Blue White Illustrated

The ninth annual Under Armour All- America game is set to kick o9 Saturday from Orlando. (Noon; ESPN2) Once again, the teams are loaded with top high school players from around the country, and Penn State is well repre- sented. Four prospects who are verbally committed in the Nittany Lions' Class of 2016 are set to play, all of whom are con- sidered four-star prospects by Rivals.com. DT ELLISON JORDAN (6-0/265) Chosen as the Baltimore Sun's All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year, Jordan tallied 17 sacks as a senior and set a Gilman School record with 52 in his career. A three-time All-Metro selection, Jordan had 71 tackles, 19 of which went for a loss, two forced fum- bles and a safety as a senior. The summer before that proli8c season, Jordan commit- ted to Penn State in June a;er he had taken multiple visits to University Park. Recently, he visited in-state Maryland a;er it hired new coach D.J. Durkin in December, but he maintains that his commitment to PSU is solid. Jordan earned his UA invite in No- vember. As the No. 27-ranked defensive tackle in the country, Jordan will be looking to break back into the Rivals250 with a strong performance during this week's practice and in Saturday's game. OL MICHAL MENET (6-5/273) Penn State was long considered the fa- vorite in Menet's recruitment as the native of Reading, Pa., visited the campus multi- ple times as an underclassman. He made it o:cial in late May by committing at a cer- emony in his school, Exter Township. He chose PSU over Duke. In September, Menet received his UA jersey. Considered the No. 6 o9ensive tackle in the nation, Menet has been a recent 8xture in the Ri- vals100. With a solid performance this week, he's looking to maintain or improve upon his ranking, which only adds to an al- ready impressive resume. For the third consecutive season, Menet was named to the Class AAAA All-State team. That's never been accomplished before in Berks County football history. RB MILES SANDERS (5-11/200) A;er a senior season in which Sanders rushed for 1,412 yards on just 117 carries, averaging more yards per carry (12.1) than any other running back in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League, the Woodland Hills product is cur- rently Penn State's highest-rated verbal commitment (No. 64). Although he was the 8rst prospect to join PSU's Class of 2016, committing the summer before his junior year, he has kept the door open to other schools. He visited Pitt on multiple occasi- sions, but a;er o9ensive coordinator Jim Chaney departed for the same position at Georgia, Sanders told reporters that the Panthers are out of consideration. Michigan State is another school still making a push, but Sanders has said that his only o:cial visit will be taken to Penn State Jan. 22, when the rest of the verbal commitments and top uncommitted targets are expected to be on campus. This week, Sanders will be looking to reclaim his spot as the No. 1 all- purpose back in the country. DE SHANE SIMMONS (6-3/225) When Simmons announced for Penn State in July before his junior season it ap- peared as though he had 8ve-star potential. From DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md., Simmons chose PSU over o9ers from Ala- bama, Ohio State and Florida State and has held strong ever since. A;er originally being ranked No. 25 in the nation, however, Sim- mons has slipped to No. 137 in Rivals' latest rankings. He's still one of the highest- ranked prospects on PSU's commitment list and with a strong performance this week he can stop the skid. He was recently named the All-Met Player of the Year by the Wash- ington Post, while earning 8rst-team hon- ors for the second year in a row. He 8nished his senior season with 82 tackles, 23 of which went for a loss, and 16 sacks. He also added three forced fumbles. 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 Four PSU recruits set to play in All-America game R E C R U I T I N G |

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