Blue White Illustrated

| Recruiting weekends impress Prospects give Nittany Lions high marks following March visits F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G M ore than 50 high school prospects took uno9cial visits to Penn State during the 7rst two Saturdays of spring practice. Four-star o8ensive lineman Connor Mc- Govern may have stolen the headlines when he committed to the Nittany Lions on March 20, but it's also important to note that on March 21 and 28, the Nittany Lions played host to two dozen additional prospects who already hold scholarship o8ers from the school. One of the players who made the trip to Penn State was four-star safe- ty Andrew Pryts of Her- mitage, Pa. The son of former Nittany Lion linebacker Ed Pryts, An- drew has made it clear on several occasions that he rates Penn State highly. During his visit on the weekend of March 20-21, he watched the Lions' 7rst practice of the spring. He then met with the sta8 and toured the facilities in the a:ernoon before meeting up with several members of the Class of 2015 later that evening. "I spent time with Sterling Jenkins and Tommy Stevens, the two early enrollees, [that] night," he said. "I got to hang out with them and Ryan Bates for a little bit. That was also a good time. I enjoy getting to know these guys and [learning about] why they came to PSU." One week a:er Pryts visited, linebacker Brendan Ferns of St. Clairsville, Ohio, spent the entire weekend in State College with his father. Ferns is the younger brother of Michael Ferns Jr., a former four-star prospect who went on to sign with Michi- gan and later transferred to West Virginia. With two highly sought-a:er recruits in the family, Michael Ferns Sr. estimates that he's taken more than 30 college visits. Because of his familiarity with the process, his comments about Penn State are par- ticularly striking. "I've been very fortunate with both of my boys," he said. "Between the two, we've been able to see some of the best schools in the nation, but I can de7nitively say that this visit we took to Penn State was the most well-thought-out visit I've ever been on. From the moment we got there to the moment we le:, everything was excellent. We learned so much in those two days. You can really tell that the coach- es put a ton of work into planning that." Ferns has no plans to end his recruitment in the near future, as he is expected to take a few o9cial visits this coming fall. He hasn't hinted at which schools are truly in his top 7ve, but it's likely that Penn State, Ohio State and Oklahoma are all 7rmly in the mix. Another prospect who spent the weekend in State College March 28-29 is o8ensive lineman Jay Jay McCargo. A native of Ar- lington, Va., McCargo was on campus twice last summer to attend camps, and he re- turned in the fall for the Ohio State game. But he hadn't spent a lot of time exploring State College until his most recent visit. "There were a couple of things that I really liked," McCargo said. "I talked to the people from the school of education. They made a big impact on me and my parents. I got to spend a lot of time with Coach [James] Franklin. I also got to spend a lot of time with some of the players. I felt good about them and how we relate." McCargo has visited seven schools this spring, but he's yet to narrow his list. Fol- lowing his visit to State College, he ad- mitted that Penn State ranks among his top six or seven schools, but he declined to elaborate. He's expected to make a de- cision by midsummer. O8ensive lineman Michal Menet of Reading, Pa., also took a day trip to State College on March 28. During the past year, the four-star prospect has been on campus a handful of times, but this was his moth- er's 7rst trip. "There isn't really anything up there FERNS CLASS OF 2016 COMMITMENTS* NAME POS HT WT RANKING HOME SCHOOL Lavert Hill DB 5-10 166 ★★★★ Detroit, Mich. Martin Luther King Connor McGovern OL 6-5 290 ★★★★ Lehman, Pa. Lake Lehman Senior Miles Sanders RB 5-11 192 ★★★★ Pittsburgh, Pa. Woodland Hills Shane Simmons DE 6-3 224 ★★★★ Hyattsville, Md. DeMatha Jake Zembiec QB 6-2 205 ★★★★ Rochester, N.Y. Aquinas Institute * As of April 1

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