Recuitment Thoughts
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first, Shaw we? Michael Shaw, the running back who verbally committed to Penn State previously, did the switch and decided to go to Michigan along with a pair of his high school teammates. Other than that there wasn’t a whole lot of bad news for Penn State when it came to recruitment headlines yesterday.
Yes, the Class of 2008 consists of only 14 players, which is the lowest in the Big Ten (Ohio State is next lowest with 19), but perhaps this isn’t devastating. Yes, many of the high caliber players targeted by Penn State decided to go elsewhere, notably Deion Walker who went to Notre Dame, but I think Penn State did OK with what they got. Recruitment for the Class of 2009 though will need to be a lot more active as there will be some serious depth issues to work on.
No true blue chippers will go State College home, but there are a number of legitimate four star recruits coming to Happy Valley. The line backing corp, while not as flashy as schools like Miami or Ohio State (but in reality, are they ever?) has the potential to continue the hard working and nationally under loved style that Penn State tends to have. Michael Zordich’s son, Michael Zordich Jr., and Michael Mauti hi lite this area of the defense. Mike Yancich should be no slouch either. All are four star recruits.
The offense picked up a couple players that should receive early playing time. Brandon Beachum, running back, is the guy who will benefit the most from Shaw’s decision to go to Michigan, where he will likely be seeing the bench more often than the field. Shaw would have been great to have, so only picking up Beachum as the only running back is a disappointment. Beachum doesn’t have the speed I’d like to see, but he does have the body to wear down defenses apparently. Luckily the offense should be anchored by Rodney Kinlaw next season so there is time to add depth in the backfield, which should be addressed in 2009.
Mark Wedderburn, tight end, will probably have some pressure put on him to start producing quickly. Penn State has not really had a sure tight end that could play consistently since Kyle Brady. Putting Wedderburn in Brady’s company would be premature, but if he can hold on to the ball more often than not I’ll be happy. He is 6′5″ and 235 pounds, so he has some size to him. There are some blocking concerns with him, but I expect that with freshmen.
Other positives come from the defensive side of the ball as well. D’Anton Lynn, safety, stayed true to his commitment to PSU, overcoming the temptation to stay closer to his Texas home at Texas Tech or Baylor as well as rejecting the notion that he was going to USC. This is considerably good news considering the weakness of the secondary and defensive backs last season for the Nittany Lions. One of his strengths is tackling, which is good news for anyone who remembers the Michigan State game. Some questions about his size are fair as he is 6′1″ and 177 pounds but overall it is great news that Penn State didn’t lose Lynn on signing day.
One name that may have slipped under the radar a little bit with all of the thoughts surrounding Pryor and the small number of recruits is Jack Crawford, a 6′6″ 250 pound defensive end out of St. Augustine Prep in New Jersey. His down side is his pass rushing skills as well as his technique, but have faith in coach Larry Johnson to work on those areas with Crawford. They say he could play some tight end if needed because he is a great athlete. I would rather Wedderburn step up and be the man on that side of the ball and have Johnson work this kid into being a quick defensive threat that can shut down the outside and make sure spread offenses and off tackle rushers are limited in what they can do.
Penn State’s other commitments are A.J. Price (wide receiver), Brandon Ware (defensive tackle), Mike Farrell (offensive tackle), Pete Massaro (defensive tackle), and James Terry (defensive tackle). Overall there is some good quality players in this class. I wonder though, like many PSU fans, how much the recruiting process is being hurt by the very limited on-the-road-action Joe Paterno is putting in. Make no mistake he is 100% committed to the program, but he definitely has not been on the road as much as some younger guys like Jim Tressel, Nick Saban or Urban Meyer. Heck, even Pittsburgh is bringing in a trio of five star recruits (Penn State has zero)!
The opinions on the class will easily change should Pryor end up settling on Penn State, and at this point I think it is fair to say he would be “settling” for Penn State, but as of now I will take this class as a whole with very limited and contained excitement. Nobody really looks like they are stud players but it is hard to complain about many of them. The Class of 2009 though MUST be stocked of talented players and Penn State will likely have to bring in at least 20 players to address some serious depth issues after next season. Having Pryor would help in that process, but if we have to play with Pat Devlin I am fine with that as well. So I guess there is one question left to be answered.
What now?
The Blue White game is the next big day to look forward to as we will get a chance to see the competition between Devlin and Daryll Clark, if you do in fact believe there is a competition for the coveted starting quarterback position. Other than that we, along with Ohio State fans, Michigan fans, and apparently Oregon fans, will have to wait for the decision of Pryor. Once Pryor names his school we can all gather our thoughts and focus on what we already have in preparations for 2008.
Oh yeah. It is never too late to start looking forward to the Class of 2009, right? Or 2010 if you really want.
