W
ith 10 weeks to go before signing
day for the Class of 2016, Penn
State appeared to have a realistic
chance of recruiting one of the top 10
classes in the country. The Nittany
Lions had landed verbal commitments
from two of Rivals.com's top 100
prospects – running back Miles Sanders
and o=ensive lineman Michal Menet –
and to that point in the recruiting cycle,
they had assembled the No. 2 class in the
Big Ten behind Ohio State.
But the optimism faded when six play-
ers decommitted prior to signing day.
The unraveling began in December 2015
when four-star cornerback Lavert Hill
decided to reopen his recruitment. Hill,
a Detroit native who had been commit-
ted to the Lions for nearly a year, ended
up signing with Michigan.
In January, Penn State also lost a pair
of defensive tackles, as four-star
prospect Karamo Dioubate le> for Tem-
ple and Michael Dwumfour headed to
Michigan. Prep All-America place-
kicker Quinn Nordin also ended up with
the Wolverines, while safety Andrew
Pryts committed to Stanford and athlete
Aaron Mathews announced for Pitt.
And the bleeding didn't stop there.
Looking to regain its momentum, Penn
State instead
