Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/617289
probably a week [earlier]. They asked me how I was doing. We talked then, be- cause during the season, I don't like to call coaches. I like to focus on the sea- son, so I called them and we talked for a while, so it was nice. So when you showed up on the weekend of the Michigan game, were they expecting this? Take me back to that moment. I think they were. I wish they weren't, but I think they were because they kept asking me why I hadn't committed. They know how much I love it, and I kept telling them how much I love it. I also brought a bunch of people with me, so they kind of caught on to that: my parents, my brother, my friend Hunter, his mom and dad, his sister and [some coaches and teammates]. You got the o*er in January. What did you know about Penn State at that time? How long have you been fol- lowing the team? It's terrible to say, but before I got that o.er I didn't know a lot about Penn State. I knew about Joe Paterno, but really when I thought about Penn State, I thought about the whole Jerry Sandusky thing. A/er I got to go on my visit and got to see the history – we went to a little thing in the museum where the stadium is. It was pretty cool to see all the history and see how many wins Joe Paterno had and all the coaches who came through there and all the players. So it was nice to -- nally learn more about the university. Which team did you grow up follow- ing? I really didn't watch football. I play football, I love it, but I don't really watch it. I don't really watch sports. They don't interest me [as a spectator]. I like to play them. Take me back to the drive to Beaver Stadium on game day. What's the drive like from Virginia? And as you're pulling into State College, what do you think about when you see all the cars, all the tailgates? For one, the drive from my house to State College is amazing. It's pretty much back roads. You don't have to drive on 81 the whole entire time. You -nally get o. the exit and you turn right and you just see this enormous stadium. It was just heartwarming. You see all the people, the fans, the alumni – it's just great. Since you've been back home, what's the reaction been like? It's just great how many people have congratulated me and just taken me on their shoulders. Even when I saw my teachers from high school, they congrat- ulated me on it and told me how good of a season I've had, so it's been nice. Back to your recruitment, was Vir- ginia Tech No. 2? You took a visit there and also to Clemson. What did you think of those visits? Virgnia Tech was really my No. 2 until Frank Beamer [decided to retire]. But I had some [reservations] about them. It just didn't feel like home when I went there. When I went to Penn State it was like, Wow, I really want to go here. And then Pitt. I never had a chance to visit Pitt, because it's in the city and I don't like being in the city, so that was hard for me. And Clemson is just so far away. My mom would not like me being that far away. For the last question, what's one thing that you might be able to bring to Penn State? One thing fans might be able to anticipate – what would it be? How would you describe yourself on the )eld, o* the )eld? I feel like my work ethic is going to be what will help me stand out in college. I'm just going to try to go up there and help the team as much as possible. I know I probably won't play my fresh- man year, but I'll just want to help as much as possible. ■