hackenberg arrives on campus in June. While these rumors became fact later on in the day as Bench's father had a few quotes clearing things up. His father said, "Coach O'Brien essentially said ... that the other two guys have a bigger upside." Well I agree 100% with BOB here. Nothing against Bench, who is a talented QB in his own right, but Ferguson and Hackenberg are both much more talented in my opinion. Bench's father also said, "He embraced Penn State. I feel like the fans and the people there at the school embraced him." Steven, I wish you the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Anyway on to looking at the QB situation now. Tyler Ferguson will, obviously, now enter the summer months as the front runner to be the starting QB. I've predicted ever since he transferred to Penn State in January that he would be the starter this year, while Hackenberg got redshirted. While redshirting Hackenberg is now more challenging, getting through the season with just one scholarship quarterback, Ferguson, would not be easy. However it is doable.

The Nittany Lions could start Tyler Ferguson, while allowing run-ons Austin Whipple and DJ Crook battle it out for the back up spot. Whichever one of the two ends up the back up could then be assigned mop up duty in games that are blow outs. Where you could really run into trouble is if Ferguson were to get hurt. If that happens you're down to two run-ons as your lone QBs, unless you burn Hackenberg's redshirt. It may be a risky move to still try and redshirt Hackenberg, but this football program is in unchartered territory and needs to take some risks.

In the end I think there are just too many positives to redshirting Hackenberg. First and foremost the Nittany Lions will have two years of bowl eligibility, not one, with Hackenberg under center if he redshirts. Also it allows him to come in and sit for a year, study the playbook, and master the offense inside and out. The biggest issue, however, is the fact that I do not like starting true freshman at quarterback. It can have negative effects on even the most talented players, cough Rob Bolden cough. Now yes Hackenberg is much better than Bolden, even though Bolden was a top 5 QB recruit himself, but that is a risk I'd rather not take. Let Hackenberg sit for a year, master the offense, then begin to let him take the Big Ten by storm in 2014. Some of his top targets over the next few years Adam Breneman, Chris Godwin, DeaSean Hamilton, Troy Apke all won't be on the field until 2014 anyway because they're either going to be redshirted or are in the 2014 recruiting class.

In the end I think the starting QB battle still shakes out the same, and Tyler Ferguson is the starter. However, now that Bench is gone, look for run-ons DJ Crook and Austin Whipple to battle for the back up position. Also look for the coaching staff to be a little more hesitant about redshirting Hackenberg. Even though I really think they still want to, and will still try their best to. Oh, and worst of all, our poll question is now null and void. Especially since Bench was the leading vote getter.

Welcome to Happy Valley De'Andre Thompkins.

In wake of the Blue White Game yesterday Penn State picked up a new commitment, and a big one. Swansboro, North Carolina, athlete De'Andre Thompkins. Currently Thompkins is a 3 star recruit on Rivals and Scout, but when they redo their rankings this summer he'll pick up a fourth star. ESPN also has him ranked as the 54th best player in the country, which is very impressive.

Thompkins was offered by Penn State way back in November. Following this he visited campus for the Wisconsin game last year, talk about the perfect game to have a big recruit in town for. De'Andre then followed all of this up by attending the Blue White Game yesterday. Following the game he Tweeted that he was committing to Penn State.

The 6'1 170 pound Thompkins has the ability to play WR and DB in college. Even though Penn State is thin in the secondary, I expect him to end up at WR. He is an explosive player that has the ability to be a phenomenal play maker. Thompkins owns a 4.4 40 yard dash, and he displays it in games quite often.

Last season he largely played running back and rushed for over 1,300 yards and 10 TDs, while also returning 5 kick offs for touchdowns. So look for BOB to also use him in the return game. De'Andre will play in the Under Armor All-American game in January, he has already received and accepted an offer to play in the game. Also, again showing off his good speed, as a sophomore Thompkins finished in the 400 meters at the North Carolina track and field state championships.

De'Andre is very much a Penn State guy as well. On top of his outstanding football ability, he also owns a 3.8 GPA. This goes along with being a very down to earth and humble kid. I can not wait to see him in Blue and White. De'Andre, welcome to Penn State! WE ARE!

Some quick notes from the Blue White Game.

Just some quick notes from today's Blue White Game. Between watching the Pens game and studying for finals didn't catch the entire game, but here are my observations from what saw. Will re-watch it tomorrow and have a more in depth review this week.

QB Battle
- Bench and Ferguson were both 9-15. Bench had 9 more yards, and Ferguson one more TD.
- As the game progressed Bench seemed to settle into the offense more and feel more comfortable. Even though neither really separated themselves, I'm going to guess Bench is the current front runner between the two.

