Blue White Illustrated

August 2013

Penn State Sports Magazine

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WHITE NOISE A 6-foot-2, 267pounder from Millville, N.J., White was one of the top defensive linemen at the Rivals Camp Series this spring. Tim Owen of the credit for landing him, Penn State also received help from recently graduated defensive back Stephon Morris, a longtime family friend of the Vincents. "I don't want to say he played a big role, but he played an important role," said Vincent, who attends the Gillman School in Baltimore. "He never was coming at me, saying that I had to go to Penn State, that I had to do this or that. It was never like that. What Steph did was show me what kind of a man you can become at Penn State. He's my big brother. He's a guy that I look to for advice. So when I see Steph, I see what I could eventually become someday, and I know that Penn State, as a whole, had a lot to do with him becoming the man that he is." Vincent's father has partnered with Roman Morris, Stephon's dad, to found PrimeXample, a program in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area that trains high school defensive backs who have aspirations of playing collegiately. In fact, it was through PrimeXample that Vincent became friends with another prospect who is verbally committed to Penn State: safety Marcus Allen. "Having Marcus there is another reason [why] I really like Penn State," he said. "I work out with him every so often, and I know what he brings to the team. That just makes me feel better about what Penn State is going to be able to accomplish over the next few years." Given the talent in Penn State's Class of 2014, Vincent said Nittany Lion fans should feel good about the future direction of the program. "I would just tell them that whenever the sanctions are over with – in 2016 or 2017, whenever it is – we're shooting for a national championship," he said. "We aren't going to be playing around; we've got business to take care of. We've got to make up for some things." Penn State's third commitment came a few days after Vincent's announcement when three-star defensive tackle Antoine White jumped on his verbal scholarship offer from Penn State. Just one week after receiving the offer, White made a trip State College with his family on Saturday, June 29. While visiting, the 6-2, 267-pounder from Millville (N.J.) High was able to see what the program had to offer, but it was a conversation with his future position coach that proved most persuasive. After going home and thinking about it for a little more than 24 hours, White announced his decision the following Monday, July 1. "Coach Johnson made a real interesting point about the bowl games and sanctions, and it really stuck with me," White said. "He said that I can't base my college decision off of missing out on one game. There are so many other things that go into such an important decision: academics, being comfortable with the campus and the town, the relationship with the coaches, all of that. That really stuck with me. "When you really think about it, the sanctions will be coming to an end when I'm a sophomore, depending on whether I redshirt. So it's not as big of an impact as some people make it out to be. Then when you consider everything else Penn State has to offer – especially a coach like Coach J., and all the guys that he's been able to get into the NFL – it's the best place for me." White has been one of the fastestrising prospects in the Mid-Atlantic this spring, picking up offers from programs like North Carolina, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Pitt in a relatively short amount of time. He was also one of the top defensive linemen at the Rivals Camp Series preI sented by Under Armour.

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