before signing day. They made it plain to
me they would take the best care of me.
They develop you as a person, not just as
a football player."
Penn State's second-highest rated re-
cruiting class since 1990 was its Class of
'97. PrepStar rated it No. 1 in the country,
but it wasn't a consensus No. 1 class like
the '91 group. Most recruiting analysts
ended up ranking it third behind Florida
State and Tennessee. One major reason is
because the class num-
bered only 20 recruits.
Penn State's Class of
'97 did feature nine
players from Pennsyl-
vania, including Parade
Magazine's Player of the
Year, linebacker LaVar
Arrington. But that was
a bit of an aberration.
Other than the Class of
'91, it was Penn State's
only recruiting class
during the 1980s and
'90s that included more than two of the
state's top ;ve players.
Arrington was Pennsylvania's Gatorade
Player of the Year and its top-rated
prospect. Joining him were linebacker Ron
Graham of Penn Hills and tight ends Tony
Stewart of Allentown and John Gilmore
of West Lawn. Gilmore was rated by Su-
perPrep as the No. 3 tight end in the coun-
try.
Other nationally recognized players in
Penn State's Class of 1997 were defensive
back James Boyd of Chesapeake, Va., wide
receiver Bruce Branch of Richmond, Va.,
running back Omar Easy of Everett, Mass.,
defensive back Bhawoh Jue of Chantilly,
Va., o
