Blue White Illustrated

P enn State picked up its 14h verbal commitment on March 20 when Connor McGovern, a four-star cen- ter prospect and Rivals250 member from Lehman, Pa., announced plans to sign with the Nittany Lions. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound McGovern verbally commit- ted to the sta2 during an uno3cial visit. The next day, Blue White Illustrated's Ryan Snyder caught up with him to talk about his decision. To start o', why Penn State? You've always made it clear that PSU was a school you really liked, but what were those two or three things that really put it on top? It basically came down to Penn State and North Carolina. I really liked both schools. They both had a lot of what I'm looking for, but North Carolina is also eight hours away. If I'm having a bad day or I need to get home for some reason, I can't do that as easily as I could if I at- tended Penn State. PSU is only two hours away, so if I need to get home or my mom and dad want to come see me, that's much easier compared to North Carolina. Also, the coaches. I really love these guys. They're a great group. Penn State's campus also feels like home. I like the dorm rooms, I feel comfortable getting around the campus and the town. It's a good 1t for me. You had some pretty solid o'ers, but it felt like Penn State was always the team to beat. How close were schools like North Carolina? You recently mentioned that you really enjoyed your trip down there. Was this legiti- mately neck-and-neck? Or did PSU always have a substantial lead on the rest? There were many times in the past couple of months where I truly consid- ered going to North Carolina. When I was on the campus, it was really im- pressive. They're upgrading so many facilities. It's already very nice and it's going to only get nicer. I really liked that, but like I was saying, the more I thought about the travel and how that impacts things, it helped me lean to- wards Penn State. I like that I can just go home if I have to be home. With North Carolina, my parents have to plan things in advance, you know? I like knowing that I'm only a two-hour drive from home. Why did you want to get this over with now? You have almost a year to go before you can sign with Penn State. What made you want to wrap up your recruitment so early? My dad always told me that as soon as I feel 110 percent toward something, go with it. I've been thinking about this for a couple weeks now and I have no regrets or anything like that, so this was just the best thing for me. Plus, I wanted to get it done before the evaluation period starts. I know other schools were going to come see me then and I know things could get even more hectic if a bunch of other schools start contacting me. I knew what I wanted. For the most part, Ricky Rahne and Herb Hand were your main recruiters. What do you really like about those two, and the sta' in general? They're both just great people. They're honest. I think that's the main thing I really liked. They're down-to- earth and very straightforward. That's what I was looking for, someone who will just be honest with me about what- ever. I can't wait to go down there and work with all of the coaches. You know, I got to work with Coach Hand during camp last summer. That was a very pos- itive experience. We really got a4er it that day. If he really cared about helping some kids during a day camp, then I can only imagine how much work he'll put into his players and helping them im- prove. Growing up in Pennsylvania, were you a Penn State fan? Did you ever at- tend games before being recruited by PSU? I was only at one game, I think, before they started recruiting me. To be hon- est, I wasn't really a Penn State fan growing up. I always liked watching the SEC schools. I was kind of a Florida fan when I was younger. But once Penn State started recruiting me, I really started falling in love with them. They really do have a perfect balance between football and education. They do things the right way. I'm proud to be joining that. You're listed as a center, but the sta' has talked to you about potentially playing guard, correct? What has the sta' told you about how you'll &t in? Well, they have mentioned that both positions are a possibility, but I do be- lieve they prefer me at center. They'll work me out and try a few things in the beginning, but since I'm already com- fortable with center, that's where they prefer. They would rather have someone 'This was just the best thing for me' I N T E R V I E W C O N N O R M c G O V E R N Standout center lauds coaching sta after choosing Penn State

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