Blue White Illustrated

F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G PSU adds defensive linemen to class Nittany Lions receive verbal commitments from Webb, Cothran BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated should put to rest concerns about the persuasiveness of Bill O'Brien and his staff. Simply put, Webb was not a guy who seemed destined to wear the Blue and White. A Sicklerville, N.J., native and T Rivals100 defensive tackle, Webb was mistakenly turned away from the Beaver Stadium recruiting lounge following the Iowa game last year, a snub that prompted him to vent his frustrations via Twitter. He spent the following weeks and months looking at other schools, and it seemed farfetched to think that the 6-foot-2, 290-pound prospect from Timber Creek High might somehow end up with the Nittany Lions. But Bill O'Brien and Larry Johnson were able to convince the nation's 78th-ranked player to make a visit in late March. To say the visit went well would be an understate- ment. "Coach Johnson, Coach O'Brien and Coach [Ted] Roof – all of us just had a real good time talking," Webb said. "[They were] telling me how they'd like to have me there in the future, how I would fit in at Penn State, and how we can build a team around this next recruiting class that can go on and win a national championship. "Academics and nonfootball stuff are real important as well. We got to talking about how Penn State is a o those who still doubted their ability to recruit with the nation's best, Greg Webb's com- mitment to Penn State truly P E N N S T A T E C O M M I T M E N T S * NAME Adam Breneman Curtis Cothran Ross Douglas POS HT TE DE DB Christian Hackenberg QB Brendan Mahon Garrett Sickels Greg Webb * As of April 9 OL DE DT WT 6-5 6-5 5-10 6-4 6-5 6-4 6-2 220 225 180 215 302 225 290 40 – – 4.4 – – 4.7 – HOME Camp Hill, Pa. Newtown, Pa. Avon, Ohio Fork Union, Va. Randolph, N.J. Little Silver, N.J. Sicklerville, N.J. SCHOOL Cedar Cliff Council Rock North Avon Fork Union Military Academy Randolph Red Bank Regional Timber Creek place where I can really better myself as a person. I had a poor experience at Penn State in the past, but that is long gone now. I really can say it was almost like a dream trip. They offer so much when it comes to the academics, and the new coaching staff is just a real great group of guys." Two and a half weeks later, Webb's feelings were still strong, giving him the confidence to make a verbal commitment to Penn State. "I've just been really thinking about all my trips lately, about the entire process, and it just felt right," he said. "Those coaches are all a great group of guys. Everything is real genuine there. "The atmosphere, the school – everything really works to what I want to accomplish. Coach Johnson is without a doubt one of the best defensive line coaches there is in all of college football. Not only has he put some of the NFL's best defensive linemen in the league, but he also builds men, making sure that when we leave Penn State, we'll be better than when we came. That's every- thing I could ask for." Webb's commitment represented a significant milestone for Penn State. This is the first time since Internet rankings began in 2001 that the Nit- tany Lions have gotten commitments from three top-100 players and six top-250 players before the Blue- White Game. And Webb wasn't the only defen- sive line prospect to decide recently that he wanted to play for the Nit- tany Lions. On March 27, defensive end Curtis Cothran of Newtown, Pa., and Council Rock North High School announced that he was planning to sign with Penn State. "It was just everything overall that made me want to commit," Cothran said. "The coaching staff just gave me the feeling that I'm going to be dealing with a lot of great people. I know they're going to do everything they can to help me and look out for my best interests. "Then, the school, the stadium, everything about Penn State is just great, you can't beat it." After visiting Penn State on March 24, the 6-5, 225-pound prospect left town with the Nittany Lions firmly at the top of a list that also included Rutgers and Maryland. He said that while many factors impressed him during his unofficial visit to Univer- sity Park, one person in particular helped him make up his mind – Lar- ry Johnson. "Coach Johnson is really important to me," he said. "I can already tell by talking to him that he really studied my tape, really looked at my strengths and weaknesses, so he already knows what I need to do to become a better player. He's a great guy, cares about FOLLOW RECRUITING ONLINE Visit bwi.rivals.com for updated information about PSU's verbal scholarship offers and commitments. 10 A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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