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J A N U A R Y 3 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 7 T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . c O M Moments aBer Christian Hackenberg announced to reporters that he would be passing up his final season of collegiate eligibility, defensive tackle Austin John- son followed suit. "I decided to forgo my senior year and enter the NFL DraB," said the redshirt junior from Galloway, N.J., aBer Penn State's 24-17 loss to Georgia in the Tax- Slayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. Johnson finished his junior season with 15 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He also ranked No.3 on the team with 78 tackles, broke up two passes and forced a fumble. The highlight of his season might have been a 71-yard scoop-and- score against San Diego State on Sept. 26. While Johnson had hoped to finish his Penn State career on a high note in the season finale, he expressed his pride in playing with his teammates over the course of the past few seasons. "I'm just happy to be playing with my brothers and just happy to give it my all today," he said. "We didn't come out on top, but it is what it was. We gave it a good, hard fight." Johnson projects as either a first- or second-round pick in the NFL DraB, which begins April 30. He finishes his Penn State career with 154 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss. Johnson also had four fumble recov- eries and five pass breakups in his ca- reer. He has started every game for the Nittany Lions the past two seasons. Johnson set to enter draft Junior DT joins Hackenberg in announcing plans to leave PSU SAYING FAREWELL Johnson has been one of the Nittany Lions' most effective defensive linemen the past three sea- sons and is expected to be selected in the first two rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft. Photo by Steve Manuel RECRUITING Clairton athlete commits to PSU Penn State picked up its first Class of 2016 commitment in more than four months, as athlete Aaron Mathews of Clairton, Pa., announced on Saturday that he will sign with the Nittany Lions in February. A three-star prospect, Mathews has been on the staff's radar since his junior season, but it wasn't until Dec. 27 that he picked up an offer from head coach James Franklin. He had been planning to take a few official visits in January, then make a decision sometime close to signing day. But aBer speaking with his family over the past week, Mathews was confident that the Nittany Lions were the best choice for him. When asked prior to his commitment what stood out about Penn State, Math- ews said he was impressed with the ca- reer opportunities it offered. "If you graduate from Penn State, you'll defi- nitely meet someone down the road, when you're looking for a job," he said. "They have a great alumni base. Also, the coaching staff and the atmosphere they have there [are impressive]. Playing in front of 107,000 fans, that's an experi- ence that will always get you pumped for games. It's unbelievable. "Also, I feel comfortable with Coach [Terry] Smith. He's always been a WPIAL guy. He lived out this way for a long time and coached Gateway. He's actually known me since before I started playing football, so we go back a long way. I feel comfortable with him." During the past two seasons, Mathews earned 14 scholarship offers, but he was focused on Pitt, West Virginia and Toledo in the weeks leading up to his offer from Penn State. He was set to offi- cially visit Toledo Jan. 15-17, and West Virginia Jan. 29-31, but it now appears that he will take just one official visit – to Penn State Jan. 22-24. Mathews could play either wide re- ceiver or outside linebacker for the Nit- tany Lions. He played quarterback for Clairton this past season, leading the Bears to a 14-1 record. He's also a high school teammate of five-star athlete La- mont Wade, a member of the Class of 2017. 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

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