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F E B R U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 5 ALEX BARBIR Barbir and Penn State classmate Blake Gillikin were rated the top two place-kickers in Georgia's sen- ior class. Barbir was impressive at sev- eral kicking camps last summer, converting field goal attempts of 55, 57 and 71 yards. As those numbers suggest, he also excels on kickoffs. Returning Penn State place-kickers Tyler Davis and Joey Julius did well on short field goals but struggled at times with kick- offs and PATs. That means Barbir will have a chance to compete for immediate playing time. CAMERON BROWN Brown played primarily as a standup defensive end during his senior season. Listed at 6- foot-6, he appears capable of bulking up to 240 or 250 pounds, which would put him in the mix at the weakside de- fensive end spot. He also has the ath- leticism to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 defensive alignment. Brown has an excellent first step, and it's helped him to become an effective outside pass rusher. He will most likely be redshirted in 2016. TYRELL CHAVIS In recent months, Chavis has emerged as possibly the top juco defensive tackle in the Northeast for the Class of 2016. He is projected to play the one-technique spot at Penn State – a position of im- mediate need in the wake of Austin Johnson's early departure for the NFL. Chavis is following the same career path as Tarow Barney, a juco prospect who spent two seasons with the Nit- tany Lions as Johnson's backup. Rated a 5.7 three-star defensive tackle by Ri- vals, he will have a chance to make an immediate impact with the Lions this coming fall. DANNY DALTON Dalton appears to have the physical potential to play the flex tight end position in Joe Moor- head's spread offense. At 6-foot-4, he should be capable of adding 10 to 15 pounds without sacrificing any of his athletic ability. As a route runner, he reminds me of current Penn State jun- ior Mike Gesicki. The biggest differ- ence between those two players is that Dalton comes to PSU with more expe- rience as a blocker than Gesicki had coming out of high school. Because he's already on campus, Dalton could be a factor at tight end this fall. But if Gesicki, Brent Wilkerson, Nick Bowers and Jonathan Holland all remain at the position, I would expect Dalton to be redshirted. DAE'LUN DARIEN James Franklin and his staff were looking to add an addi- tional wide receiver to their class. In Darien, they found their man. He has excellent size, with 34-inch-long arms and a 99-inch reach, and he combines that size with legitimate 4.6-second 40-yard speed. Given his long frame, Darien could grow to about 225 pounds before his career is over. He should fit nicely into Joe Moorhead's spread of- fense, but he'll likely need to be patient as he awaits his opportunity. Even with Geno Lewis having leB for Oklahoma, the Lions should be deep at wideout this coming season, which means Darien will probably redshirt as a fresh- man. WILL FRIES Fries is one of four out- standing offensive line recruits in Penn State's class. He has the tough- ness, footwork and athletic skills to play guard or tackle at the college level. I expect him to play at either right or left tackle at Penn State. At 6- foot-6, he can probably pack about 310 pounds onto his sizable frame. He will almost certainly be redshirted as a freshman. ALEX GELLERSTEDT Gellerstedt was recruited by Penn State to play an of- fensive tackle position. At 6-foot-6, he could potentially add 30 to 40 pounds and play at 310 pounds or more. His arm span is nearly 32 inches, and he dis- plays a good punch with his pass- blocking technique. He's one of two freshman offensive linemen who are al- ready on campus (Connor McGovern is the other), but I expect Gellerstedt to redshirt in 2016. BLAKE GILLIKIN Penn State report- edly recruited Gillikin exclusively as a punter. That's understandable given the Lions' acute needs at the position. But in addition to his strong punting at Westminster, he was also an excellent kicker, with field goals of 53 and 55 yards in the state playoffs. I expect Gillikin to compete for the starting punter job as soon as he steps onto campus; he has the potential to be- come a four-year starter at that spot. It will be interesting to see whether he joins the competition at place-kicker, too. T.J. JOHNSON Johnson has excellent hand-eye coordination and closes on the football extremely well. He has the speed (4.55 seconds in the 40) and one- on-one coverage skills to play the boundary cornerback position, but with his tall frame, he could develop into a free safety at Penn State. He played the boundary cornerback spot as a senior at Euclid and finished with a conference-leading seven intercep- tions. If he can improve his tackling technique, provide solid run support and bulk up to about 200 pounds, I think it's likely he will end up at safety. He's a very solid late addition to Penn State's class. ELLISON JORDAN When you look at Jordan's senior highlight tape, it's easy to understand why he was the Sun's De- fensive Player of the Year. He's excep- Examining the Nittany Lions' 2016 recruiting class player by player PHIL'S CORNER

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