Blue White Illustrated

From the sound of things, that was a good idea. "[The offer] didn't surprise me at all," Shabazz High coach Darnell Grant said. "But I wasn't expecting the call to come directly from Penn State's head coach, Bill O'Brien. [Benton] has been a starter for us since the beginning of his freshman year. He has over 300 career tackles and has been an All-Conference and All-Group I performer the past three years. "Penn State is No. 1 on his list, and if he attends Penn State, they will be getting a linebacker who fits perfect- ly into the Penn State linebacker tra- dition. He is a gifted athlete, but what really sets him apart as a foot- ball player is his tenacity. He has a mean streak that is a mile long on the football field, and when he tack- les people, he de-cleats them. "I believe Penn State is recruiting Al-Rasheed as an inside linebacker, but he's capable of playing all three linebacker positions. I know he liked everything he saw at Penn State at the Blue-White Game. He particu- larly likes defensive coordinator Ted Roof and linebacker coach Ron Van- derlinden." This past season, Benton recorded 108 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. However, he wasn't the only athletic linebacker to pick up a verbal offer, as Penn State ventured to Florida to offer Bartow prospect Freddie Stevenson. "I talked to Coach [Stan] Hixon," Stevenson said. "He actually told me that they offered me earlier, but I did- n't realize it. Must have missed it or something. "I've been talking to them for the past few weeks. I'll probably end up visiting. I mean, why not? Coach Hixon has been telling me that they're a school that's great at devel- oping linebackers. I kind of looked them up a bit, so I'm excited. I'll probably end up taking an official visit there." Stevenson's list of top schools includes Penn State, Florida State, South Florida and Texas A&M. While it won't be easy to pull him out of the Sunshine State, Penn State improved its chances of landing a Florida line- backer by checking in on Michael Deeb of American Heritage High in the Fort Lauderdale area. Florida high schools began spring practice in mid-May. A few weeks ago, Larry Johnson and Vanderlin- den stopped by to see Deeb practice. He already holds a verbal offer from Penn State and has been learning more about the Nittany Lions dur- ing the past few months. Of the Florida prospects whom the Lions are pursuing, Deeb appears to be the most likely to sign with the school. "They really are in a great position right now," Deeb said. "Academical- ly, they're one of the best schools that have offered me, and that's real- ly important to me. I know that if I have to go away from home, either a few hours or a plane ride away, my family will support me, so that's not a problem. "Penn State also is a great football school. They play some of the best competition in the nation, so they're definitely a school that's high on my list right now. I'm excited to come visit. I know it's a great school." The coaching staff also spent quite a bit of time making it clear who will be its top targets in 2014. The consensus among recruiting analysts is that Da'Shawn Hand of Woodbridge, Va., will be next year's top defensive end prospect, possibly the nation's top prospect overall. Penn State staff members not only spent time with Hand's head coach, but have already extended a verbal offer to the talented prospect and a few other Virginia players, as well, most notably defensive tackle Andrew Brown of Chesapeake and safety Quin Blanding of Virginia Beach. "I'm actually very familiar with Penn State already," said Blanding, who appears likely to be a top-100 prospect in 2014. "My family is actu- ally from Penn State. They live right around State College. I haven't really been to the college yet, haven't seen campus or anything like that, but I know it's a great program, great aca- demics and football." Other top 2014 targets who are claiming a Penn State verbal offer are defensive end Jalyn Holmes of Nor- folk, Va., linebacker Dante Booker of Akron, Ohio, running back Jonathan Hilliman of Jersey City, N.J., and wide receiver Moral Stephens of Per- ry, Fla. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M NAME RECIPIENTS OF VERBAL OFFERS POS HT WT HOME Jonathan Allen Alex Anzalone Anthony Averett Alvin Bailey Adrian Baker Nadir Barnwell DE 6-3 225 Ashburn, Va. LB 6-3 220 Wyomissing, Pa. Ath. 6-1 175 Woodbury, N.J. WR 5-11 170 Seffner, Fla. DB 6-1 168 Hollywood, Fla. DB 5-11 180 Piscataway, N.J. Al-Rasheed Benton LB 6-2 220 Newark, N.J. Kenny Bigelow DE 6-3 280 Bear, Del. Tashawn Bower Tyler Boyd Buddy Brown Greg Bryant Ryan Burns Devin Butler Corey Clement Reggie Davis Michael Deeb DE 6-5 230 Somerville, N.J. WR 6-1 168 Clairton, Pa. LB 6-2 205 Williamston, N.J. RB 5-11 200 Delray Beach, Fla. QB 6-5 218 Ashburn, Va. DB 6-1 170 Washington, D.C. RB 5-11 205 Glassboro, N.J. WR 6-1 170 Tallahassee, Fla. LB 6-3 229 Plantation, Fla. DaJaun Drennon DE 6-3 230 Sicklerville, N.J. Robert Foster WR 6-3 170 Monaca, Pa. Kendall Fuller Kirk Garner Ben Gedeon Jermain Grace Derrick Green Ryan Green DB 6-0 185 Olney, Md. DB 5-11 180 Olney, Md. LB 6-3 215 Hudson, Ohio LB 6-2 215 Miramar, Fla. RB 6-0 215 Richmond, Va. RB 5-10 187 St. Petersburg, Fla. Vernon Hargreaves DB 5-10 177 Tampa Paul Harris James Hearns Darian Hicks Ty Isaac Zayd Issah Dorian Johnson Trey Johnson Shane Jones Tim Kimbrough Micah Kiser Patrick Kugler Brian Lemelle E.J. Levenberry LB 6-3 230 Tallahassee, Fla. DB 6-0 175 Solon, Ohio RB 6-3 215 Joliet, Ill. LB 6-3 205 Harrisburg, Pa. OL 6-6 280 Belle Vernon, Pa. LB 6-1 220 Lawrenceville, Ga. LB 6-1 220 Cincinnati LB 6-1 226 Indianapolis LB 6-1 215 Baltimore OL 6-5 265 Wexford, Pa. WR 5-11 170 Harrisburg, Pa. LB 6-3 226 Woodbridge, Va. Mike McGlinchey OL 6-9 280 Philadelphia Kameron Miles DB 6-2 200 Mesquite, Texas Donovan Munger DT 6-3 278 Shaker Heights, Ohio Henry Poggi DT 6-3 250 Baltimore Matt Rolin Jamari Smith Tracy Sprinkle LB 6-4 205 Ashburn, Va. RB 6-0 200 Neptune Beach, Fla. DE 6-4 245 Elyria, Ohio Freddie Stevenson LB 6-1 220 Bartow, Fla. Ryan Switzer Wyatt Teller Ath. 5-10 170 Charleston, W.Va. DE 6-5 250 Bealton, Va. Eddie Vanderdoes DE 6-4 285 Placer, Calif. Dominic Walker WR 6-2 195 Orlando, Fla. Donta Wilkins David Williams Delton Williams WR 6-4 185 Upper Marlboro, Md. Daryl Worley RB 6-0 188 Philadelphia Ath. 6-2 205 Erie, Pa. WR 6-0 185 Philadelphia J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 1 2 11 DT 6-3 315 Dumfries, Va.

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