Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1179560
It really was a perfect storm. I left there knowing that this was where I wanted to go' ' P enn State picked up a surprise com- mitment this past summer when Florida tight end Nick Elksnis an- nounced via Twitter that he would be ending his recruitment. Listed at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, the Jacksonville native had earned an o2er from Penn State in April but didn't make his 1rst visit to University Park until July. He announced his decision a few days a3er talking it over with his par- ents, and when he returned to PSU in September for the Nittany Lions' game against Pitt, he came away even more convinced that he had made the right call. One of the key factors for the three- star prospect was how Penn State's of- fense has developed into a platform for sending tight ends into the NFL. Jesse James is with Detroit, Mike Gesicki is with Miami, and the Nittany Lions' current starter, Pat Freiermuth, ap- pears to be on a similar career trajec- tory. "I love how the school is using its tight ends right now and how their tight ends in recent years are doing in the NFL," Elksnis said. "Also, I love the coaching sta2. Coach [Tyler] Bowen and I have a very similar personality and have similar hobbies, so that makes it easy for me to get along with him. During the past year, Elksnis earned o2ers from nearly two dozen schools. Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia were some of the more notable programs that extended o2ers. Before committing to the Lions, he took two trips to Florida and also checked out Ohio State in June. I N T E R V I E W N I C K E L K S N I S TIGHT END PROSPECT Elksnis is in the midst of his junior season at Episcopal High in Jack- sonville, Fla. As a soph- omore, he had 17 catches for 225 yards and four touchowns. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com