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 It's been an eventful month for the Nit- tany Lions on the recruiting trail, and on Dec. 17 the coaching staff received its biggest commitment yet, as five-star de- fensive back Lamont Wade of Clairton, Pa., announced that he plans to attend Penn State. Wade, who stands, 5-foot-9, 182 pounds, received offers from all over the country. He picked Penn State over West Virginia, UCLA, Tennessee and Pitts- burgh. "They have good academics and they just won the Big Ten championship," Wade said. "I've known those coaches over there for a long time and I like them a lot. I think they'll be able to develop me and take care of me. I can get on the field and make an impact on offense, defense and special teams." Wade was the second defensive back to join Penn State's Class of 2017 in five days, as four-star Detroit prospect Donovan Johnson committed to the Lions on Dec. 12. Rivals.com described Wade's addition as "huge on and off the field. The five-star will provide a big boost to Penn State's team ranking, and he's the second highly regarded cornerback to commit to the Nittany Lions this week. Wade should see the field pretty early in his career, especially on spe- cial teams. He is electric with the ball in his hands and it wouldn't be surprising to see him make a few big plays as a re- turn man next year. "Off the field, Wade's commitment says to other programs that Penn State can keep an in-state player away from the lure of the SEC, and even though Penn State lost to Pittsburgh [in Septem- ber], they can get big-time players from schools that are traditionally pipelines to their rivals." Wade's commitment may indeed have implications for Penn State beyond the addition of another talented defensive back to the secondary. Here are a few ob- servations: WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA The WPIAL has always been a high pri- ority for the Lions, but it's been under an even bigger spotlight in recent months following Notre Dame's success, as the Irish landed linebacker David Adams, defensive lineman Kurt Hinish and 2018 quarterback Phil Jurkovec earlier this year. Pitt has also made it clear that it plans to be a serious player in the region, having landing cornerback Jordan Whitehead a few years back and now de- Wade's commitment has implications for Penn State on and off the field R E C R U I T I N G D E C 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 16 A heavily re- cruited prospect from Clairton, Pa., Wade was named the de- fensive back MVP at the Ri- vals Five-Star Challenge this past summer. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

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