Blue White Illustrated

| McLean is 12th to commit J ames Franklin and his sta5 may have only received one additional verbal commitment in recent weeks, but it was a big one. With defensive tackle being a major need for the Nittany Lions this year, landing one of their top three targets at the position was a must this spring. That's exactly what hap- pened before the Blue- White Game on April 12 when Adam McLean, a four-star prospect from North Potomac, Md., revealed that he was ending his recruitment. With McLean holding more than 30 total scholarship o5ers, Penn State had seemed like a long shot just a few months back. But that changed on Feb. 15 during an un- o6cial visit for junior day. The trip a5orded McLean his 4rst opportunity to meet with Franklin and his sta5 in person, and he le7 with a feeling that was unlike anything he had experienced previously during un- o6cial visits to other schools. "I seriously wanted to commit right then," McLean said. "My parents weren't with me that day, so my dad said that he wanted me to come home 4rst and talk with them, but that's how well that visit went. "That's how excited those coaches made me." In the months leading up to the Blue- White Game, McLean admitted publicly that the Nittany Lions were in contention, but he never showed his hand. His restraint made the commitment following his ear- ly-April visit a surprise to many. In some ways, it was a surprise to McLean himself. "I didn't really have any intention of committing this time, either," he said. "But again, Coach Franklin and his guys just got me so excited, and my parents were with me this time, so they were OK with me ending it. Just being there with all [the Lions'] other recruits, seeing all their fans that came for a spring game – that le7 a real good impression with me. I just knew this is where I wanted to be." Penn State ultimately beat out some of the nation's top programs to land McLean. In addition to the Nittany Lions, his top six included Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon and Ole Miss. McLean stands 6-foot-1, 282 pounds and appears to 4t best at the one-technique defensive tackle position. And while he 4gures to have a big impact once he begins suiting up for the Nittany Lions, he's al- ready having a positive e5ect away from the playing 4eld. Ranked the nation's Four-star defensive tackle joins class, as Lions' hot streak continues FOLLOW RECRUITING ONLINE Visit bwi.rivals.com for updated news on PSU's scholarship offers and commitments. F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G PENN STATE CLASS OF 2015 COMMITMENTS* NAME POS HT WT HOME SCHOOL Josh Barajas LB 6-3 212 Merrillville, Ind. Andrean Saquon Barkley RB 5-11 190 Whitehall, Pa. Whitehall Ryan Bates OG 6-5 285 Warminster, Pa. Archbishop Wood Ryan Buchholz DE 6-6 230 Malvern, Pa. Greater Valley Kamonte Carter DE 6-4 230 Gaithersburg, Md. Gaithersburg Jake Cooper LB 6-2 226 Warminster, Pa. Archbishop Wood Steven Gonzalez OG 6-4 321 Union City, N.J. Union City Juwan Johnson WR 6-4 205 Glassboro, N.J. Glassboro Adam McLean DT 6-1 282 North Potomac, Md. Quince Orchard Jarvis Miller DB 6-2 185 West Suffield, Conn. Suffield Brandon Polk WR 5-9 150 Ashburn, Va. Briar Woods Andre Robinson RB 5-10 210 Harrisburg, Pa. Bishop McDevitt * As of April 27 McLEAN

• Cover