Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/109500
WHERE HE VISITED Bell garnered 16 scholarship offers, including offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia. The Scarlet Knights were Penn State���s main competition. Bell visited Piscataway on June 11, but three days later he chose the Nittany Lions and hasn���t looked back. WHO OPENED THE DOOR Ron Vanderlinden led the recruiting charge and really stepped up the communication in the immediate aftermath of the NCAA sanctions. Bill O���Brien did his part, too, sitting down for a meeting in his office in August with Bell and his father. QUOTABLE Bell: ���It has great academics. Penn State is also Linebacker U, so that���s a big deal to me. I know it���s just going to be a great place for me over the next few years ��� not just for football but for everything.��� PHIL���S TAKE I had Bell rated as one of the top four linebackers in the Northeast at the beginning of the 2012 season. I believe he���s capable of playing either inside linebacker or the Sam outside linebacker position in Penn State���s 4-3 defensive alignment. He has the frame to play at 235 to 240 pounds in college. Bell meets the requirements that Ron Vanderlinden demands from his linebackers. He has good speed and plays the game from sideline to sideline. With Glenn Carson graduating following the 2013 season, I expect Bell to begin his career at middle linebacker. PENN STATE SIGNEES 40 HOME SCHOOL WR 5-11 171 ��� Frederick, Md. Thomas Johnson Brandon Bell LB 6-1 222 4.6 Mays Landing, N.J. Oakcrest Adam Breneman TE 6-4 230 ��� Camp Hill, Pa. Cedar Cliff Curtis Cothran DE 6-5 235 ��� Newtown, Pa. Council Rock North Parker Cothren DT 6-5 265 4.95 Hazel Green, Ala. Hazel Green Tyler Ferguson QB 6-3 199 ��� Bakersfield, Calif. College of the Sequoias Kasey Gaines DB 5-10 160 4.5 Loganville, Ga. Grayson 6-3 215 4.84 Palmyra, Va. Fork Union Military Academy DaeSean Hamilton WR 6-1 182 4.57 Stafford, Va. Mountain View Tanner Hartman OL 6-5 255 4.9 Liberty Christian Academy Zayd Issah LB 6-3 215 4.55 Harrisburg, Pa. Central Dauphin Brendan Mahon OL 6-4 315 ��� Randolph, N.J. Randolph ADAM BRENEMAN Andrew Nelson OL 6-5 295 ��� Hershey, Pa. Hershey TE, 6-4, 230 Camp Hill, Pa. Cedar Cliff HS Neiko Robinson DB 6-0 178 4.5 Flomaton, Ala. Northview Garrett Sickels DE 6-4 238 4.7 Little Silver, N.J. Red Bank Regional Anthony Smith DB 6-0 184 4.55 Randolph, N.J. Valley Forge Military Jordan Smith DB 5-11 178 4.5 H.D. Woodson WHAT HE DID Breneman was held out his senior season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during a seven-on-seven game in June. Due to the injury, he bypassed his senior season of basketball and enrolled at Penn State in January. He was a three-year starter, and during his junior season, he caught 73 passes for 1,120 yards NAME POS HT Richy Anderson Christian Hackenberg QB WT Lynchburg, Va. Washington, D.C.