R
ecruited by Penn State to play the
three-technique defensive tackle po-
sition, Tyrell Chavis will be asked to
make life miserable for opposing quar-
terbacks. His averse relationship with sig-
nal callers is, a=er all, how he grew to be-
come one of the highest-rated junior col-
lege defensive tackles in the Class of 2016.
But it was his acquaintanceship with –
rather than his disregard of – two former
Penn State QBs that ultimately helped
persuade Chavis to select the Nittany Li-
ons.
A=er graduating from Varina High in
Richmond, Va., Chavis spent a year at
prep school with Fork Union (Va.), over-
lapping the stay of Christian Hackenberg
before he enrolled at PSU. Although Chavis
eventually signed with Virginia, where he
spent a redshirt season before transferring
to Nassau Community College in Garden
City, N.Y., he kept a close eye on Hacken-
berg's career, watching nearly all of his
games with the Nittany Lions the past
three years.
"When I started weighing my options
[at Nassau], I knew Penn State was going
to be one of the places that I wanted to
visit, just because my boy Hack went there
and he just told me so many good stories
about the good people and the times he
had and the coaches," Chavis said. "That's
the main thing I've listened to, my friends
who are going through it right now."
By the time Chavis 9nished his second
season at Nassau, Penn State was knocking
at the door. The coaching sta; was slow
to pursue him initially, due to the di
