Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1454229
M A R C H 2 0 2 2 3 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State extended an offer to On3 Consensus three-star recruit Vega Io- ane in January. By Feb. 2, the Lions had earned his signature. The process was a quick one for Ioane, his family and the Nittany Lions' coach- ing staff. But this wasn't the offensive lineman's first glimpse of James Franklin's program. Ioane, a 6-4, 330-pound prospect from Graham, Wash., told BWI that one of the first college football games he ever watched on TV was in 2017, his eighth- grade year, when Washington faced Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. In that game, offensive linemen Will Fries, Steven Gonzalez, Connor McGov- ern, Brendan Mahon and Chasz Wright helped Penn State pile up 545 yards of total offense. The Lions outlasted the Huskies, 35-28, and their performance made an im- pression on the young lineman. "I started playing football back in eighth grade, and one of the first teams that I'd ever seen on TV was Penn State," he said. "So, my interest in football basi- cally came from there. And now, getting that offer from Penn State, it was a big blessing." Ioane was a Washington commit until this past December when he backed away from his pledge after the Huskies under- went a coaching change. He visited the Pac-12 school in January and then saw Penn State. The Nittany Lions won out in the end. "One of the most important things was getting to the campus and immediately seeing if I'm comfortable with the col- lege, with the coaches, and everything like that," Ioane said. "And, you know, the all-around community that the college is around." Penn State had more than just an old game tape on its side coming down the stretch. The Lions had just hired Stacy Collins to be their special teams coordi- nator after Joe Lorig left to join Oregon's staff. Collins came from Boise State, where he had interacted with Ioane on the recruiting trail. Ranked as the No. 538 prospect nation- ally in the On3 Consensus and the No. 42 interior offensive lineman, Ioane admits that he didn't know Collins well. But Col- lins clearly knew enough about the recruit to suggest that Penn State's staff should take a closer look. Collins was hired on Jan. 5, and the Lions extended their offer eight days later. "He put in a good word for me," Ioane said. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein was Ioane's lead recruiter. He and the rest of the staff worked hard to ensure that the West Coast prospect visited Penn State rather than UCLA on the final weekend of January. From there, it was a race to the finish that ended in the Lions' favor. Col- lins certainly played a role in that. "He's got the physical stature and ath- letic ability to compete at a high level," Collins said. "I was fortunate. I recruited that area for a long time. "When you're in that region for a long time, you can compare and contrast guys that have been through that region. It was amazing. As I talked to high school coaches, it wasn't just his athletic ability [that stood out]. They talked about that side of it, but who he was as a person — that's going to be a great addition to this program." ■ Previously committed to Washington, Ioane reopened his recruitment in December, a month after the Huskies fired coach Jimmy Lake. He signed with the Nittany Lions on Feb. 2. PHOTO COURTESY THE IOANE FAMILY Vega Ioane Gives A Late Lift To Penn State's Class G R E G P I C K E L | G P I C 9 2 @ G M A I L . C O M VEGA IOANE OL | 6-4 | 330 GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN HIGH GRAHAM, WASH. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE consensus ✪ ✪ ✪ 538 42 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ – 23 4 ✪ ✪ ✪ – 18 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ – 44 10 ✪ ✪ ✪ – 19 8 STATISTICS • Helped led his team to the Class 4A state cham- pionship in 2021 and a perfect (15-0) record. • Paved the way for the Eagles' offense to average 456.3 yards and 44.1 points per game as a senior. NOTABLE • SBLive first-team All-State as a senior. • Was named a second-team All-American by MaxPreps in 2021. RECRUITMENT • Took official visits to Minnesota, Washington and Penn State. • Decommitted from Washington on Dec. 12, 2021, following a coaching change. • Recruited by Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. • Committed to Penn State on Feb. 2, 2022. 2022 PROJECTION Thanks to combination of massive size and ad- vanced blocking technique, Ioane could provide early help to the Nittany Lions' interior offensive line. THEY SAID IT Stacy Collins, Penn State special teams coordi- nator: "[He was] student body president, played on an undefeated team this year that won a state championship on the last play of the game and was a leader within that group." BWI analyst Thomas Frank Carr: "Ioane is a 6-4, 330-pound lineman with light feet and great tech- nique. His college-ready body, coupled with ma- turity on and off the field, make him a player that head coach James Franklin is expecting big things from sooner than a regular freshman."