Who Impressed
- Akeel Lynch looked great running the ball, him and Zwinak will be a great 1-2 punch this season.
- On the offensive line John Urschell looks like he is picking up where he left off last season when he was an all-conference performer. Miles Diffenbach also looked very good, so did new center Ty Howle.
- Kyle Baublitz looked pretty good at DT. He will start along side Da'Quan Jones this year, and will need to have a good year due to lack of depth for Penn State at DT.
- Redshirt freshman TE Brent Wilkerson had a good game, adding to Penn State's great TE depth.
- Trevor Williams looked very good at his new position of safety, Malik Golden also looked solid at safety. Those two will probably see a lot of playing time in the fall in the secondary backing up Willis and Obeng-Agyapong.
- Adrian Amos was playing safety and corner, and looked very comfortable at both.
- Redshirt freshman DT Austin Johnson led the defense with 5 tackles and 2 sacks. He could play a very big role on the defense this year with the huge lack of depth at DT. Keep an eye on him.

Injuries
- Zach Zwinak suffered a left wrist injury the first offensive series, and spent the rest of the game icing it. Probably nothing major.
- Bill Belton, Garry Giliam, Adam Breneman, Kyle Carter, Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, Da'Quan Jones, and Matt Lehman all missed the game due to injury. But they all should be 100% come summer.
- Other Zwinak there were no other injuries today.

BOB Postgame
- O'Brien said he will not use two quarterbacks this season, and fully expects Hackenberg to compete for the starting job once he arrives this summer.
- BOB is flying to Chicago on Monday for B1G coaches meeting about NCAA recruiting rules, he said "that will be exciting."
- BOB called Mike Hull on of the best all around players on the team, leads by example on and off the field.

3 things to watch for in the Blue-White Game Saturday.

Bill O'Brien will coach his second Blue White Game as Nittany Lions head coach this Saturday.

As you all know, I assume/hope, the annual Blue White Game is this Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The game is slated for noon kickoff, and for those, like myself, who are unable to attend it will be on the Big Ten Network. This is always the most excited weekend of the spring in Happy Valley, and fans get their first look at that upcoming season's Nittany Lions squad. So as everyone prepares for a weekend of tailgating, football, and soaking in the sun, weather permitting, after a long winter here are 3 things to keep an eye on come Saturday.

The QB BattleLet's be honest, there has been no bigger question all offseason than who will be the starting QB this fall. Sophomore Steven Bench? JUCO transfer Tyler Ferguson? The touted recruit Christian Hackenberg? There are options there for Bill O'Brien and his staff, but the question is which one of the options will rise up and take the reigns like Matt McGloin did a year ago. Bench has been on campus for nearly a full calendar year now, and played sparingly in relief of McGloin a year ago, and has the advantage in that he knows O'Brien's complicated offensive system inside and out. Ferguson has been on campus since January, and is the more talented of the two quarterbacks between himself and Bench, but as we saw last year with Matt McGloin and Paul Jones in BOB's offense being the QB that knows the system better is arguably more important than being the more talented of the two. Then there is the prized jewel of the 2013 recruiting class, the nation's top pro-style quarterback Christian Hackenberg. Hack will not arrive on campus until June, so since he will not be partaking in the Blue White Game we're going to leave him out of the discussion for now.

O'Brien has said that Bench and Ferguson have been pretty even throughout the spring. Both QBs have shown their strengths, and both have shown weaknesses. Now while it is no guarantee either of these guys start due to Hackenberg, I feel confident one of them will. The coaching staff would like to redshirt Hackenberg, and will do everything in their power to do so. In the end I think Ferguson gets the starting job, but this is a real toss up. I say Ferguson simply because he is the more talented of the two QBs. Bench is more athletic and knows the offense inside and out, but Ferguson can throw better on the run and has a stronger arm. In the end I think Ferguson's talent wins out, but this weekend we should begin to get a feel for who the starting QB will be come August 31st.

Player's At New Positions

Trevor Williams (21), with Matt McGloin last season.

Garry Gilliam, Nate Cadogan, Trevor Williams, Malik Golden are all guys who have switched positions this offseason, and all have the chance to make an impact at their new positions in the fall. Gilliam has moved from TE to OT, and should compete with Eric Shrive and Adam Gress for the starting RT position. Hampering Gilliam, however, is the fact he has a hamstring issue and will not play on Saturday. In the end I think Gress winds up the starter there. Cadogan moved from OT to DT, a position where PSU is very thin. After starters Da'Quan Jones and Kyle Baubilitz PSU has no players with game experience at DT. LJ will certainly have his work cut out for him this season. Due to this lack of depth you could see Cadogan get some reps at DT in game this fall. He's a player to watch on Saturday to see how many reps he gets with the starting defense.

