Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/603435
Penn State prepares to host its biggest recruiting weekend of the season A FULL HOUSE 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 N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 17 Penn State is looking to round out its Class of 2016, and one of the players on hand this coming weekend will be safety Ikenna Okeke of Smyrna, Tenn. A three- star prospect according to Rivals.com, Okeke has been focused on Missouri, Notre Dame, Penn State, Stanford, Ten- nessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, and he's now set to take his third and final of- ficial visit. "I've been talking to Coach [Bob] Shoop pretty much every day," Okeke said. "He's a real good recruiter. He's very honest and has always answered any questions I have. I really like him a lot. I'm actually planning to call him in the next day or two to talk about some of the specifics with the trip. I know the game is at noon now and I have a game Friday night, so we were trying to figure out when they would book everything for me. "But we've been talking about the game and what I can expect on campus and around the town for a couple of weeks now. I'm excited and I know I picked a great game for my visit." He picked a popular one, that's for sure. Okeke is one of three safety prospects who will be taking official visits to Penn State this weekend, and those players are among dozens who will most likely be on hand. The coaching staff is expected to host more than 60 prospects for Satur- day's game, including players from the 2016, '17, '18 and even '19 classes. Okeke has held an offer from Penn State since the spring, but this will be his only visit to University Park. "I'm looking for- ward to seeing what their atmosphere is like inside the stadium," he said. "I've heard a lot about the White Out game. But also, just checking out the campus. Education is important, so I'd like learn more about my major, which will be business or sports management." Okeke's previous official visits were to Notre Dame and Texas A&M. He is hop- ing to wrap up his recruitment in the next few weeks. R E C R U I T I N G KEY VISITOR LIST // NOV. 21* VERBALLY COMMITTED PROSPECTS NAME POS HOME SCHOOL CLASS Cameron Brown DE Potomac, Md. Bullis School 2016 Michael Dwumfour DT Wayne, N.J. DePaul Catholic 2016 Daniel Joseph DL Lake Forest, Ill. Lake Forest Academy 2016 Connor McGovern OL Lehman, Pa. Lake-Lehman 2016 Zechariah McPhearson DB Upper Marlboro, Md. Riverdale Baptist 2016 Michal Menet OL Reading, Pa. Exeter Township 2016 Quinn Nordin PK Rockford, Mich. Rockford 2016 Shaka Toney LB Philadelphia, Pa. Imhotep Charter 2016 Sean Clifford QB Cincinnati, Ohio St. Xavier 2017 UNCOMMITTED PROSPECTS MAKING OFFICIAL VISITS Ikenna Okeke Saf. Smyrna, Tenn. Smyrna 2016 Kyzir White DB Scranton, Pa. Lackawanna C.C. 2016 JoeJuan Williams Saf. Hendersonville, Tenn. Hendersonville 2016 HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS Jordan Anthony LB Bradenton, Fla. IMG Academy 2017 Damion Barber DE Harrisburg, Pa. Harrisburg 2017 Micah Clark OL Holmdel, N.J. St. John Vianney 2017 Darnell Ewell OL Norfolk, Va. Lake Taylor 2017 Robert Hainsey OL Bradenton, Fla. IMG Academy 2017 Gabe Houy OL Pittsburgh, Pa. Upper St. Clair 2017 Donovan Jeter DE Beaver Falls, Pa. Beaver Falls 2017 Corey Malone-Hatcher DE Saint Joseph, Mich. Saint Joseph 2017 Yetur Matos DE Fredericksburg, Va. Chancellor 2017 Derrek Pitts Ath. Charleston, W.V. South Charleston 2017 Dylan Rivers LB Stephens City, Va. Sherando 2017 Avery Roberts LB Wilmington, Del. Concord 2017 Ryan Solt OL Wilkes Barre, Pa. James M Coughlin 2017 C.J. Thorpe OL Pittsburgh, Pa. Central Catholic 2017 Jordan Williams DE Virginia Beach, Va. Cox 2017 HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES Shaquon Anderson-Butts WR Harrisburg, Pa. Harrisburg 2018 Kevin Doyle QB Malvern, Pa. Malvern Prep 2018 Phil Jurkovec QB Gibsonia, Pa. Pine-Richland 2018 Matt McElroy LB New Milford, N.J. New Milford 2018 Teradja Mitchell LB Virginia Beach, Va. Bayside 2018 Micah Parsons DE/LB Harrisburg, Pa. Central Dauphin 2018 Bartek Rybka LB Paramus, N.J. Paramus Catholic 2018 HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN Devyn Ford Ath. Stafford, Va. Stafford 2019 POSSIBLE VISITOR Lamont Wade Ath. Clairton, Pa. Clairton 2017 * As of Nov. 18