Blue White Illustrated

He is listed as a 6-foot-2½, 220-pound outside linebacker wearing jersey No. 43. "An outstanding running back at Fox Chapel HS," the profile states. "He rushed for 1,745 yards and scored 28 touchdowns his senior year… He had 134 carries for 786 yards and eight TDs (as a junior)… He was a member of the Pitts- burgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 and was a two-time state champion in the 110 hurdles." Seemingly Thorpe couldn't miss. The summary under his "Lion Ca- reer" told me why he did: "1985 – He sat out his first season with a shoulder in- jury and retained freshman eligibility… 1986 – Was injured in a preseason scrimmage and missed the entire year… 1987 – Making a comeback from a seri- ous neck injury, Thorpe appeared in nine games [and 30 plays] as a fullback and member of special teams… but did not carry the ball." By the spring of 1988, Thorpe had been switched to linebacker and had three solo tackles and one pass defended in the Blue-White Game. He was listed as the third-team outside linebacker but, according to the media guide, "had the potential to assume a larger role in the defense." That didn't happen. In 1989, Thorpe's name did not appear in the media guide, except in a listing of the previous year's lettermen. So I checked my file of news- paper and magazine clippings and dis- covered that he had been listed in the game summary of the season opener at Virginia as a backup safety (then known as the "hero") behind junior Brian Chiz- mar (whose son Max is now another legacy recruit as an invited walk-on linebacker). Thorpe's name was nowhere to be found for the rest of the '88 season. 'The worst pain I ever felt in my life' I learned all about those injuries and that consequential Virginia game when I N ot every scion of a Penn State foot- ball player has bought into the mys- tique of wearing those distinctive blue and white uniforms. The sons of two first-team All- America defensive linemen, tackle Randy Crowder and end Walker Lee Ashley, passed up scholarship offers from Joe Paterno. Crowder's son Channing was born in State College during his father's stint as a Penn State assistant coach in the early 1980s. By 2002, the Crowders were living in Georgia, where Channing developed into a prep All-America linebacker. He chose Florida over the Nittany Lions, and in 2004 was selected a first-team All-American by ESPN. Ashley's namesake son, Walker Lee Jr., also was a prep All- American, winning those honors during his ca- reer as a defensive lineman at Eden Prairie High in suburban Min- neapolis. He spurned Penn State and Minnesota for Southern Cal in 2005 but did not enroll until 2006. He transferred to Minnesota before the 2007 season but left without earn- ing a letter. More recently, four-star safety An- drew Pryts, the son of three-year let- terman Ed Pryts, flipped to Stanford after previously giving James Franklin a verbal commitment. A native of Hermitage, Pa., Pryts did not play during his freshman season with the Cardinal. With defensive back Isaiah Humphries, the son of former Penn State cornerback Leonard Humphries, com- mitted for next year, there are now five more potential legacy recruits in the pipeline. Solomon Enis, a four-star wide receiver from Phoenix, is the son of 1997 All-America running back Curtis Enis. He has re- ceived offers from at least nine other schools and has not made an offi- cial Penn State visit yet, but he told Rivals, "I can't wait to build relationships with the coaching staff. … At the end of the day, I want to leave my own legacy at a school." Athlete Dean Engram of Gonzaga High in Washington, D.C., is also said to have an interest in his father's alma mater. Engram's father is Bobby En- gram, one of the great wideouts in school history and a key member of Penn State's undefeated 1994 team. Hayden Rucci is coming off a strong sophomore season playing tight end and defensive end at Warrick (Pa.) High and has already received an offer from Michigan State. His father, Todd, was an offensive tackle for Paterno's teams from 1990-92. And if a brother counts as a legacy, four-star prospect Zack Kuntz of Camp Hill will help continue the Penn State tradition in 2018. Kuntz's brother Christian lettered at wide re- ceiver in 2012 and another brother, Brandon, walked on a few years ago before transferring to West Chester. Zack is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 1 tight end in the country and the 65th- best overall prospect. Let the pipeline continue to flow. ■ Many prospects pay heed to family ties, but not all SOLOMON ENIS Rivals.com |

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