Blue White Illustrated

CLASS OF 2017 NAME POS HT WT RATING HOME SCHOOL Damion Barber DE 6-3 245 ★★★ Harrisburg, Pa. Harrisburg Sean Clifford QB 6-2 197 ★★★★ Cincinnati, Ohio St. Xavier Robert Martin OT 6-5 260 ★★★ Montvale, N.J. St. Joseph's Yetur Matos DE 6-5 230 ★★★★ Fredericksburg, Va. Chancellor Michael Miranda G/C 6-4 285 ★★★ Stow, Ohio Stow-Munroe Falls Dylan Rivers LB 6-3 220 ★★★ Stephens City, Va. Sherando C.J. Thorpe OG 6-4 310 ★★★★ Pittsburgh, Pa. Central Catholic CLASS OF 2018 NAME POS HT WT RATING HOME SCHOOL Chris Bleich OT 6-5 308 N/A Bradenton, Fla. IMG Academy Micah Parsons DE 6-3 235 N/A Harrisburg, Pa. Central Dauphin * As of April 24 Recent commitments boost OL Thorpe, Martin, Miranda are latest prospects to join Class of 2017 T he future of Penn State's o7ensive line became a bit more clear in April, as the sta7 was able to land three priority prospects at that position group. Pittsburgh native C.J. Thorpe was ar- guably the most coveted of the three. A 6-foot-4, 310-pound four-star o7ensive guard from Central Catholic, Thorpe had earned more than 20 scholarship o7ers before committing to head coach James Franklin and his sta7 hours before the Blue-White Game. "Every time I'm up there, I just feel at home," he said. "The coaches have always shown me a lot of love and that they really wanted me. I appreciate how much e7ort they put in with me. Also, a9er seeing all of the schools I really liked, I de5nitely felt like Penn State's environment was the best 5t for me. Not just on the team, but the whole campus, the whole town. "I also think that I have a real chance to get early playing time. I would love to play early if I can make that happen, so it just made sense to me. I didn't see any reason to hold o7." Thorpe has a connection to the Nittany Lion program, as his father, Chris Thorpe, played running back for Joe Paterno in the 1980s. But although the family ties piqued his initial interest in the school, his father's history with the Nittany Lions didn't have as much in6uence on his de- cision 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 toward 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 toward Penn State or anything like that. "He just wanted me to 5nd the right place, and it just so happened that Penn State was the school." Thorpe wasn't the only lineman to com- mit before the spring game, as o7ensive tackle Robert Martin of Montvale, N.J., also ended his recruitment that same day. A three-star prospect, Martin took his 5rst uno8cial visit to Penn State on Feb. 17. Heading into that trip, the 6-5, 260- pound lineman was planning to make a decision during his senior season. However, things changed quickly once he got a good look at what Penn State had to o7er, and that feeling intensi5ed during his visit for the Blue-White Game. "As soon as I pulled up on campus I knew this is where I wanted to be," Martin said. "I was always dreaming of playing at Penn State since I was a little kid. Just being around the coaches and seeing that game-day experience – it wasn't even a game day actually. It was a spring game. Just to see that live, the energy and pride in it, it really took a toll on me, and I had to do it." Martin earned 11 total scholarship o7ers before committing to Penn State. He's al- ready become close with a few of the prospects who have already committed and is now working on a few other top players from New Jersey. "I've actually been talking to a couple VERBAL COMMITMENTS* F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G |

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