Blue White Illustrated

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 picked up another verbal commitment Sunday evening, as senior defensive tackle Fred Hansard decided to back out of his commitment to Florida and instead join the Nittany Lions. A native of Princeton, N.J., Hansard was on campus with his family for an official visit this past weekend. ABer watching Penn State's 45-12 victory over Michigan State Saturday evening, the Hansards spent almost all of Sunday meeting with the coaching staff, including brunch with head coach James Franklin. By the time they were ready to head home, Hansard decided to officially switch his commit- ment to the Nittany Lions. A four-star prospect and a member of the Rivals250, Hansard is the sixth-ranked de- fensive tackle in the country. He's also the second-ranked player in New Jersey for the Class of 2017. Hansard received an offer from Penn State in the summer of 2015 and went on to take at least five unofficial visits to University Park, including one for the Lions' game against Iowa earlier this month. He also received offers from Ala- bama, Clemson, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Hansard is the first defensive tackle to make a commitment to Penn State in this year's class. He's the second prospect from New Jersey in the Lions' class, joining of- fensive lineman Robert Martin. Hansard's commitment was the second in two days for Penn State. On Saturday, prior to their game against Michigan State, four-star tight end Zack Kuntz of Camp Hill, Pa., announced that he intends to sign with Nittany Lions in 2018. NOTEBOOK • Penn State reportedly feels good about its chances with defensive end Josh Kain- doh. A five-star prospect who is currently attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Kaindoh had been committed to Maryland since last summer. But he took an official visit to University Park for the Michigan State game and announced Monday night via Twitter that he was de- committing from the Terrapins. Kaindoh is expected to take official visits in the com- ing weeks to Georgia and Alabama, and he also reportedly has a strong interest in Florida State. He said he plans to announce his final decision at the Under Armour All- America Game Jan. 1 in Orlando. • Linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden has confirmed that he intends to enroll at Penn State in January. Faison-Walden committed to Penn State in July, choosing the Nittany Lions over Alabama, Clemson and Michigan, among others. However, the Greensboro, N.C., native took several official visits this season, beginning with a trip to Michigan on Oct. 1 and continuing with visits to North Carolina State and Georgia. Faison-Walden took his official visit to Penn State on the weekend of the Ohio State game in October, then took one last official visit to Virginia Tech in No- vember, as well as an unofficial visit to Georgia this past weekend. Faison-Walden finished his senior sea- son at Grimsley High with 75 tackles, in- cluding nine tackles for loss, five sacks and one interception. He also forced a fumble and recovered another. • Senior safety Tariq Castro-Fields' offi- cial visit is expected to take place aBer the holidays. A four-star prospect from Upper Marlboro, Md., he's planning to take an of- ficial visit to Maryland on the weekend of Dec. 9-11, so that weekend won't work for Penn State. It's possible that the staff will look to welcome him instead in late January. • Penn State's assistant coaches are ex- pected to stay in town this week rather than hit the road for in-home visits. A few coaches may go out Thursday, and five- star safety Lamont Wade of Clairton, Pa., may receive a visit, but nothing had been set in stone as of this writing. Four-star defensive end joins Nittany Lions' 2017 class 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 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 14

• Cover