Blue White Illustrated

Penn State has emerged as the school to beat for Matt Bockhorst, a junior offensive lineman from St. Xavier High in Cincin- nati. Although he's still open to seeing which schools may extend offers this fall, the Nittany Lions have firmly placed themselves at the top of his list following his visit this past weekend for their "Stripe Out" game against Rutgers. "It was an awesome visit, top to bottom," Bockhorst said. "It was well-run. The recruiting staff was great. Even when the rain came, I still had a great time. I think there are two things that really stand out to me about Penn State, and one of them is Coach [James] Franklin. His personality is great. He's different from other college coaches. He's really personable. He's really approachable. You can tell that he's the kind of guy you want to play for. He doesn't have to yell at you for you to want to play hard for him. "Another thing is Coach [Herb] Hand. I think I'm a pretty intense person during games and Coach Hand fits me. Seeing him during a game, that was big for me. I got to know him over the past few months, but to see how he really coaches during the game, I think he fits the kind of coach that I'm looking for." Bockhorst got a good feel for what Penn State has to offer this past summer when he took an unofficial visit with Sean Clif- ford, a teammate at St. Xavier who later became the first prospect to commit to Penn State's Class of 2017. However, nei- ther Bockhorst nor Clifford had seen a game at Beaver Stadium before this past weekend. "It was really cool to be on the field be- fore the game," Bockhorst said. "To take all of that in, to see what it's like during a big game, that was a lot of fun. It wasn't quite a sellout, but it was still an incredible crowd. An hour before the game, the sta- dium was more than half-full. You could really feel the emotion from the players and from the fans. It was an awesome atmosphere. I had a great time experi- encing that. It was impressive." In addition, Bockhorst got to know a number of verbally committed prospects who were also on hand for the game. "I met a lot of the 2016 guys," he said. "I spent time with the linemen. They have a couple really good linemen committed, and they're good guys. I met the kicker, Quinn [Nordin], and Miles Sanders and some other people. They're all good guys." Bockhorst has earned 10 scholarship of- fers, and Penn State is at the top of that list. But things could change if he were to receive an offer from Notre Dame or Ohio State. He is planning to visit South Bend in a few weeks when the Irish play host to USC, and there is a chance he will travel to Columbus in the next couple of months. He might also pay another visit to Penn State in November. "I know Sean wants to come back [to University Park] for the White Out game [against Michigan], which is in Novem- ber," he said. "Maybe I can make it back for that, but right now, I'm not sure." Bockhorst is a three-star prospect ac- ceding to Rivals.com. He's the eighth- ranked offensive guard and the 10th-ranked overall prospect in Ohio for the Class of 2017. PENN STATE RADIO NETWORK WAEB............. 790-AM....... Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton WVAM............ 1430-AM....................................... Altoona WRKY............. 104.9-FM............... Altoona/Hollidaysburg WILK.............. 103.1-FM.........................................Avoca WAYC............. 1600-AM.......................................Bedford WAYC............. 100.9-FM......................................Bedford WBYB............. 103.9-FM.....................................Bradford WBUT............. 1050-AM..........................................Butler WCPA............. 900-AM...................................... Clearfield WQYX............. 93.1-FM..................................... Clearfield WZDB.............95.9-FM........................ DuBois/Sykesville WHGL............ 102.9-FM................................ Elmira, N.Y. WPSE............. 1450-AM.............................................Erie WFRA............. 1450-AM...................................... Franklin WGET............. 1320-AM.................................. Gettysburg WJEJ.............. 1240-AM.Hagerstown, Md./Chambersburg Sports Radio..1400-AM...................................Harrisburg Sports Radio..95.3-FM.................................... Harrisburg WKZN............ 1300-AM..................................... Hazleton WLAK............. 103.5-FM................................ Huntingdon WNTJ............. 1490-AM...................................Johnstown WBYB............. 103.9-FM.......................................... Kane WLPA............. 1490-AM....................................Lancaster WNPV.............1440-AM.....................................Lansdale WLBR............. 1270-AM..................................... Lebanon WMRF............ 95.7-FM.................................... Lewistown WMGW...........1490-AM....................................Meadville ESPN Radio....97.3-FM................................ Millville, N.J. WJST.............. 1280-AM.....................New Castle/Sharon WVNJ............. 1160-AM.......................... New York Metro WNTP............. 990-AM..................................Philadelphia KQV............... 1410-AM................................... Pittsburgh WAVT..............101.9-FM.................................... Pottsville WPPA............. 1360-AM.....................................Pottsville WRAW............ 1340-AM...................................... Reading WBZU.............910-AM....................................... Scranton WBYB............. 103.9-FM................................. Smethport WQWK............1450-AM.............................. State College WBUS.............93.7-FM................................State College WZDD............ 101.3-FM....................Stratonville/Clarion WKOK............ 1070-AM...................................... Sunbury WLLI.............. 990-AM...................................... Somerset WTIV.............. 1230-AM..................................... Titusville WHGL.............100.3-FM............................... Troy/Canton WTRN.............1340-AM......................................... Tyrone WTRN.............100.7-FM........................................ Tyrone WNBT............. 104.5-FM...................................Wellsboro WNBQ............ 92.3-FM....................Wellsboro/Mansfield WILK.............. 980-AM................................. Wilkes-Barre WKSB.............102.7-FM.............................. Williamsport WSBA............. 910-AM.............................................. York WJST.............. 1280-AM........................Youngstown, Ohio S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 10 Cincinnati offensive lineman impressed with PSU  R E C R U I T I N G 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 2017 STANDOUT A three-star line- man, Bockhorst en- joyed his visit to Penn State this past Saturday and may return in November for the Michigan game. Photo cour- tesy of Rivals.com

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