Blue White Illustrated

Michigan State Pregame

Penn State Sports Magazine

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R Y A N   S N Y D E R | B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D Penn State will host running back Jordan Houston of Oakton, Va., for his second unofficial visit of the season this coming weekend. A sophomore at Flint Hill School, Hous- ton suffered a major setback in September, breaking both his ankle and leg. But the Nittany Lions already know what he can do, as James Franklin and his staff ex- tended an offer to Houston following strong performances at two Penn State camps this past summer. "In the first game of the season, I was running and was tackled in a weird spot," Houston said. "When I was brought down, my leg twisted and I ended up breaking my ankle and fracturing my fibula. I'm not 100 percent yet, but I did play in our last game of the season. We played Benedictine in the playoffs. I wasn't 100 percent, but I just wanted to be back so bad for my team- mates. I had over 90 yards rushing and played the best I could. I was just happy to be back on the field." The son of a Penn State alum, Houston is grateful that the coaches offered as early as they did, but he's also still inter- ested in checking out other schools. Be- cause of the injury, many of the region's top programs will likely invite him to camp this summer. "A lot of schools still want to see how I'm progressing first, so I haven't heard from many," Houston said. "One school that's been reaching out is Notre Dame. They've sent me a lot of mail and have invited me to games. But, other than that, it's been pretty quiet because I don't have a lot of film from this season to show coaches. "I have been invited to the Army and Under Armour combines, so hopefully I'll be 100 percent by then so I can show peo- ple what I can do. I'd like to get out to some camps then in the summer, but I'll take it one step at a time." Penn State won't be able to initiate con- versations with Houston until September, but that hasn't stopped him from contact- ing running backs coach Charles Huff. "I can't talk to the coaches a lot because of my age, but I've been reaching out to Coach Huff every couple of weeks," he said. "We just talked a few days ago about this upcoming visit. I was telling him about the combines I was invited to par- ticipate in and was saying how excited I am to get back up there this weekend. It'll be good to see the coaches again. It's been a while since I've been able to really talk to them." Houston has been watching Penn State closely this season and said that the Nit- tany Lions have surpassed his expecta- tions. "I've watched basically every game this year," he said. "I really thought that next year was going to be their big year, so they've been surprising me with how well they're doing. Their team is just so young. It's been fun to watch. Their [offensive] line is now injured, so hopefully they'll be able to get through that and finish the sea- son strong. I've been watching Saquon a lot, too. He's like my idol. I want to be the next Saquon Barkley." Houston will be in good company this weekend, as at least two elite Class of 2017 prospects are expected to attend the Michigan State game: defensive end Josh Kaindoh of Bradenton, Fla., and defensive back Ambry Thomas of Detroit. Neither could be reached earlier this week, but Thomas and Kaindoh are expected to take official visits. Thomas has been leaning toward Michigan for months. Kaindoh is verbally committed to Maryland, but there's been speculation that the five-star Rivals.com prospect may back out of that commitment in the coming days or weeks. Before he committed to the Terps, Kain- doh called Penn State his favorite. How- ever, we've been told that he also plans to take official visits to Alabama and Georgia in December. Virginia RB among visitors for regular-season finale R E C R U I T I N G PENN STATE RADIO NETWORK WAEB............. 790-AM....... Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton WVAM............ 1430-AM....................................... Altoona WRKY............. 104.9-FM............... Altoona/Hollidaysburg WPGG............ 1450-AM......................... Atlantic City, N.J. WILK.............. 103.1-FM.........................................Avoca WLZS............. 106.1-FM........................... Beaver Springs WAYC............. 1600-AM.......................................Bedford WAYC............. 100.9-FM......................................Bedford WBYB............. 103.9-FM.....................................Bradford WBUT............. 1050-AM..........................................Butler WCPA............. 900-AM...................................... Clearfield WQYX............. 93.1-FM..................................... Clearfield WBYB............. 103.9-FM............................... Coudersport WZDB.............95.9-FM........................ DuBois/Sykesville WHGL............ 102.9-FM................................ Elmira, N.Y. WPSE............. 1450-AM.............................................Erie WFRA............. 1450-AM...................................... Franklin WGET............. 1320-AM.................................. Gettysburg WJEJ.............. 1240-AM.Hagerstown, Md./Chambersburg Sports Radio..96.5 FM.................................... Harrisburg Sports Radio..95.3-FM (HD)............................Harrisburg WKZN............ 1300-AM..................................... Hazleton WHUN............ 106.3-FM................................ Huntingdon WCCL............. 101.7-FM..................................Johnstown WBYB............. 103.9-FM.......................................... Kane WNPV.............1440-AM.....................................Lansdale WLBR............. 1270-AM..................................... Lebanon WJUN............ 92.5-FM....................... Lewistown/Mexico WMGW...........1490-AM....................................Meadville WJST.............. 1280-AM.....................New Castle/Sharon WVNJ............. 1160-AM.......................... New York Metro WNTP............. 990-AM..................................Philadelphia KQV............... 1410-AM................................... Pittsburgh WAVT..............101.9-FM.................................... Pottsville WPPA............. 1360-AM.....................................Pottsville WIOV..............1240 AM...................................... Reading WIOV..............98.5-FM....................................... Reading WBZU.............910-AM....................................... Scranton WBYB............. 103.9-FM................................. Smethport WQWK............1450-AM.............................. State College WBUS.............93.7-FM................................State College WZDD............ 101.3-FM....................Stratonville/Clarion WKOK............ 1070-AM...................................... Sunbury WCCL............. 101.7-FM................................... Somerset WTIV.............. 1230-AM..................................... Titusville WHGL.............100.3-FM............................... Troy/Canton WTRN.............1340-AM......................................... Tyrone WTRN.............100.7-FM........................................ Tyrone WNBT............. 104.5-FM...................................Wellsboro WNBQ............ 92.3-FM....................Wellsboro/Mansfield WILK.............. 980-AM................................. Wilkes-Barre WKSB.............102.7-FM.............................. Williamsport WSBA............. 910-AM.............................................. York WJST.............. 1280-AM........................Youngstown, Ohio N O V E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 14

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