Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
NAME POS HT WT RATING HOME SCHOOL Chris Bleich OL 6-5 308 ★★★ Plymouth, Pa. Wyoming Valley West Isaiah Humphries DB 5-11 185 ★★★ Sachse, Texas Sachse Justin Fields QB 6-3 220 ★★★★ Kennesaw, Ga. Harrison Patrick Freiermuth TE 6-5 250 ★★★★ North Andover, Mass. Brooks School Charlie Katshir LB 6-3 190 ★★★ Mechanicsburg, Pa. Cumberland Valley Zack Kuntz TE 6-7 218 ★★★★ Camp Hill, Pa. Camp Hill Jesse Luketa LB 6-3 225 ★★★★ Erie, Pa. Mercyhurst Prep Micah Parsons DE 6-3 235 ★★★★★ Harrisburg, Pa. Harrisburg Justin Shorter WR 6-4 210 ★★★★ Monmouth Junction, N.J. South Brunswick Ricky Slade RB 5-9 195 ★★★★ Woodbridge, Va. C.D. Hylton Nick Tarburton LB 6-4 240 ★★★★ Perkasie, Pa. Pennridge * As of March 5 V E R B A L C O M M I T M E N T S * any other. I will most de6nitely visit Penn State again. They de6nitely have a chance to make my cut when I do that down the road." The Nittany Lions also made a strong impression on defensive lineman Marcel- lus Earlington. Like Friday, Earlington plays at Don Bosco Prep. He was a 6-foot- 3, 256-pound defensive end last season who doubled as a tight end. But he's ex- pected to grow into a defensive tackle at the college level. Earlington was the only Class of 2018 prospect who earned a scholarship o7er from Franklin before heading home. "I loved their locker rooms and meeting rooms," Earlington said. "The stadium looked unreal, and the campus was also really nice. I loved how the whole town, with the stores and shops, is around the campus. It's nice." He added, "PSU is de6nitely one of my favorites. I should be at the spring game." The event may have been focused on rising seniors, but Penn State also hosted about a dozen prospects in the Class of 2019. Athlete DeMarcco Hellams of De- Matha High in Hyattsville, Md., was one of those players. Last fall, Hellams, who's expected to play safety if he attends Penn State, vis- ited for the game against Temple. He at- tended camps previously, but the junior day was his 6rst opportunity to meet with the coaching sta7 and tour facilities. "The sta7 is amazing," Hellams said. "Coach [Tim] Banks is a great coach. We spent most of the day together. We chopped up some 6lm and he gave me some great coaching points. He feels as though he can take my game to the next level, so I absorbed everything he and Coach [Brent] Pry had to say. The sta7 as a whole, Coach Franklin, Pry, [Terry] Smith, Banks, [Charles] Hu7, they all made me feel welcomed." He added, "PSU was already a school that I was high on, but it surpassed my expectations. I'll de6nitely be back up in the spring. When I make the decision to chop my list down, they'll be in the [mix]." Hellams wasn't the only 2019 prospect on hand from outside of Washington, D.C., as St. John's College High line- backer Shane Lee was another top player in attendance. Already holding o7ers from Maryland, Michigan, North Car- olina, Ohio State and Pitt, among others, Lee is expected to be one of the top 6ve linebackers on the East Coast next year. He, too, had been on campus before, but wasn't given the opportunity to have an extended conversation with the coaching sta7 until now. "Everyone was really nice," Lee said. "I also didn't realize how prestigious PSU is [academically]. I really enjoyed that piece of the visit. Coach Pry and I got to sit down and talk a lot of football. We went over some of their game 6lm and talked about the history of the school and some of the great linebackers that played there." With spring practice now set to begin on March 22, recruiting should once again pick up leading up to the Blue-White Game next month. Four-star defensive tackle Aeneas Hawkins of Cincinnati and o7ensive lineman Jake Kradel of Butler, Pa., are two players who have already set up visits to Penn State in the 6rst week of spring practice. Hawkins, who holds more than 30 scholarship o7ers, is one of the sta7's top targets at his position. Kradel had yet to pick up an o7er from the Lions as of this writing, but he had earned scholarships from more than 20 other programs, making him a player to watch closely. ■