Blue White Illustrated

ally wants these guys to enroll early to make sure they get off to a great start academically," said Brian Breneman, Adam's father. "With Adam's knee, we know we won't be doing too much until he's back to being 100 percent. So right now, it really is about getting off to a great start in his classes." Breneman's knee injury actually influenced him to make the decision to enroll early at Penn State. Originally, he had planned to play one more season of high school basketball, but those plans changed when he tore his ACL in June. Jordan Smith of Washington, D.C., will be Breneman's roommate for their first semester. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound cornerback was forced to sit out his senior season after being ruled ineligible due to a late transfer to H.D. Woodson High School last winter. A two-star prospect as rated by Rivals, Smith spent the fall practicing with his Woodson teammates throughout the week. He worked out with personal trainer and defensive back guru Roman Morris – father of former Nittany Lion defensive back Stephon Morris. He also has family ties to former receiver Derrick Williams. Another early enrollee who had previous ties to Penn State is Richy Anderson, a native of Frederick, Md. After switching his verbal commitment from Maryland to Penn State in late October, the athlete went on to finish his senior season with 666 yards rushing on 136 carries – good for 4.9 yards per carry and six touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 341 yards, averaging 14.2 yards per carry and four touchdowns. Anderson could play either running back or slot receiver in college. Maybe the biggest sleeper in this group of early enrollees is Anthony Smith, a native of Randolph, N.J. Following his high school career at Pope John XXIII in Sparta, N.J., Smith decided to attend Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa. Playing quarterback and cornerback, the 6-foot-1, 186-pound athlete shined in the prep school setting, earning an offer from Massachusetts before Penn State threw its hat into the race. He received a Penn State offer soon after and verbally committed to O'Brien and his staff during an official visit on the weekend of Dec. 7-9. Quarterback was of the most glaring needs heading into winter workouts, forcing O'Brien and assistant coach Charlie Fisher to bring in three signal callers. Junior college prospect Tyler Ferguson has enrolled at Penn State and along with Steven Bench is one of only two quarterbacks on scholarship this spring. Ferguson gained interest from multiple Division I programs on the West Coast during high school. He broke his collarbone halfway J A N U A R Y PENN STATE COMMITMENTS* NAME POS HT Richy Anderson RB Brandon Bell WT 40 HOME SCHOOL 5-11 180 - Frederick, Md. Thomas Johnson LB 6-1 224 4.6 Mays Landing, N.J. Oakcrest Adam Breneman TE 6-5 220 – Camp Hill, Pa. Cedar Cliff Curtis Cothran DE 6-5 225 – Newtown, Pa. Council Rock North Parker Cothren DT 6-5 265 4.95 Hazel Green, Ala. Hazel Green Tyler Ferguson QB 6-5 210 – College of the Sequoias Kasey Gaines DB 5-10 160 4.44 Loganville, Ga. Grayson Christian Hackenberg QB 6-4 215 4.84 Fork Union, Va. Fork Union Military Academy DaeSean Hamilton Ath. 6-0 182 4.57 Stafford, Va. Mountain View Tanner Hartman OL 6-4 247 4.9 Liberty Christian Academy Zayd Issah LB 6-3 205 4.57 Harrisburg, Pa. Central Dauphin Brendan Mahon OL 6-5 302 – Randolph, N.J. Randolph Andrew Nelson OL 6-5 265 – Hershey, Pa. Hershey Neiko Robinson DB 5-11 170 4.51 Bratt, Fla. Northview Garrett Sickels DE 6-4 225 4.7 Little Silver, N.J. Red Bank Regional Anthony Smith DB 6-1 186 - Randolph, N.J. Valley Forge Military Jordan Smith DB 6-0 180 4.5 Washington, D.C. H.D. Woodson Bakersfield, Calif. Lynchburg, Va. * As of Jan. 16 through his senior season season, though, leaving him without any written scholarship offers. So he enrolled at College of Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., for one season. In his first and only season, he threw for 2,614 yards, 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He committed to Penn State on Dec. 19 and enrolled in January to help prepare for spring practice and to focus on academics. Ferguson has three remaining years of eligibility and a redshirt. Quarterbacks D.J. Crook and Austin Whipple round out the group of early enrollees. Both will walk on after completing successful seasons in prep school. Whipple, who is from Pittsburgh, is the son of Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound pro-style quarterback played his prep school football at Salisbury School in Connecticut. Crook, originally from Hyannis, Mass., attended Worcester Academy where he earned an invitation to walk on at Penn State. He received one offer coming out of high school – from Holy Cross – even though he threw for 8,126 yards and 77 touchdowns in his career. Crook and Whipple will be roommates this semester. 1 6 , 2 0 1 3 2 LB Walton no longer a Penn State target Jonathan Walton, who verbally committed to Penn State on Dec. 9, reopened his recruitment in January. After picking up offers from Auburn, South Carolina and Tennessee, the native of Daphne, Ala., decided to take additional official visits before making his final decision on signing day (Feb. 6). In turn, Penn State has decided to no longer recruit the two-star linebacker. Multiple sources told Blue White Illustrated Walton is not high enough on the coaching staff's recruiting board to hold PSU "hostage." Sources also confirmed that Penn State is no longer recruiting athlete Deondre Singleton of Lawrenceville, Ga. Defensive lineman Parker Cothren, who committed to PSU on Nov. 11, also recently garnered offers from Auburn, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. But his father confirmed to Rivals.com that he will follow through with his commitment to the Nittany Lions. – R.S. 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