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the sta>'s success in adding Sanders, Ri- vals' No. 1 all-purpose running back, has to be considered a major coup. Indeed, Franklin and his sta> deserve an A-plus this year for meeting their needs at run- ning back. This might be a brash statement on my part, but I believe Barkley, Robinson and Sanders have the potential to give Penn State the best running back trio in the Big Ten during the next two seasons. Of course, at this point, I'm talking strictly about potential. It still has to be proven on the =eld. One last reason why I'm excited about Sanders' arrival this summer is that he =ts perfectly into the system that's being installed by Penn State's new o>ensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead. WIDE RECEIVER SIGNEE Dae'lun Darien ANALYSIS Even with the departure of Geno Lewis to Oklahoma, I =rmly be- lieve Penn State will enter the upcoming season with one of the best wide receiv- er groups in the Big Ten. This unit is led by second-team All- Conference honoree Chris Godwin who, as a sophomore, totaled 69 catches for 1,161 yards. He's joined by redshirt jun- ior DaeSean Hamilton, who has totaled 127 catches for 1,479 yards the past two seasons. Sophomore Brandon Polk, red- shirt sophomore DeAndre Thompkins, junior Saeed Blacknall and redshirt freshmen Juwan Johnson and Irvin Charles round out Penn State's scholar- ship roster for spring practice. Given its depth at wide receiver, Penn State's goal this year was to recruit one additional prospect with home run po- tential. Its top choice was Tre Nixon of Viera, Fla. When Nixon committed to Mississip- pi, the Lions turned to Darien, pulling him away from Temple. It wasn't the way the coaches had hoped things would play out, but because of their depth at the position, losing Nixon was not a crushing blow. That said, landing a wide receiver with home run capability will be a high prior- ity next year. TIGHT END SIGNEE Danny Dalton ANALYSIS With Kyle Carter graduat- ing and Adam Breneman forced to give up football due to knee problems, Penn State's spring roster will have =ve tight ends. One of those players will be Dal- ton, who enrolled in January a?er win- ning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Massachusetts as a senior at Marsh- =eld High. The others are senior Brent Wilkerson, junior Mike Gesicki and red- shirt freshmen Nick Bowers and Jonathan Holland. Collectively, Penn State's tight ends are coming o> a disappointing 2015 sea- son in which they totaled 33 catches for 299 yards and scored just one touch- down. Dalton's arrival couldn't come at a better time for the Nittany Lions, be- cause Moorhead's spread o>ense makes extensive use of the tight end in the passing game. At Fordham last season, six receivers had 30 or more catches, and two of them were tight ends. OFFENSIVE LINE SIGNEES Will Fries, Alex Gellerstedt, Connor McGovern, Michal Menet ANALYSIS With McGovern and Gellerstedt having arrived in January, Penn State will have 15 o>ensive linemen on its spring roster, six of whom – Derek Dowrey, Brian Gaia, Wendy Laurent, Paris Palmer, Brendan Mahon and An- drew Nelson – boast starting experience. McGovern was rated by many as the top center prospect in the Class of 2016. Menet was rated by Rivals as the =?h- best guard. Fries already weighs 290 pounds and can play guard or tackle, while Gellerstedt has the frame to grow into a 310-pound tackle. McGovern and Menet have the poten- tial to make the two-deep depth chart as freshmen. I consider them, along with Class of 2015 enrollee Ryan Bates, to be the best o>ensive linemen to come to Penn State since Stefen Wisniewski. This is one of the best o>ensive line classes in the Big Ten. Penn State re- ceives an A-plus for =lling its needs here. DEFENSIVE TACKLE SIGNEES Tyrell Chavis, Ellison Jor- dan, Antonio Shelton, Brenon Thri? ANALYSIS With the departure of Austin Johnson, Anthony Zettel and Tarow Barney, this was Penn State's biggest recruiting need on defense. In terms of numbers, the Lions met their goal. Although they lost Dioubate, Dwumfour and Colon, they signed two juco prospects in Chavis and Thri?, along with Jordan and Shelton. The two incoming freshmen will al- most certainly redshirt in 2016, but the coaches will de=nitely be looking for Chavis and Thri? to contribute immedi- ately. The Lions could have as many as nine defensive tackles on their roster this fall in redshirt junior Parker Cothren, red- shirt sophomore Antoine White, red- shirt freshmen Robert Windsor and Ka- monte Carter, newcomers Chavis, Jor- dan, Shelton and Thri?, and possibly redshirt freshman Ryan Buchholz, a de- fensive end in last year's class who may be getting ready for a move inside. The big question mark for the upcoming season isn't depth, it's playing experi- ence. That's why Penn State needs Chavis and Thri? to be ready to go. DEFENSIVE END SIGNEES Daniel Joseph, Shane Sim- mons, Shaka Toney ANALYSIS Penn State recruited well at both the strongside and weakside defen- sive end positions. Joseph is one of the most underrated players in this class. He has the frame to carry 265 or even 270 pounds and also is reported to possess 4.8-second 40-yard speed. He could be a very e>ective strongside defensive end, or even a tight end. Simmons =gures to play at weakside defensive end. He totaled 83 tackles, in- cluding 20-plus tackles for loss and 16 sacks his senior year. I totally disagree with those who said Simmons had a dis- appointing senior season at DeMatha Catholic. At the Under Armour High School All-American Game on Jan. 2, he was unblockable. I think it's likely that

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