Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1454229
M A R C H 2 0 2 2 4 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M F ew Penn State signees in recent mem- ory offer as much in the personality de- partment as Ken Talley, an edge rusher in the Nittany Lions' 2022 recruiting class. Coming out of Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Talley is about as enthusi- astic as they come. And his classmates say he frequently put that energy to use when it came to recruiting them and helping the class jell together as it was built. "Ken has been recruiting me hard for a while," linebacker Abdul Carter, a fellow Philadelphian, said after his own com- mitment. "Me and Ken are close. He's been telling me for a while now that I need to come there and help them build a na- tional championship team." If the Nittany Lions do indeed reach Talley's ambitious summit, it's likely that he'll have played a part well beyond his peer-recruiting prowess. Talley is a four-star prospect according to On3's Consensus ratings, which also tabbed him as the No. 36 edge rusher in the country and the No. 11 prospect in Pennsylvania. Penn State listed Talley at 6-2, 238 pounds during its National Signing Day festivities, and labeled him as a line- backer. If he stays there, he would join Carter and Keon Wylie as the third line- backer in this year's cycle. But it appears more likely that he will play defensive end at the college level. "Ken is the life of the party," Northeast High head coach Eric Clark said. "He has the biggest personality. He loves having fun with the people around him, from his family to his teammates and our staff, and it's contagious." Talley finished his senior season with 12 sacks, 20 tackles for loss and 95 total tackles on his way to earning first-team U.S. Army All-America honors. He paced Northeast to a Class 6A Phil- adelphia Public League title during his final season and was named the league's most valuable player. Penn State began its recruitment of Tal- ley in June 2019, when it extended an offer after he impressed at a camp hosted by the staff. He took two unofficial visits to PSU before the pandemic shut down the pos- sibility of conventional recruiting visits. Talley gave the Lions his verbal com- mitment in September 2020, choosing them from an offers list made up of 24 schools, including the likes of Texas A&M, Michigan, Tennessee and Arizona State. His close relationship with Deion Barnes, a former Northeast staffer and current Penn State graduate assistant, helped him make that choice. "I already liked Penn State a lot, so hav- ing him up there only helps everything," Talley said. "He's been taking me up there for years. Before he was part of their staff, he already showed me where to eat up there and some other things around the town. I learned a lot about Penn State from him." ■ The No. 36 edge rusher in the country according to the On3 Consensus, Talley is expected to play defensive end for the Nittany Lions. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER Ken Talley Is Excited To Begin The Next Phase DAV I D E C K E R T | D AV I D E C K E R T 9 8 @ G M A I L . C O M KEN TALLEY DE | 6-2 | 238 NORTHEAST HIGH PHILADELPHIA, PA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE consensus ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 370 36 11 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 57 15 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 299 26 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 207 15 5 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 28 10 STATISTICS • Finished with 95 total tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and 12 sacks, along with 11 quar- terback hurries and two forced fumbles as a senior. • Played a shortened junior season because of the pandemic. • Finished with 43 tackles as a sophomore, including five sacks. • Had six sacks and five forced fumbles during his freshman year. NOTABLE • Two-year team captain. • Named to the Pennsylvania Football Writers' 6A All-State team as a senior. • Helped lead Northeast High to Class 6A Phila- delphia Public League championships during his sophomore and senior seasons. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Penn State on Sept. 8, 2020. • Recruited by cornerbacks coach Terry Smith. • Picked Penn State over Tennessee and Ari- zona State. • Officially visited on June 25, 2021. 2022 PROJECTION Talley is expected to redshirt in 2022, but it shouldn't take long for him to see the field in blue and white. THEY SAID IT Alan Zemaitis, Penn State assistant recruiting coordinator: "We can plug and play him in a variety of different positions. Linebacker is one of them he can play. He can play on the edge. He can play inside, on the D-line." BWI analyst Thomas Frank Carr: "We have seen evidence of smaller edge defenders with explosive speed making an impact for the PSU defense. Shaka Toney is the best example of this. If Talley progresses to the point that he's more of an asset rushing the passer than anything else, there is a chance he could stay as an edge de- fender. That would also coincide with his physical development dictating that to happen. Talley has the speed and explosiveness to be an asset wherever he lines up. Penn State has yet another defensive weapon to work with in the future."