Blue White Illustrated

THE WE EK IN. . . BLOGS The one consistency I see with this class is athleticism. There are some kids with speed who need some coaching and some who appear to have peaked late in their high school careers. While 19 is a small class, I believe there are some gems in this one. PHI L 'S CORNER Penn State looks ahead to 2013 as Junior Day approaches TIM TOLLEY VICTORY BELL RINGS OPINIONS A "perfect storm of negativity" delivered a serious hit to Penn State's recruiting class of 2012, depriving it of well-regarded tal- ent and leaving one prominent recruiting analyst wondering if the entire group would pan out. JOE JULIANO PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Anyone who thinks O'Brien could have salvaged this recruit- ing class is living in another reality. Never in the history of college football have there been circumstances like these. An ESPN The Magazine poll this week showed that 75.6 percent of recruits on signing day said they wouldn't have considered Penn State, a staggering figure that will take years, not weeks or months, to overcome. DEJAN KOVACEVIC PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW QUOT E S This signing class, they are going to be special kids. You will write about them again. They took a step, a leap of faith. LARRY JOHNSON ment of the Class of 2013 need look no further than the Nittany Lions' upcoming Junior Day. In the 31 years that I've been cov- T ering Penn State and national foot- ball recruiting, I've never seen a PSU coaching staff assemble a contin- gent of Junior Day visitors that's as impressive as the one that will travel to University Park on Feb. 17 and 18. During a confer- hose who may have been won- dering how Bill O'Brien and his assistant coaches were going to approach Penn State's recruit- School in Camp Hill, Pa. Breneman is the first tight end to receive a five-star ranking in ESPN's recruit- ing evaluations, and Rivals.com considers him to be the No. 1 tight end prospect in the country and the 22nd-best overall prospect in the Class of 2013. But Breneman isn't the only head- liner in what promises to be a major recruiting weekend for Penn State. O'Brien and his staff are also tar- geting the top two wide receivers in Pennsylvania, and both are expect- ed to attend Saturday's Junior Day. The wide receivers are Robert ence call on sign- ing day, O'Brien made it clear that Penn State's top priority in recruit- ing would be to secure the top prospects in its home state. He added that each of his nine assis- tant coaches would have a specific recruiting responsibility and region in Pennsylvania. With the members of the Class of For the latest news on Penn State's Junior Day Feb. 18, visit Recruiting Central at bluewhiteonline.com Foster of Central Valley High School in Monaca and William Fuller of Roman Catholic in Philadelphia. Foster, who is rated by Rivals as the fourth-best wide receiver and the 26th-best overall prospect in the country, totaled more than 1,500 yards of offense the past two seasons at Central Valley. He has also landed more than 20 verbal scholarship offers. Fuller was named All-City and All- Catholic by the Philadelphia 2013 assembling on Penn State's campus Feb. 17 and 18, O'Brien and his assistants have shown that they are prepared to make a strong effort to land the state's premier high school prospects. On Friday, O'Brien and his staff will host Pennsylvania's top-rated prospect for the Class of 2013 and the consensus No. 1 tight end prospect in the country: Adam Breneman of Cedar Cliff High W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 2 5 Inquirer following the 2011 season. Some analysts say Fuller might be the best receiver to emerge from the Philadelphia Catholic League since Marvin Harrison, who was an All- American at Syracuse and played nearly a dozen years with the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. Other top members of Pennsylvania's Class of 2013 who are expected to be in attendance at Penn State's Junior Day are line- backer Alex Anzalone from Wyomissing, athlete Tyler Boyd of Clairton, athlete DeShawn Coleman from Hickory High in Hermitage, athlete Zayd Issah from Central Dauphin High in Harrisburg, tight end Scott Orndorff from Seton- LaSalle High in Pittsburgh, and linebacker Jake Plonski and quar- terback Damio n Terry from Cathedral Prep High in Erie. Other than concentrating on recruiting its home state of Pennsylvania, Penn State seems to be making a strong push to recruit players at positions of need. With the uncertainties that exist with Matt McGloin, Rob Bolden and Paul Jones, it is not surprising that O'Brien and his staff have invited four blue-chip quarterbacks to Saturday's Junior Day. Those four are Terry, Boeing Brown of Brookfield, Conn., Ryan Burns of Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va., and Christian Hackenberg of Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. It is an impressive quarterback group. Burns and Hackenberg are rated by the G&W Recruiting Report not only as the top two quarterback prospects in Virginia for the Class SEE CORNER, PAGE 29

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