Blue White Illustrated

who bear close scrutiny: Elijah Conli7e of Hampton, Va.; Donovan Jeter of Beaver Falls, Pa.; Camaron Spence of Bradenton, Fla.; Dalyn Wade-Perry of Sparta, N.J.; and Jordan Williams of Vir- ginia Beach, Va. Conli7e has stated that Penn State is among his top three schools. Wade-Perry has visited Penn State at least four times since last spring, while Williams visited twice this past season and is trying to visit again in the near future. It should also be noted that Darnell Ewell of Norfolk, Va., and Fred Hansard of Princeton, N.J., have visited Penn State. But we need to see more of those two before we'll start to believe that the Lions have a real chance. LINEBACKER PLAYERS ON 2017 ROSTER 4 PROJECTED SIGNEES 3 or 4 OUTLOOK The Nittany Lions didn't sign many linebackers this past February, landing one outside linebacker who could grow into a defensive end (Cameron Brown) and one defensive end who could end up at outside linebacker (Shaka Toney). Given their abundant needs, a lot of fans were surprised that this position group didn't rank as a higher priority. But one look at the mid-Atlantic re- gion's 2017 linebacker crop shows why. The sta7 has already been able to secure a commitment from three-star prospect Dylan Rivers of Stephens City, Va., and there are quite a few others who are high on the Nittany Lions. Those prospects include Jordan Anthony of Bradenton, Fla.; Ayinde Eley of Olney, Md.; Nathan Proctor of Indiana Head, Md.; and Avery Roberts of Wilmington, Del. Roberts has already con6rmed that he will make a decision in April. He's visited Penn State more than any other school and is now set to visit again for the Blue-White Game. That bodes well for the sta7. A commitment from Roberts could also put pressure on Proctor. We believe he's very high on the Nittany Lions. If the position is beginning to 6ll up, we believe he won't want to miss out on his spot. CORNERBACK PLAYERS ON 2017 ROSTER 7 PROJECTED SIGNEES 1 OUTLOOK Penn State will have 6ve cor- nerbacks on its 2016 roster who hold ei- ther freshman or sophomore eligibility, so we don't expect the sta7 to add many more in 2017. Three prospects who we know are seriously considering the Lions are Tariq Castro-Fields of Upper Marl- boro, Md.; C.J. Holmes of Hamden, Conn.; and 6ve-star player Lamont Wade of Clairton, Pa. The sta7 is also heavily pursuing Amir Riep of Cincinnati and Ambry Thomas of Detroit, but we need to see more of both players before we would consider them serious options. Wade is clearly the Nittany Lions' top target; he's the No. 1 cornerback in the nation. But Castro-Fields landed an of- fer from the sta7 on junior day and raved about the sta7 and campus. If he visits again later this spring or summer, we wouldn't be surprised if he made a com- mitment while on campus. As for Holmes, he picked up an o7er during a recent visit and gave us the impression that Penn State is the team to beat. SAFETY PLAYERS ON 2017 ROSTER 6 PROJECTED SIGNEES 1 or 2 OUTLOOK Three of the safeties on the Lions' current roster – Jarvis Miller, Ay- ron Monroe and John Petrishen – will have sophomore eligibility in 2017, but they'll lose Malik Golden a9er the up- coming season, and Marcus Allen will depart the following year. In addition, Penn State wasn't able to hold onto 2016 prospect Andrew Pryts, so the coaches are looking to sign at least one safety in their next class and have already extend- ed o7ers to a handful of prospects. We believe that Damani Neal of Po- tomac, Md.; Derrek Pitts of Charleston, W.Va.; and Jonathan Sutherland, who currently attends Episcopal High in Alexandria, Va., are the sta7's most real- istic options. It once appeared as though Neal was a near-lock for the Lions, but following Bob Shoop's decision to leave for Tennessee, it looks as if the sta7 has cooled on Neal. In fact, Pitts may now be Penn State's top target, and the interest appears to be mutual. He raved about the coaches and the school following an un- o8cial visit for junior day in February. We expect Penn State to land one of the three prospects listed above. A second safety is also a very real possibility, but that decision will likely be impacted by how Penn State fares at other positions of need. ■ LINEBACKER U Rivers has already committed to PSU, but the Lions are far from finished at LB. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

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