Blue White Illustrated

Junior prospects on hand for game R Y A N   S N Y D E R | B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D James Franklin and the Nittany Lion coaching staff hosted more than 100 prospects from up and down the East Coast this weekend for the annual White Out game against Ohio State. While most were Class of 2016 prospects, this weekend was highlighted by two official visitors, the most notable of whom was offensive lineman Matthew Burrell. The four-star prospect from C.D. Hylton in Woodbridge, Va., was using the fourth of his five official visits. He and his father visited Ohio State, Florida State and Tennessee earlier this season. Most observers believe the Buck- eyes are the team to beat. In addition to Burrell, the staff also hosted quarterback Tommy Stevens of Decatur Central in Indianapolis. Stevens, who is currently committed to Indiana, picked up an offer from Franklin and quar- terbacks coach Ricky Rahne earlier in the week, making him Penn State's top target to replace Brandon Wimbush in the Class of 2015. Wimbush switched his commit- ment to Notre Dame earlier this month. Offensive lineman Sterling Jenkins of Pittsburgh also used an official visit this week. The four-star prospect from Bald- win High is already committed to Penn State and is set to enroll in January. Un- like previous regimes, the current staff is planning to host its committed prospects for an official visit in January, not De- cember. By then, Jenkins is expected to be taking classes. The list of notable prospects was made up primarily of juniors. So far, the staff has extended offers to roughly 60 juniors across the nation, and at least 11 made the trip. The staff also extended an offer earlier in the day to offensive lineman Jay Jay McCargo of Bishop O'Connell in Ar- lington, Va. McCargo made the trip with his family on Friday. He toured the facil- ities and then met the staff before kick- off, which was when he picked up the offer. McCargo is currently unranked, but he's landed eight offers so far. The highest-ranked 2016 player to make the trip was defensive tackle Rashan Gary of Paramus Catholic in New Jersey. A five-star prospect, Gary built an early relationship with the previous staff, making this his third unofficial visit to State College. However, it is important to note that the new staff is basically start- ing from scratch with Gary. He's earned at least 20 offers already, many of which are from college football's elite. Offensive lineman Michal Menet of Reading, Pa., also made his way to Penn State. The four-star prospect from Ex- eter Township has been on campus six times dating back to the summer of 2013. He has also visited Rutgers, Pitt, Michi- gan State and Ohio State during the past year, but many believe the Nittany Lions are the favorites. The coaching staff's efforts to recruit Southern prospects were also evident Sat- urday, as they hosted two of Florida's top juniors. Offensive lineman Parker Boudreaux of Bishop Moore in Orlando camped with the Nittany Lion staff during one of the satellite camps this past sum- mer. Since then, he's kept in touch with offensive line coach Herb Hand. Even with the early start, it's not going to be easy to land a commitment; Boudreaux has to- taled more than 50 scholarship offers. Wide receiver Tre Nixon of Viera, Fla., also made the trip north with his family. Like Boudreaux, Nixon first met Franklin and the staff during the camp they co- hosted at Stetson University. He turned in an excellent performance that day, and the staff extended an offer a week later. That led to an unofficial visit in the first week of August. With offers from schools such as Florida, Georgia, Michigan State, Ole Miss and Ohio State, Penn State has plenty of competition, but he appears to be the Lions' best hope of landing a qual- ity Southern prospect in next year's re- cruiting class. G A M E G R A D E S R E C R U I T I N G QUARTERBACKS Christian Hackenberg faced pressure on almost every throw. He fin- ished with 224 yards on 31 completions and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions, although the first clearly should've been called back. GRADE B- RUNNING BACKS Akeel Lynch ran hard in the fourth quarter, and Bill Belton punched in Penn State's go-ahead TD in the first overtime. But the rushing game was nearly nonexistent in the first half, and Belton's east-west run on third-and- short in the second quarter just can't happen. GRADE C+ RECEIVERS DaeSean Hamilton was relied upon heavily, and he answered the call, finishing with more receptions in one game (14) than any receiver in PSU history. GRADE B+ OFFENSIVE LINE As expected, Ohio State's defensive line owned the line of scrim- mage. But when the line lost its one vet- eran player – Donovan Smith – to injury, it persevered. GRADE D DEFENSIVE LINE The main reason why Penn State was able to force overtime was be- cause of this unit. Anthony Zettel was disruptive the entire night, and his pick- six changed the momentum. GRADE A LINEBACKERS Ohio State found success running the ball in middle of the field, totaling 119 yards in the first half, but this unit adjusted as the game went on, and Mike Hull led the team with 19 tackles. GRADE B DEFENSIVE BACKS This unit wasn't tested much in the first half, as J.T. Barrett threw only nine times for 54 yards. And the DBs held tight in the second half, too, limiting Ohio State to just 15 yards in the final two quarters. GRADE B- SPECIAL TEAMS Whether it was Chris Gulla or Danny Pasquariello, Penn State's punting efforts were inconsistent and put the defense in poor starting position on a few occasions. GRADE D COACHES The coaches kept their players on task as Penn State slowly chipped away at OSU's 17-0 lead. GRADE B+ CROWD They forced delays-of-game (even if one particular delay wasn't called), there were a couple of false starts, and OSU was forced to use timeouts before it was ready. Props to the 107,895 in atten- dance. They were into it from the first whistle to the last. GRADE A+ O c T O B E R 2 5 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O m 6

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