Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1462941
5 8 A P R I L 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M kid, and it's really important to the fam- ily as well. That's just one of the things that make him so special. I think that drive really shows in a lot of ways for him. His drive for academic success, I think it's really helped shape him as a football player as well. This kid just wants to be good at everything he does. He's always been a kid who is re- ally driven to find success, and I think he's going to have a whole lot of success in football up at Penn State. No mat- ter what he does after college, I have no doubt that he'll be successful. BWI: What is he like as a player? EAVENSON: He was our team MVP as a lineman, and it was unanimous among our coaches. He's a great leader in the locker room. He's one of our team captains. We have a leadership council, and he was the first one who was on it. When your highest-profile kid is your hardest worker and is always leading in a positive manner, it really makes the job of the coaching staff so much easier. He was our left guard mainly because it suits our offense the best. We're based off an inside zone running game. We really want to get those double-teams right at the point of attack, so having him at guard just suited us better. He can pull and kick. He can pull and lead up the play-side 'backer if we need him there. He really just made our offense go. He only allowed one sack in 17 games, and our running game really went behind him. He played 100 percent of the snaps that mattered. We only took him out if the game was out of hand one way or the other. On defense, he probably played 50 to 75 percent of our meaningful snaps. He was our team leader in sacks with six as a part-time player. He had a bunch of tackles for loss and hurries. I know he batted down a ton of balls and also forced four fumbles, recovering one. He's just an absolute force on the field. There's not a whole lot he can't do. We actually had to tell him we didn't want him on special teams because we asked so much of him. If we would have let him track down kicks and punts, he certainly would have. He never wants to come off the field. He's the ultimate competitor, and it's pretty awesome to see. BWI: From a recruiting perspective, what other schools were showing inter- est? EAVENSON: That list is pretty long and distinguished. I know Notre Dame reached out and really wanted to get him up for a camp. I wasn't in touch with them myself, but I know they were a big one that was interested in him. Louisville was very interested, prob- ably on the cusp of offering. I don't want to speak for them, but I got the impres- sion that they were very interested. Some others who I felt were showing a lot of interest were Coastal Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest. I fielded calls from a bunch of other schools, too, and I'm still fielding calls. I know a lot of these schools aren't going to stop calling, and as a coach, you always want college programs coming around your program. But I'm letting them all know that he's a Nittany Lion all the way and that's not going to change. He's a Penn State kid, and he's really excited about it. I think it's such a great fit for him. BWI: Did you get to talk to him much after he visited Penn State? I'm curious to know what his initial reactions were like coming off that visit. EAVENSON: I remember asking how it went, and he sent back the pictures of him in the uniform. I know that really jazzed him up. He looked great in that real clean blue and white they have at Penn State. I know he felt comfortable right away when he got up there. He was blown away by the campus. He was blown away by the entire coaching staff. Everyone who he talked to was just amazingly genuine in everything they did. I think how much they were inter- ested in him as a student and as a person really left a big impression on him. I can't stress how important that is to the kid. These kids aren't dumb, either. They can tell who's real and who's fake. The way that Coach [James] Franklin and his staff went about the process, I thought they did a phenomenal job. The guy who recruits our area, Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider, was great the entire time. Then we have Coach [Manny] Diaz coming out, Coach [Ty] Howle coming out, Coach Franklin, too. They were so consistent. The advice I always give these guys is to go where you're wanted and go where you would love to be if athletics were removed from the equation, God for- bid. There was no doubt that Penn State wanted him, and that visit just sealed the deal for him. It sounds like a great fit. Anthony loved the area, and I know his mom loved the area. She was telling me all about how it's a gorgeous drive up there, and everything there looks incred- ible. They fell in love with it. BWI: Can you share any of his num- bers in the weight room? Penn State fans are always curious to know those num- bers. EAVENSON: The last time we tested, I know he had a 350-pound bench press. We're actually planning to test again here pretty soon, probably in a few weeks. I know that number is going to go up for him a decent amount. His power clean, I believe, is 275. His broad jump is very im- pressive, too. He has an 8-foot-7 broad jump, which is the second-best on our team. That's pretty good for a guy his size. The one thing I'd stress to everyone is that he's No. 1 in attendance. When your top player is the one there every day, pushing all the guys around him, that's a really good sign for his future. He's already built in a great routine, and he'll be entering a college-level weight program in the future. That's what really matters in my eyes. That's how you maximize what you've got. ■ "He's a Penn State kid, and he's really excited about it. I think it's such a great fit for him." L I G H T R I D G E H I G H C O A C H B O B B Y E A V E N S O N , O N D O N K O H