Blue White Illustrated

R E C R U I T I N G With more scholarships, Penn State offers New Jersey linebacker RYA N   S N Y D E R | BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED More scholarships are on the way for Penn State, and that means new recruiting targets are beginning to emerge. For the Class of 2014, Bill O'Brien and his staff will continue to take their time and be selective with whom they offer, but on Sept. 29 they extended the first offer since their scholarship restrictrictions were reduced by the NCAA. The recipient? Jason Cabinda, a linebacker prospect from Flemington, N.J. A two-star prospect, as rated by Rivals.com, Cabinda is currently CABINDA verbally committed to Syracuse, but he consistently has been hearing from the Nittany Lion staff ever since Jared Wangler backed out of his commitment to Penn State and declared for Michigan at the beginning of August. It's still not clear which of the three linebacker positions the 6-foot-1, 220pound Cabinda will play in college. What is clear, however, is that Penn State's coaches like what they've seen from his performance during the first few games of his senior season. "Coach [Ron] Vanderlinden and Coach [John] Butler came to my game Friday night and they loved what they saw," Cabinda said. "We were up 35-0 at the half, so they left after that. I didn't really play much in the second half. "But then [on Sunday], I spoke with Coach O'Brien and he's the one who let me know about the offer. That's always real exciting." Cabinda is already familiar with the State College area. He attended one of Penn State's Advanced Skills camps in June. That experience helped him learn more about Penn State's academics and O C T O B E R the football program, and thus emerge as a potential scholarship player in the eyes of the coaching staff. "It's always great to pick up offers from quality schools," Cabinda said. "I'm absolutely going to think about [Penn State]. Whenever you get an offer you have to look into it at least. This is the biggest decision of my life; I'm not going to blow it off. "But I still want to stress that I love Syracuse. I love the coaches and the people that I've met there. I want their fans to know that I'm still committed. Syracuse is still the team to beat, but I will listen to what the Penn State coaches have to say, and in the end, I'll know what the best decision is. " When will that decision come? That is still to be determined. In fact, he'd like to take another visit to Penn State, but Cabinda is in no rush to make a final declaration. "I really don't have any kind of timetable," he said. "I will try to make it down to Penn State for the Michigan game in a few weeks. That's the only [visit] that I'm thinking about right now, seeing that game. And then we'll make the right decision with time. "The most important thing to me, right now, is my high school team. This is a big decision, and I'll take it very seriously. But my [high school] teammates need me and I'll be there for them throughout the season." Cabinda joins three-star linebacker Brandon Lee of Indianapolis as Penn State's top two targets as the team looks to fill out the position for the Class of 2014. It is likely Penn State will also target another offensive lineman now that the Lions have a few extra scholarships at their disposal. 2 , 2 0 1 3 9 PENN STATE RADIO NETWORK WAEB............. 790-AM....... Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton WVAM............ 1430-AM.......................................Altoona WRKY............. 104.9-FM............... Altoona/Hollidaysburg WILK.............. 103.1-FM.........................................Avoca WAYC..............1600-AM.......................................Bedford WAYC..............100.9-FM......................................Bedford WCPA............. 900-AM...................................... Clearfield WQYX.............93.1-FM..................................... Clearfield WZDB.............95.9-FM........................ DuBois/Sykesville WHGL.............102.9-FM................................ Elmira, N.Y. WPSE............. 1450-AM.............................................Erie WFRA............. 1450-AM...................................... Franklin WGET............. 1320-AM.................................. Gettysburg WJEJ.............. 1240-AM...Hagerstown, Md./Chambersburg, Pa. WHVR.............1280-AM......................................Hanover ESPN Radio....1400-AM...................................Harrisburg ESPN Radio....95.3-FM....................................Harrisburg WKZN............ 1300-AM..................................... Hazleton WLAK............. 103.5-FM................................Huntingdon WNTJ............. 1490-AM...................................Johnstown WLAP..............1490-AM....................................Lancaster WNPV.............1440-AM.....................................Lansdale WLBR.............1270-AM..................................... Lebanon WMRF............ 95.7-FM.................................... Lewistown WMGW...........1490-AM....................................Meadville WJST.............. 1280-AM.....................New Castle/Sharon WVNJ............. 1160-AM...........................New York Metro WBYB.............99.1-FM................................... Olean, N.Y. WNTP............. 990-AM..................................Philadelphia KQV............... 1410-AM................................... Pittsburgh WAVT..............101.9-FM....................................Pottsville WPPA............. 1360-AM.....................................Pottsville WRAW............ 1340-AM...................................... Reading WBZU.............910-AM.......................................Scranton WBYB.............103.9-FM........................Smethport/Kane WQWK............1450-AM.............................. State College WBUS............ 93.7-FM................................State College WKOK............ 1070-AM...................................... Sunbury WLLI.............. 990-AM...................................... Somerset WTIV.............. 1230-AM..................................... Titusville WHGL.............100.3-FM...............................Troy/Canton WTRN.............1340-AM.........................................Tyrone WTRN.............100.7-FM........................................ Tyrone WNBT.............104.5-FM...................................Wellsboro WNBQ............92.3-FM....................Wellsboro/Mansfield WILK.............. 980-AM..................................Wilkes-Barre WKSB.............102.7-FM.............................. Williamsport WSBA.............910-AM.............................................. York WJST.............. 1280-AM........................Youngstown, Ohio B L UEWH I T E ON L I N E . COM

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