Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/497887
A P R I L 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 12 Penn State picked up another solid commitment on Saturday, as three-star cornerback Zechariah McPhearson an- nounced he had chosen the Nittany Lions. A native of Upper Marlboro, Md., McP- hearson picked his scholarship offer from the Nittany Lion coaching staff in the first week of March, just a few days after he visited for Penn State's Feb. 28 Junior Day. Since then, the Riverdale Baptist prospect been consistently improving his relationship with cornerbacks coach Terry Smith. He said that their relationship, added to the fact that he was already fa- miliar with head coach James Franklin and defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, was enough for him to end his recruitment. "I just feel like this is the best choice for me," McPhearson said. "I really like the coaching staff. Coach Franklin has known my family and been a friend of our family for about 15 years now. My brother went to the University of Maryland when Coach Franklin was there, so we have a great relationship. "I've just always felt like this was a good fit for me. I know I really like both the de- fensive coordinator, Coach Shoop, and the defensive backs coach, Coach Smith, so just knowing that I'm comfortable with the staff, that was really important to me." Penn State's offer was one of a dozen that McPhearson had received prior to his com- mitment. Among the top programs that had been pursuing him were Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Rivals.com rates McPhearson as a three-star prospect and the No. 23 player in Maryland for the Class of 2016. He's the sixth prospect to make a commitment to the Nittany Lions for this year's class and the second defensive back, joining cornerback Lavert Hill of Detroit. McPhearson is the younger brother of sophomore wide receiver Josh McPhear- son, who joined the Lions in January as a walk-on. F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G Maryland CB commits to Lions 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 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. Lehman Zechariah McPhearson CB 6-0 185 ★★★ Upper Marlboro, Md. Riverdale Baptist 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 14 NEW COMMITMENT McPhearson, middle, visited for the Michi- gan State game last November. He an- nounced for the Nit- tany Lions on Saturday. Photo by Tim Owen