WHAT HE DID Givens played inside and outside linebacker,
defensive end and fullback for Altoona High. He missed the
better part of four games as a senior due to a high ankle
sprain, but he . He admitted that Paul
Chryst's departure for Wisconsin had given him pause ini-
tially, but Pat Narducci reached out to him a@er taking over
as coach, and there were no indications that Givens had ex-
perienced a change of heart. But less than 24 hours before
signing day, the Altoona standout announced that he would
be signing with PSU, which had shown interest in him prior
to his commitment to Pitt (as had Michigan). Givens became
the second player to =ip from the Panthers to the Lions in
advance of signing day, joining Kittanning tight end Nick
Bowers, who announced for Penn State on Jan. 26.
QUOTABLE John Franco, Altoona High coach: "He's got the
capability to become a really outstanding Division I football
player, but it's going to take some developing. He's not even
close to where he could be."
FRANKLIN SAYS "You're talking about a 6-foot-1, 250-
pound athlete who chose Penn State over Pittsburgh. He had
been committed a very long time. We would have o>ered him a
long time ago if we had all our scholarships. When we got them
back, we got involved with Kevin and he jumped on board."
PHIL'S TAKE Givens was a starter on o>ense and defense
during his last three seasons at Altoona. As a senior, he
played primarily at strongside defensive end – the position
he will most likely play when he arrives on campus this sum-
mer. Givens looks to be capable of developing into an interior
lineman. Having recently turned 17 years old, he is a young
prospect who will almost certainly redshirt this fall.
KEVIN
GIVENS
RIVALS ★★★
POS DE HT 6-1 WT 245
HOME Altoona, Pa.
SCHOOL Altoona
P L A Y E R B I O S
WHAT HE DID Although he's expected to play o>ensive
guard at Penn State, Gonzalez primarily manned the le@
tackle spot as a senior at Union City. He totaled an astound-
ing 51 pancake blocks, down from an even more impressive
69 as a junior. Gonzalez also was a force at defensive tackle.
Of his 30 total tackles as a senior, 13 were for negative
yardage and 10 were sacks. During his three years as a starter,
Gonzalez helped the Soaring Eagles compile a 25-8 record.
WHAT HE WON Gonzalez was originally given four stars by
Rivals.com but was listed as a three-star prospect in the ensive guard in the country
and the No. 11 overall prospect in New Jersey. He made
NJ.com's – o>ensive line coach Herb Hand in particular
– began making a serious push, all bets were o>. Gonzalez
committed during an uno?cial visit last March, one day af-
ter visiting Boston College. He also made multiple stops at
Rutgers, and camped at Connecticut, Temple and Miami.
QUOTABLE Gonzalez: "I'm going to train as hard as I can to be
the best player I can be. I'm going to come in to compete right
away. Just some skills of mine: I'm a great run-blocker and all
that, and I'm just going to pave the road, as they say, to help
Penn State win a national championship in a couple years."
FRANKLIN SAYS "We see him being an o>ensive guard who
has a chance to be a road grader for us. He played both ways
on the o>ensive and defensive lines [in high school]. ... We
think this guy is special. He had everybody come at him and
he stuck with us. I think that showed maturity."
PHIL'S TAKE Gonzalez appears to be the most physical of
this year's o>ensive line recruits, as evidenced by his 120
pancake blocks the past two seasons. He'll be a guard at Penn
State, given his physique and the fact that he reportedly
bench presses over 400 pounds. With Angelo Mangiro,
Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia all returning in 2015, Gonzalez
will most likely redshirt as a true freshman. But I wouldn't
rule him out as a potential contributor.
STEVEN
GONZALEZ
RIVALS ★★★
POS OL HT 6-4 WT 328
HOME Union City, N.J.
SCHOOL Union City
