Blue White Illustrated

going to have my back when I need them, even outside of football. I know they care about me as a student, an individual, not just a football player who is going to help them win games." With Bates, Barkley and Robinson hav- ing committed, Penn State now has three of the top five players in Pennsylvania in its class. The other two players on that list are offensive lineman Sterling Jenkins and defensive back John Reid, and the Nittany Lions are in excellent position with them as well. It is realistic to think that Penn State could sweep Rivals' list of the top five prospects in Pennsylvania this year. But the coaches know that Pennsylvania alone won't get them to where they want to be. That's one reason why Kamonte Carter's commitment was so significant. A four-star defensive end from Gaithers- burg, Md., Carter was already leaning toward PSU before he visited for junior day, so no one was caught off-guard when he chose to end his recruitment early in the process. "I liked Penn State for a long time," Carter told Rivals.com. "I just [visited] to get con8rmation on my feeling and get a feel for the new coaches. I liked it just as much, if not more, so I decided that this is where I should be." Likewise, there was little surprise when defensive end Ryan Buchholz and line- backer Jake Cooper committed. Buchholz, of Malvern, Pa., made his intentions clear when he picked up a Penn State o9er in early February. He visited for junior day a week later and was close to committing that day but decided to wait another week to talk things over with his parents and coach. "A:er meeting the sta9, a:er seeing everything, I kind of wanted to commit right then," Buchholz said. "But unfor- tunately, my dad wasn't able to make it up there with me that day and I also didn't talk about it too much with my head coach, so I just decided to go back during the week and talk it out with my parents and coach." A:er taking more than a week to con- template his decision, he returned to cam- pus for another visit and he said, "I knew Trio of walk-on kickers set to join Lions in June hree members of Penn State's Class of 2014 didn't sign a scholarship offer on National Signing Day, but they are still hoping to make a quick impact with the Nittany Lions. Penn State is bringing in three walk-on prospects who identify themselves as kickers first, punters second, and they are being told that they will have an op- portunity to battle for a starting or a backup spot at either kicker or punter during their first season. But with starting kicker Sam Ficken on the roster for his senior season and with freshman Chris Gulla coming off a redshirt year and prepared to make an impact, battle is the key word. With Nick Boumerhi, Joe Julius and Troy Stivason set to enroll in June, BWI takes an individual look at each incoming kicker/punter prospect: NICK BOUMERHI 5-9, 175 | Philipsburg, Pa. | Philipsburg-Osceola HS WHAT HE DID As a senior, Boumerhi converted 6 of 7 8eld goals, three of which were over 40 yards. His longest was 44 yards. He also tallied 20 touchbacks and converted 21 of 22 PAT attempts. He averaged close to 33 yards per punt. QUOTABLE "I'm very consistent. That's what I take pride in. The big thing for me is just getting stronger and just improving every day. We'll see how it goes from there." JOE JULIUS 5-11, 200 | Hummelstown, Pa. | Lower Dauphin HS WHAT HE DID Julius, a two-time Class AAAA All-State kicker, connected on 11 of 14 8eld goals as a senior, including a 54-yarder, and he put 58 of his 72 kicko9s into the end zone for touchbacks. Julius was also one of the top soccer prospects in Pennsylvania. QUOTABLE "I've been to a bunch of Penn State games, and the fact that it is realistic that I could play in Beaver Stadium is a big thing for me. I look for- ward to that and I plan to have a pro career, so I know Penn State is the place to be." TROY STIVASON 5-11, 168 | Athens, Pa. | Athens Area HS WHAT HE DID As a junior, he connected on 7 of 12 8eld goal attempts, including a 54-yard long. As a senior, Stivason converted 5 of 6 with a 46-yard long. He also converted 17 of 19 PATs, tallied 14 touchbacks and averaged 36.5 yards per punt. QUOTABLE "Competition is key in anything you do. If there isn't someone right on your tail, working to get better than you, then what ambition does that give you to become any better?" – T.O. T

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