P
enn State hosted more than 30
prospects July 28 for the annual Lasch
Bash barbecue.
Compared to recent years, the total
number of attendees was down a bit,
mainly due to the new dead period rules.
The NCAA lengthened the July dead pe-
riod from two to four weeks this year, and
because of that change, many of Penn
State's regional rivals were hosting
prospects that same weekend.
The sta< ultimately earned just one
commitment that day, with three-star
wide receiver Emery Simmons announc-
ing plans to attend Penn State. But the
event set up the Nittany Lions for many
more commitments down the road. They
received one of those commiments on
Aug. 7, when oer Franklin
and his assistants were allowed to initi-
ate conversations with players in his
class. However, it wasn't until the end of
January, when Penn State hired an assis-
tant coach that his father knew, that the
Nittany Lions became serious players in
Johnson's recruitment.
"I don't think people give Coach Sei-
der enough credit when it comes to his
impact on me," Johnson said. "When he
got there, that's when he really got on
me and I trusted him right away because
I've known him for a long time.
"So, that's when I really started falling
in love with the program and realized
that this was a really good ;t for me. He
may be the biggest reason why I ulti-
mately fell in love with the place. He re-
ally showed me what Penn State is all
about."
Of the scholarship oer he took his spring semester ;-
nals at Lackawanna. That's when the
Nittany Lions became the team to beat.
Last season, Whigan not only started
as a freshman at Lackawanna, which is
rare, but he also played both right and
le> tackle for the Falcons. He could also
play inside if needed at PSU.
"His versatility is one of the main
things that Penn State really likes about
him," Pardini said. "He's played tackle
for us, and I think that's where he'll
probably start out at Penn State, but he's
quick enough to pull and play inside if
they need him there, so he really helps
out from that perspective. He's a bright
guy, too. He picks up on things quickly.
He's very coachable."
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BY RYAN SNYDER
snyder42088@gmail.com
