Blue White Illustrated

"The coaches have been telling me that I could play any of the three positions, " Bates said. "But ideally, they would like me to play guard, if everything works out for them." Bates has received seven scholarship offers so far, with South Carolina and Virginia having emerged as Penn State's top competitors. He has taken visits to all three in the past three months, but the visit to University Park was his fourth since the Blue-White Game in April, so it looks as though the Nittany Lions will be strong contenders once Bates makes his college decision next spring or summer. The prospect whom almost every program in the nation will be hoping to land is Sterling Jenkins, a 6-8, 296-pound offensive tackle from Baldwin High in Pittsburgh. While he's attracted widespread interest, Jenkins' short list is already starting to take shape. "I'm feeling good about Michigan, Penn State and Pittsburgh," Jenkins told Rivals.com in late July. "I feel like they like me and are recruiting me pretty hard. I want to go to [some games] and see some spring practices from them to check them out." Jenkins will most likely be on hand for the Nittany Lions' game against the Wolverines in October. Other programs that have offered include Arizona, Mississippi, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, while Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame and Wisconsin could join the fray in the coming I months. ment. However, those plans fell through at the last minute, and Ollison and his father did not make the trip. The following Monday, he chose Pitt. "Pittsburgh's a great city," he told Panther-Lair.com. "My head coach speaks very highly of the city because he was born there. The thing that's really cool is that they practice next to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They play at Heinz Field and share their facilities. That was a really cool thing I learned when I got there." The three-star prospect was also considering Wisconsin, Syracuse and Rutgers, but he admitted after making his decision that his choice came down to the two Keystone State rivals. PSU set to host big recruiting weekend RECRUITING NOTEBOOK DB Dravon Henry eliminates PSU Aliquippa senior Dravon Henry is no longer considering Penn State. Recruited as an athlete, Henry had narrowed his list of potential schools down to four in March – Ohio State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Penn State – and the Nittany Lions became the first of that group to be eliminated. HENRY Henry was one of the top overall recruits on Penn State's board. It also appears that Ohio State is a long shot to sign Henry. The Mountaineers look to be the current favorites, ahead of the hometown Panthers. RB Qadree Ollison commits to Pitt Running back Qadree Ollison of Canisius High in Buffalo, N.Y., verbally committed to Pittsburgh on Sept. 9, choosing the Panthers over Penn State. Ollison had planned on visiting Penn State the weekend prior to his announce- Penn State's night game against Michigan on Oct. 12 will be another big event for the future of the program. Blue White Illustrated has compiled a tentative list of roughly 30 prospects who intend to visit University Park for the nighttime matchup with the Wolverines. For last year's night game against Ohio State, it is believed that the Nittany Lion staff hosted more than 100 prospects and their parents. Look for a similar showing vs. Big Blue. – R.S.

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