Blue White Illustrated

Thompkins commits to Nittany Lions Three-star North Carolina athlete chooses PSU during Blue-White Weekend RYA N   S N Y D E R A successful spring game wasn't the only thing the Nittany Lion coaching staff had to celebrate on Saturday, as the staff also picked up a verbal commitment from Swansboro, N.C., athlete De'Andre Thompkins. The three-star prospect, as rated by Rivals.com, made the trip north with his coaches and father after recently picking up offers from Clemson, Notre Dame and Tennessee. But during his visit Saturday, he decided that Penn State was the right fit for him. "De'Andre and his father went into Coach [Bill] O'Brien's office, [and] that's when he committed to Coach O'Brien," said Swansboro head coach Tim Laspada. "He's real happy right now. We're in downtown State College right now, enjoying the moment." The nation's 34th-ranked receiver is also coming off an impressive showing at the Rivals Camp Series. In fact, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound athlete made such an impact that he left with an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-American Game next January, which he has since accepted. In all, Thompkins had 11 verbal offers and was expected to receive a few more this summer. He and Delaware wide receiver Chris Godwin were thought to be Penn State's top two wide receiver targets. Both received early verbal offers last fall when only a select group of 2014 prospects were offered. Thompkins joins Troy Apke of Mt. Lebanon, Pa., at the wide receiver position, along with Wilmington, Del., linebacker Troy Reeder and running backs Nick Scott of Fairfax, Va., and Mark Allen of Hyattsville, Md. RYAN'S NOTES • I had a great talk with defensive tackle Thomas Holley and I was really impressed with what he had to say. He's a very respectful young man, and I think he'd be a great fit for Penn State. He made it pretty A P R I L | BLUE WHITE ILLUsTRATEd SURPRISE PARTY Thompkins, a three-star athlete from Swansboro, N.C., chose Penn State over offers from Clemson, Notre Dame and Tennessee. Tim Owen clear that Penn State will be part of his recruitment until the very end, mainly due to Larry Johnson and the school's proximity to home in Brooklyn, N.Y. It's not going to be easy for PSU to land him, but Holley and his uncle each had a lot of good things to say. • Incoming quarterback Christian Hackenberg was doing a lot of recruiting himself before the game. I saw him chatting with Nashville, Tenn., offensive lineman Alex Bars, Scranton, Pa., offensive lineman Noah Beh, Thompkins and a few others. Incoming defensive end Garrett Sickels also reached out to a few prospects. • Bars and his family had nothing but great things to say about Penn State and their relationship with the staff. Both Alex and his parents opened up a bit, which was nice, as the family usually stays quiet about recruiting. I still think PSU will fall 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 8 short of his top three, but it may make his top five. I still think there's a long way to go with Bars. • I spoke with a few top 2015 prospects, including Bishop McDevitt (Pa.) running back Andre Robinson, Archbishop Wood (Pa.) linebacker Jake Cooper and St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.) prospects John Reid and Jon Runyan Jr. From everything I've gathered, Penn State should be in good shape with Robinson. It's the only school he has visited so far and he's been pretty open in saying that he likes the offense and that he wants to stay close to home. Everyone I speak with believes he's the top prospect in the Harrisburg area, regardless of age. I only spoke with Reid and Runyan briefly. Both really like the coaching staff. I think if Cooper gets a scholarship offer, Penn State will be the team to beat. Look for Cooper to come to camp this June. B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

• Cover