Blue White Illustrated

FOOTBALL RECRUITING PSU turns to Class of 2015 With recruiting season under way, which position unit will the Lions target? BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated enn State's recruiting efforts may appear from the outside to be shaping up slowly, but Bill O'Brien and his assistant coaches have been putting in plenty of hours during the past few weeks. The objective? To make sure the success they enjoyed in their first 20 months at Penn State continues into their third recruiting cycle – the Class of 2015. Since the start of September, coaching staffs across the country have been allowed to initiate contact with Class of 2015 prospects via email, social media and other digital and traditional platforms. Many consider Sept. 1 to be the start of the recruiting process for high school juniors. Before that date, prospects and their families have to initiate the majority of contact with college programs. While it's still very early in the process, the offensive line appears to be Penn State's main focus. Many fans have argued that the Nittany Lions should be taking more offensive linemen in the Class of 2014, but one look at the talent that will be coming out of the Mid-Atlantic region in 2015 makes it clear why the coaches have held off. According to Rivals.com, the staff has already verbally offered scholarships to eight offensive linemen in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and Washington, D.C. (The Lions have also extended an offer to Tristen Hoge, a four-star prospect from Idaho.) With so few scholarships available, Penn State's decision to hand out nine offers to offensive linemen indicates that the staff P Bill Anderson SOUGHT-AFTER Bates, a versatile 6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive lineman from Warminster, Pa., has visited Penn State four times since April. He is expected to play guard in college and holds seven scholarship offers, including offers from PSU, South Carolina and Virginia. intends to take as many as four in the 2015 class. It's not just the coaching staff that's high on these linemen, either. Rivals has already given six of the nine a four-star rating. Examining the current Penn State depth chart and the list of 2014 and '15 prospects who have received offers, it appears that the coaches have prioritized the center and guard positions over the tackle spot. That becomes even more apparent when tackles Andrew Nelson and Noah Beh are factored in. Nelson, a true freshman, has impressed FOLLOW RECRUITING ONLINE Visit bwi.rivals.com for updated news on PSU's scholarship offers and commitments.

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