Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
fall. At one point, the Lions appeared to be the favorites, but the competition is much more 4erce now. He can basically chose any school in the country. PHILLIP PATTERSON WR // 6-1 // 175 Virginia Beach, Va. Bayside High OFFERS Duke, East Carolina, Illinois, Massachusetts, Navy, North Carolina, Old Dominion, Penn State, San Diego State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest QUOTABLE "I was at the Blue-White Game and that was great. It was one of the coolest visits I've taken. There were a lot of things I liked. They took me to see everything. I saw the buildings and the stadium. I got to see the team com- ing in on the buses. I watched all the fans cheer for them. Another thing I liked about them was the fans. They were all really friendly and were talking to us. They were really nice." OUTLOOK Patterson picked up an of- fer about a week a6er attending the Blue-White Game. He came away from that visit feeling very good about Penn State and spoke highly of the coaching sta5, so we have reason to believe the Li- ons have a real chance here. He's received a few solid o5ers since April, including two from North Carolina and Virginia. Those two are in his top six, as is Penn State. The other three schools on his short list are Duke, Old Dominion and Wake Forest. We believe Penn State should be able to crack his top three, but he hasn't talked much about his decision, so nothing would surprise us. On one hand, we believe Penn State is his current favorite, but there have also been indica- tions that he would like to stay close to home. It's possible he will commit prior to the start of his senior season. LUKE FARRELL TE // 6-6 // 235 Perry, Ohio Perry High OFFERS Alabama, Boston College, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin QUOTABLE "The 4rst [time] I saw [Penn State], I got to see everything, and it's de4nitely going to be a harder deci- sion than I originally imagined. Any of my options, I feel like, would be good options. I'm just trying to 4nd the right 4t. They're all up there. I wouldn't really rank one ahead of the other because they all bring di5erent things to the table, whether it's academics, the football pro- gram or coaching." OUTLOOK Although Penn State has already received a commitment from a tight end – Danny Dalton of Marsh4eld, Mass., who announced in May – we be- lieve the sta5 will take two players at this position if it can land one of its top remaining targets. Going into June, three prospects were still under consideration, but Cary Angeline of Exton, Pa., com- mitted to USC a few weeks ago, while Philadelphia prospect Naseir Upshur eliminated Penn State when he nar- rowed his list to eight at the end of the month. The third prospect, Farrell, is still in play. He has been focused on Penn State, Boston College, Michigan State and Ohio State since April, and he also re- ceived an o5er from Notre Dame in early June. Farrell originally wanted to make a commitment by early July, but we be- lieve the Notre Dame o5er prompted him to slow down and reassess. We also believe that Penn State has been third or fourth on his list for a while now, as Ohio State and Michigan State are the other two schools that he's seriously consid- ering. While the Lions can't be ruled out, there are a few other schools that are higher on his board. If Farrell does go elsewhere, the coaches will probably look to use that scholarship to address other needs. But if they 4nd an impres- sive under-the-radar prospect, there is a chance they will take two tight ends. ZACH ADAMS OL // 6-6 // 315 Fredericksburg, Va. Riverbend High OFFERS Air Force, East Carolina, Illi- nois, Kansas, Kentucky, Marshall, Mary- land, Miami, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia QUOTABLE "There are a few [schools] right now that are standing out, but we'll see. I'm not ready to put out names yet, but there are de4nitely a few that are starting to separate themselves from the rest of them." OUTLOOK Adams emerged as one of the region's fastest-rising o5ensive line prospects during the spring evaluation period. At the end of April, Penn State assistants Brent Pry and Herb Hand worked out Adams at his school. His size, speed and strength exceeded the coaches' expectations, and they extend- ed an o5er a few days later. He went on to visit Penn State on June 14 and was expected to return on July 18. Adams hasn't opened up to the media about where each school stands, but he is expected to narrow his list by the end of July. For now, we believe Penn State is in a very good position, but Miami and North Carolina have been making a seri- ous push during the past month. He also took visits to Texas and Mississippi in early June. Both schools were still evalu- ating Adams as of this writing, but if one or both were to o5er, we believe they would immediately shoot to the top of his list. Adams lived in Texas for a few years, and he was an Ole Miss fan grow- ing up. TERRANCE DAVIS OL // 6-4 // 310 Hyattsville, Md. DeMatha High OFFERS Alabama, Arkansas, Con- necticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa State, Kentucky, Marshall, Michi- gan, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA, Virginia Tech, West Virginia QUOTABLE "I'll announce my top eight in the next couple weeks. Michi- gan, Maryland, Alabama, UCLA and Georgia will de4nitely make the cut." OUTLOOK Davis visited Penn State for a Junior Day event on Jan. 31, but since then, he hasn't shown much interest.