Penn State Sports Magazine
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5 6 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Three-star North Carolina linebacker Elijah Littlejohn didn't waste any time when Penn State first started showing interest. Littlejohn grabbed the attention of PSU linebackers coach Dan Connor in early April, shortly after earning top- performer honors at the Charlotte Under Armour Camp. That performance led to a late-April visit to Penn State and a scholarship offer. In June, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Littlejohn took an official visit to Penn State. The trip firmly established the Nittany Lions as the team to beat. "The coaches treated me and my fam- ily so well, and I liked the atmosphere a lot," Littlejohn told On3's Chad Sim- mons. "On the official visit, I knew Penn State was home." He went on to add, "I really like the town and the people there. The atmosphere is great for me, and me and my family love it. It is just a great place for me." Littlejohn committed to Penn State on June 16, choosing the Lions over Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. He had taken offi- cial visits to both of those schools and also planned an OV to NC State in late June but subsequently canceled that trip. "Penn State is always putting guys into the league," Littlejohn said. "They have great coaches. Coach Connor played there, he played in the NFL and he'll de- velop me. Penn State has the best defen- sive coordinator [Jim Knowles] in college football, so the defense will be great." During his junior season at West Char- lotte High, Littlejohn totaled 26 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in just seven games. He's listed by Rivals as the No. 30 linebacker nationally and No. 21 prospect in North Carolina, but he's rated higher in the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted aver- age of the three major recruiting websites. In the Industry Ranking, he's a four-star prospect who stands 359th overall and 26th among all linebackers nationally and 20th in his home state. — Ryan Snyder Less than a day into his official visit to Penn State, three-star Maryland cor- nerback Amauri Polydor shut down his recruitment, announcing on June 6 that he planned to sign with the Nittany Lions. While Polydor was hardly the first re- cruit to declare his intentions during the first day of an official visit, the vast ma- jority of commitments come after the trip is over. But Polydor knew what he wanted to do before he arrived on cam- pus, having traveled to State College in March to watch a spring practice session. "I learned a lot about their alumni base [during that previous visit]," he said. "Ev- erything they were telling me about the school, I loved. Also, I learned a lot about their development at the position and re- ally saw how they do things. It was a big visit for me." Polydor also returned to campus for an unannounced visit on April 26, the day of the Blue-White Game. In between, he took a few trips elsewhere to make sure Penn State was the right fit for him. "I told them that I was really interested and that they were my No. 1 because of how hard they were recruiting me," Polydor said. "I knew Penn State was my top school, but I wasn't 100 percent sure yet. So, I ended up taking a couple of spring practice visits. I went to Michigan State and Maryland, and then I came back to Penn State for their spring game." Soon after, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith did an in-home visit with Polydor and his family in the May contact period. "I talked to Coach Smith about two days after the in-home visit and told him that I wanted to lock in with them," Polydor said. "They were interested in that, too, so we decided it would be best to make it official after the official visit." Polydor totaled 9 interceptions during his junior season at Mt. Zion Prep. Listed by Rivals as the No. 48 cornerback na- tionally and No. 9 player in Maryland, he will attend St. Frances Academy in Balti- more as a senior. — Ryan Snyder COMMITMENT PROFILE ELIJAH LITTLEJOHN COMMITMENT PROFILE AMAURI POLYDOR North Carolina Prospect Makes Strong Impression On Staff For Maryland Cornerback, Spring Visits Prove Persuasive Amauri Polydor doesn't show any mean- ingful weaknesses in his profile that would rule him out as a cornerback. When you combine his zone and man coverage skills, he should be able to play outside for the Nittany Lions. However, when reviewing his list of strengths, Polydor looks like a safety. His ability to track the ball as a center fielder while playing select reps in man cover- age and filling run fits from deep would be valuable assets at several positions. If Penn State plans on making the full-time transition to a three-safety defense, play- ers like Polydor are essential for building up the numbers. — Thomas Frank Carr P L A Y E R E V A L U A T I O N Elijah Littlejohn is a super active and athletic defender who makes a ton of plays. He's an interesting evaluation because he has linebacker size but has spent a lot of his time on the edge in high school. He's really used his speed well to create mismatches off the edge. The biggest question is just how he adjusts. If he sticks with linebacker, he'll need to get more comfortable playing in space, but he has the traits to do that. That's why we've pro- jected him as a linebacker long-term, and I think that's why Penn State likes him there, too. — Charles Power, Rivals director of scouting and rankings P L A Y E R E V A L U A T I O N