Blue White Illustrated

Three recruits – juco offensive tackle Paris Palmer, offensive tackle Sterling Jenkins and quarterback Tommy Stevens – are set to begin their Penn State careers as early enrollees Jan. 12. BWI's Tim Owen caught up with Stevens, a three-star from Indi- anapolis, before gradu- ating high school to talk about his career at Decatur Central, his decision to flip commit- ments from Indiana to PSU and his fu- ture with the Nittany Lions. Take us back to the commitment. What was it that made you pick Penn State? Since that decision what's the reaction been like at home? There were a lot of factors that went into my decision. I wanted to do what was best for me, and I eventually found that Penn State was indeed the best place, I think, for fitting my future. With that being said, I feel like Indiana's program is on the rise. I feel like they're getting better each day. I know they're going to be successful in the future, but I just feel like it was a better fit at Penn State. What's your playing style? Obvi- ously you're labeled a dual threat by most accounts, but is that how you'd label yourself? How would you de- scribe the way you play? I like the dual-threat category, I guess. I like knowing that I can beat people with two options – beat them with my arm or my feet. I think that's deadly, and I think that's what football is evolving to slowly. It's getting harder for defenses to stop all the options. Eventually they're just going to bring in the smaller linebackers who can run 4.4s instead of big giant guys who run 4.7 and are 250 pounds. We're going to have smaller linebackers who can run and jump, and that's when we're going to start to get big running backs who can run down your throat. It's a con- tinuous cycle. We have speed right now and then somebody is going to get tired of that, not being able to beat somebody with speed, then they're just going to go back to the old-school power run game. It's just going to slowly circulate. Since your decision, a little bit has changed at PSU with Michael O'Con- nor deciding to transfer. Obviously that didn't play a role one way or the other since you committed before- hand, but looking ahead, looking at the depth chart, how do you project your career at Penn State? Getting in early was definitely some- thing I wanted to do, so I could compete early. But I'm just worried about getting in and getting my body prepared for the college level, and basically just taking it all in. It's supposed to be the best five years of my life, so I'm looking forward to enjoying it. As far as playing time and all that goes, I'm not sure. I'm just worried about get- ting in and taking care of what I can con- trol and just going out and busting my tail every day. Then good things will hap- pen. How eager are you to get up to Penn State? My real close friends have always been real supportive, but that was one of the biggest scares: how far [Penn State] is away from my house. It's actually like seven and a half, eight hours [of a drive]. So it's going to be a little different not having Mom and Dad, or brother and sister around, but I'm sure I'll adjust. I've always been pretty friendly, easy to get along with, so I'm sure I'll make friends. 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 WBYB............. 103.9-FM.....................................Bradford 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 Sports Radio..1400-AM...................................Harrisburg Sports Radio..95.3-FM.................................... Harrisburg WKZN............ 1300-AM..................................... Hazleton WLAK............. 103.5-FM................................ Huntingdon WNTJ............. 1490-AM...................................Johnstown WBYB............. 103.9-FM.......................................... Kane WLPA............. 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 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 WQWK............1450-AM.............................. State College WBUS.............93.7-FM................................State College WZDD............ 101.3-FM....................Stratonville/Clarion 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 D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 4 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 8 Three-star quarterback opens up on PSU decision R E C R U I T I N G Stevens one of three Penn State early enrollees & A Q

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