Trevor Williams and Malik Golden have both moved from WR to safety. Williams' move came as a bit of a surprise. While Golden was redshirted a year ago, Williams was used as a return man and caught 10 balls for 97 yards. Both players are very fast, Williams might be the fastest player on the roster, and both have the skill set needed to be good safeties. Both players are 6'1, and Williams weighs in at 180 pounds and Golden at 186. This is good size for a safety, for comparison starting safeties Malcolm Willis and Stephen Obeng-Agyapong are both under  feet tall. However, both weigh over 200 pounds so it would be beneficial for Williams and Golden to bulk up a bit more this summer which I am sure Fitz will have them do. While both players have been credited with being successful with the move to safety this spring, Golden has really been receiving praise. Golden many times in practice has covered defending Big Ten WR of the Year Allen Robinson, and done a good job of holding his own. Golden has also received praise on his physicality at the safety position, which is a very important attribute for any safety to have. With Stephen Obeng-Agyapong out until this summer with a shoulder issue, both Williams and Golden will get a lot of reps with the starting defense on Saturday. It will be a good chance for both of them to make their case for playing time in the fall, and with Penn State's lack of depth at safety the door is wide open for this two to step in and get plenty of playing time.

The Expanding OffenseBill O'Brien said last week that last year's offense was just a "foundation." Now what these means, no one really knows. However, what we do know, is that this season O'Brien is going to expand what is already one of the most complex offenses in college football. Those poor, poor offense players. Now how much of this expanded offense will we see Saturday? Again, no one really knows. Remember, last year in the spring game we did not see even a sliver of what we saw in the regular season. I imagine this spring will be the same. But keep your eyes open for some wrinkles on offense this Saturday, and be prepared for many more of them come this fall. This offense, which was already fun to watch as a fan and tough to stop as a coach, is going to be a hell of a lot more fun to watch and a hell of a lot harder to stop. What a pleasant change from the past.

Only 136 days until the Nittany Lions battle Syracuse in the season opener.....WE ARE....

Spring football update.

The Penn State football team is now 10 practices deep into spring ball. The Blue White Game now sits just 9 days away (April 20th at noon on BTN). For those who may be looking for some news and notes from spring practices, I've got good news, I'm about to give you some!

Injuries
- Both starting safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, who had shoulder surgery the week after the season finale against Wisconsin last year, and TE Kyle Carter, who is recovering from a broken wrist, have been kept out of all contact drills thus far. However both of them fully expect to be 100% by the summer, and surely will be ready to go for Syracuse on August 31st.

Who Has Impressed
- Redshirt freshman WR Eugene Lewis, the prized jewel of the 2012 recruiting class, has had an awesome spring. Players and coaches alike have raved about how impressive he has been, look for him to play a big role in the Nittany Lions' offense this season.
- Redshirt freshman running back Akeel Lynch has also been extremely impressive. Lynch opened a lot of eyes, mine included, last year in camp after arriving on campus in June. How Penn State, Boston College, and Oklahoma were his only BCS Conference scholarship offers still blows my mind. This kid is going to be a hell of a running back. Look for him to get his fair share of reps this fall, even with 1,000 yard back Zack Zwinak returning.
- Redshirt freshman, notice a trend yet, Malik Golden. Golden was moved from WR to safety this offseason to help with secondary depth issues. So far the move has worked out very well. With Obeng-Agyapong on the shelf recovering from shoulder surgery he has seen a lot of reps with the first defense and taken advantage of it. Even Obeng-Agyapong has praised how quickly Golden has adapted to safety, and how physical he has been. He's even been drawing the deed of covering reigning Big Ten WR of the Year Allen Robinson, and has done a fine job against him.
- New defensive coordinator John Butler. Countless defensive players have said how much they love Butler's passion and love for the game. Plus his knowledge of the game that he brings to the table. I think Butler is one of the better young, unknown assistants in the game. Penn State is lucky to have had him to plug him in for the departed Ted Roof.

Other Notes
- BOB has said right now Steven Bench and Tyler Ferguson are "about even" in the battle for the starting QB job. Remember this could all change, however, once Hack arrives on campus in June.
- BOB has been much more vocal and stricter at practices this year. He is taking a lot less BS. Not letting the players get away with as many screw ups in practice as last spring. An example of this is about a week ago Adrian Amos made a mistake in a DB/WR drill and O'Brien got right in his face about, and then ran up and down the field with him as he repeated the drill. Not everyone likes this coaching style, but I do.
- Look for the starting offensive line to be Donovan Smith and Adam Gress at the tackles, John Urschell and Miles Dieffenbach at the guards, and Ty Howle at center. That has the makings of an outstanding offensive line, especially since 4 of the 5 are returning starters.
- Players that have switched positions include Garry Gilliam going from TE to OT, Nate Cadogan going from OT to DT, Malik Golden going from WR to S, Trevor Williams going from WR to S, and Tyler Lucas going from QB to WR.

Only 108 days until the Nittany Lions travel to the Meadow Lands to take on Syracuse.......WE ARE.