Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/541265
O +ensive tackle Will Fries committed to Penn State on June 9, inspiring ex- citement within the Lasch Building and disappointment at several of the Big Ten's other outposts. Among the schools that the four-star lineman had been se- riously considering before choosing the Nittany Lions were Rutgers, Michigan and Northwestern. Shortly a,er he committed, BWI's Ryan Snyder caught up with Fries to *nd out more about why Penn State was the right *t for him and what he's doing to prepare for his senior season at Cranford (N.J.) High and beyond. To start o", why Penn State? I know you really liked Michigan, and North- western, Rutgers and Clemson were also high on your list. What put Penn State at the top of that list? When I looked at everything, the whole package, it all just made sense. They have everything I'm really looking for. It's a great school. I have a really good relationship with my position coach, Coach [Herb] Hand, and I think that this program is well on its way to being a dominant program in the next couple years. It's also close to home, which is very bene*cial for me and my family. The other schools I considered were great schools. All of those schools had what I was looking for, so it was a tough deci- sion, but Penn State really just had the whole package. I felt the most comfort- able there, and now I'm just really happy that I chose Penn State. Can you hit on your relationship with both Herb Hand and Ricky Rahne? You've mentioned a few times that your relationship with Hand was very important to you. Those two were both very important to me. I'll be spending most of my time with Coach Hand, so getting to know him and his coaching style, that was all very important to me. He's been open and honest with me about everything from the very beginning. That's one thing my entire family really liked. Both Coach Hand and Coach Rahne were so quick to answer all of our questions. 'I'm just really happy that I chose Penn State' I N T E R V I E W W I L L F R I E S Several Big Ten schools wanted the talented lineman, but PSU won his commitment DECISION TIME Although Fries considered Michi- gan and North- western among others, PSU had "everything I'm really looking for." Photo by Tim Owen