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P ennridge High has produced quality football players over the years, but never had a Rams player earned a football scholarship to Penn State. Until now. Nick Tarburton, a 6-foot-4, 240- pound junior linebacker, recently made a verbal commitment to Penn State. "It's pretty cool that I am the 7rst from my school," Tarburton said. Veteran Pennridge coach Je8 Hollen- bach said the only other time Penn State came to the school to recruit a player was when Joe Paterno made a visit to see Louis Riddick. Now a commentator for ESPN, Riddick instead chose Pitt and later played in the NFL before moving on to a career as a scout and front o9ce ex- ecutive for the Redskins and Eagles. Hollenbach was an assistant coach at the school when Riddick was starring for the Rams. Like Riddick, Tarburton is a major im- pact player. This past season, he had 96 tackles, including 71 solo stops and six sacks. He also played tight end on o8ense for a 6-6 team that lost several close games against a quality schedule. "He could be a really good tight end," Hollenbach said. "He catches everything." Despite his o8ensive skills, Tarburton is being recruited to play defense at Penn State. He says his best position is inside linebacker, and that is where he will get every chance to play, although he could ultimately end up on the defensive line. "Nick could possibly grow into a defen- sive end, and he's not against it," Hollen- bach said. "His 7rst love is inside linebacker, and that is where I think Penn State will give him a look at 7rst." Penn State coach James Franklin has a long relationship with Hol- lenbach, which certainly was a bene7t during the recruiting process. Hollenbach's son Sam was a star quarterback at Pennridge and went on to play at the University of Maryland. At the time, Franklin was an assistant with the Terrapins. "James was receivers coach when Sam was there, so I have gotten to know him well," Hollenbach said. Another coach who was at Maryland at the time was Franklin's predecessor at Penn State, Bill O'Brien. Now the head coach of the Houston Texans, O'Brien was the Terps' running backs coach in 2003-04. It was an impressive sta8, and the relationship between Hollenbach and Franklin has grown over the years. "It's great that Coach Hollenbach is super close to Coach Franklin," Tarburton said. Tarburton said that the prospect of playing in a packed Beaver Stadium was part of Penn State's appeal. He made his decision a:er attending a junior day ear- lier this year. A top student, Tarburton hopes to major in international 7nance. He said that Pitt, Michigan State and Maryland were among the schools he was consider- ing, but the visit to Penn State earlier this year sealed the deal for the Nittany Lions. "The coaches and players are awe- some," he said. "And one of the biggest things will be to play in front of a crowd of 107,000." Now with his recruiting de- cision completed, Tarburton will devote his energy toward preparing for his senior sea- son at Pennridge, which is lo- cated in Perkasie, Pa. He will also participate in track, where he competes in the 100-, 200-, 400-meter races and shot put. While Tarburton has been to Penn State for the aforementioned junior day and for other camps, he has never been to an ac- tual game at Beaver Stadium. He attended the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in 2014 when Penn State beat Boston Col- lege, 31-30, in overtime. Tarburton says he can't wait to attend a game at Penn State. That should happen in the fall. For now, he is relieved that the recruiting process is over. "Now I can just focus on my schoolwork and improving in football," said Tarbur- ton, who was selected to the Pennsylvania Football Writers' 6A All-State team as a linebacker this past season. His coach says that Tarburton's statis- tics don't begin to tell the entire story of his value to the team. "Nick is an outstanding leader. He really thinks the game and loves to play," Hol- lenbach said. "He's not concerned about styling, he just loves to play. Penn State is getting not only a great player, but a great young man." ■ Coaching ties pique Tarburton's interest in Lions FAST RISER Defensive line coach Sean Spencer wel- comed Tarburton for a recent junior day. Photo cour- tesy of the Tar- burton family

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