Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/79325
FOOT B A LL RE C RU I T I NG Nittany Lions lose 5 recruits P In aftermath of Freeh report, top prospects decide to look elsewhere BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated enn State's Class of 2013 suffered some major setbacks following the release of the Freeh report on July 12. Though the majority of prospects de- committed after president Mark Emmert released the NCAA's sanctions, which included a four-year bowl ban and the loss of 40 scholarships, the class ac- tually began to unravel a few days ear- lier, when both defensive tackle Greg Webb and defensive back Ross Douglas decided to look elsewhere. A number of factors played into the decision by Webb, a four-star lineman from Sicklerville, N.J. The fact that he would not have a chance to play in a bowl game for the majority of his career was definitely a factor, but Webb's fa- ther, Greg Webb Sr., said his son had been thinking about a few other pro- grams before the penalties were an- nounced. Specifically, he wanted to play college ball with defensive end DaJaun Drennon, a close friend and high school teammate. "All along, they wanted to play to- gether," Webb Sr. told Rivals.com. "Sev- eral of [the schools] offered them to- gether, and a lot of people liked both of them. And a lot of schools said it wasn't possible. Some said you might have to drop down a level or two if you want to play together." Penn State showed interest in Dren- non, but the staff made it clear in Feb- ruary that Curtis Cothran was the No. 1 defensive end on the team's recruiting board. Penn State planned to sign only one defensive end in its class, and when Cothran verbally committed, there simply wasn't any room left to add PENN STATE COMMITMENTS* NAME POS HT WT 40 HOME Brandon Bell Adam Breneman Curtis Cothran SCHOOL LB 6-1 224 4.6 Mays Landing, N.J. Oakcrest TE 6-5 220 – Camp Hill, Pa. DE 6-5 225 – Newtown, Pa. Christian Hackenberg QB 6-4 215 4.84 Fork Union, Va. Zayd Issah Brendan Mahon OL 6-5 302 – Andrew Nelson OL 6-5 265 – LB 6-3 205 4.57 Harrisburg, Pa. Randolph, N.J. Hershey, Pa. Neiko Robinson DB 5-11 170 4.51 Bratt, Fla. Garrett Sickels Jordan Smith * As of Aug. 19 Drennon. When Drennon received an offer from North Carolina – the state to which the Webb family is planning to move after Greg Jr. graduates from high school – the potential for the two friends to play together at North Car- olina became very real. They visited Chapel Hill, and both committed to the Tar Heels on July 21. Douglas, a four-star recruit from Avon, Ohio, also grew disenchanted with Penn State over the summer. He said that even before the NCAA stepped in, he was re-evaluating his options. "My family saw it coming," he said the day of Emmert's news conference. "We prepared ourselves for it, and today was just the icing on the cake. I love Penn State to death, but I have to do what's best for me, and I'm going to look elsewhere." Douglas visited both Nebraska and Michigan in the days that led up to his decommitment, and he ended up an- nouncing for the Wolverines July 24. On July 28, six verbally commited recruits – Adam Breneman, Garrett Sickels, Brendan Mahon, Andrew Nel- son, Christian Hackenberg and Will Fuller – visited Happy Valley to meet with the coaches. All six left that day stating that they were 100 percent committed to Bill O'Brien and his staff, but Fuller soon began having second thoughts. The following week, he visited Notre Dame. After thinking about his future and talking things over with his family, Fuller committed to the Fighting Irish on Aug. 5. "I grew up loving both Penn State FOLLOW RECRUITING ONLINE Visit bwi.rivals.com for updated news on PSU's scholarship offers and commitments. Cedar Cliff Council Rock North Fork Union Military Academy Central Dauphin Randolph Hershey Northview DE 6-4 225 4.7 Little Silver, N.J. Red Bank Regional DB 6-0 180 4.5 Washington, D.C. H.D. Woodson