Blue White Illustrated

A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 13 gigisdining.com ' Voted Most Romantic and "Best" Fine Dining Fantastic Cuisine, Exceptional Service... 814.861.3463 W LUNCH|DINNER SATURDAY BRUNCH SOUTHERN INSPIRED. locally grown Voted M o s t R o F Fa n t a s t i c C E x c ep p t i o n a F i n e m a n t i c a n d Best" C Cu i s i n e , a l S e rv rv i c e . . . D i n i n g LUNCH S O U S O U R y I g H DINNER U T H E N y N g S P I y y g g U T H E R N I N S P I R E D . R E D S A T U R D A A Y BRUNCH B R U N C H gi gig igi gis isd sdi din ini nin in ng ng.co com om Penn State has pursued in this class, Thorpe originally built a strong relation- ship with former position coach Herb Hand. While he was upset to see Hand leave, he instantly connected with new offensive line coach Matt Limegrover. That played a major role in giving Thorpe the confidence to commit this early in the cycle. "I really like Coach Limegrover. I like him and Coach Moorhead a lot," Thorpe said. "I thought that Penn State made a great move when they brought both of those guys in. I also really like that they're both from Central [Catholic]. We already had a slight connection from that. Since then, it's only been positive. "I've been able to talk to Coach Limegrover a lot over the past couple of months. I know he's a great coach who cares about his guys. I'm happy that we were able to connect right away. That was important for me. It allowed me to know that nothing is going to change at Penn State. If anything, they're just get- ting better." Thorpe also grew up close to the Nit- tany Lion program, as his father, Chris Thorpe, played running back for Joe Pa- terno in the 1980s. But although the family ties piqued his initial interest in the school, they didn't have as much in- fluence on his decision as some may think. "He never really pushed me to Penn State, but of course, he's happy for me. He loves that I'm going there," Thorpe said. "Throughout my recruitment, he really stayed out of the process when it comes to pushing me towards one school or another. He was always there for me. He helped with any advice and always went out of his way to take me places, but he was never pushing me towards Penn State or anything like that. "He just wanted me to find the right place, and it just so happened that Penn State was the school." Thorpe is the third four-star prospect in the class, joining quarterback Sean Clifford and defensive end Yetur Matos. The nation's 12th-ranked offensive guard, as well as the eighth-ranked player in Pennsylvania, Thorpe helped lead Central Catholic to a 15-1 record in 2015. The Vikings won the PIAA Class AAAA championship, defeating Park- land, 21-18. Martin is a three-star prospect from St. Joseph's Regional High and the 21st- ranked player in New Jersey. Like Thorpe, the 6-5, 258-pound lineman was on campus visiting for the Blue-White Game. In a tweet announcing his deci- sion, he described Penn State as his "dream school." "I can't wait to pursue my education and football career at the next level!" he tweeted. Rivals.com analyst Adam Friedman de- scribed Martin as "a very aggressive line- man with solid technique and a big frame," adding that he "will need to get stronger and add mass once he gets on campus but he will be a major contribu- tor once he is ready physically."

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