Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
T he fax machine had barely stopped spitting out letters of intent when linebacker Charlie Katshir an- nounced that he would be attending Penn State. Katshir, a linebacker prospect from Mechanicsburg, Pa., o<- cially joined the Nittany Lions' Class of 2018 on Feb. 2, one day a=er the mem- bers of PSU's 2017 class submitted their letters. Rated by Rivals.com as the No. 10 prospect in Pennsylvania, Katshir played wide receiver and safety as a junior at Cumberland Valley. But the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is planning to switch to linebacker this fall a=er he fully recovers from a shoulder injury he received play- ing basketball this winter. BWI recruiting reporter Ryan Snyder recently caught up with Katshir to talk about his commitment to Penn State. Here's what he had to say: BWI To start o;, why Penn State? What were some of the things that you liked about the school and the football program? KATSHIR First o;, it's not that far from home. It will be easy for my family to come see me, but also for me to get down there and see my family. It's also a great education. That was very impor- tant for me and my family. That will take me far a=er I graduate. Obviously, they can o;er some great football there. The team just had one of its best seasons in a long time, and they're only getting bet- ter. That's exciting, and something I wanted to be a part of. I love the coaches. Coach [James] Franklin and Coach [Brent] Pry are great people, but really, all of their coaches seem to be good people. Also, when I was there for the junior day a couple of weeks ago, the recruits and commits I got to speak with were all good guys. I know I'll :t in with those guys, which is important. You want to feel comfortable with your teammates. BWI Were you a Penn State fan grow- ing up? KATSHIR Growing up in Harrisburg, you see Penn State stu; everywhere. When it comes to colleges, most of the people here support Penn State, so they grew on me as I became older and watched the college game more. Beaver Stadium is one of the best atmospheres in all of college football. I always thought it would be cool to play there. BWI What schools were pursuing you that hadn't o;ered by the time you com- mitted? Virginia, West Virginia, Pitt and Rutgers all o;ered, but I feel like a lot of schools wanted to see you at camp this summer, since you played safety this past year. Is that fair to say? KATSHIR Yeah, I think so. Virginia Tech just came into my school not that long ago. Duke and Michigan State have also dropped by. I've been in contact with Indiana and Northwestern. North- western also came into my school in the past month or two. All of those schools see me as a linebacker, but they were cu- rious to see how I :lled out. Like you said, I mainly played safety [in 2016], so they did want to see how I developed be- fore o;ering. There were a couple other schools, too. But for me, once I got Penn State, that was important. I waited a bit to see how things shaped up, but I knew PSU was going to be right at the top of my list. BWI Brent Pry recruits your area and will also be your position coach. Can you talk more about your relationship with him? KATSHIR I kept in contact with him as much as I could. We usually talked a couple of times a week. But when I went up there [last] summer for camp, I got to work with Coach Pry. That was big for I N T E R V I E W C H A R L I E K A T S H I R It really is a dream come true to play for Penn State' '