Blue White Illustrated

T he trend in college athletics may be to digitally parade a team's latest re- cruiting haul, proudly displaying the latest signatures and next group of in- coming freshmen, but Penn State wrestling still plays it low key. Although the Nittany Lions' classes routinely rank among the best in the na- tion, the coaching staff hasn't formally announced its next wave of blue-chip- pers since 2011, when future All- Americans Nico Megaludis, Jordan Conaway, Matt Brown and Mor- gan McIntosh all joined. One of the likely reasons for those quiet roll- outs is that head coach Cael Sanderson's re- cruiting classes are, in fact, never completely finished. There are often late additions, early en- rollees, grayshirts and even sometimes transfers. It's not so much a recruiting cycle as a constant and fluid pursuit of the best col- lege-eligible wrestlers the sport has to offer. The Class of 2017 is the next exam- ple of his approach. A couple of the headliners are already on campus. Another was just named Mr. Minnesota High School Wrestler, pre- cisely one year after freshman NCAA champion Mark Hall won the same award. The most recent recruit just an- nounced his commitment, a late decision that made a splash across the college wrestling scene. The top-ranked 145-pounder in the country and a state champion as a senior for Hempfield (Pa.), Jerod Verkleeren de- clared on Twitter April 30 that he was se- lecting the Nittany Lions over Iowa State, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio State, North Carolina State and Virginia. Verkleeren had previously signed with Iowa State, but he was released from his letter of in- tent after the Cyclones dismissed head coach Kevin Jackson. After the news hit that Verkleeren's recruitment was open, it didn't take long for college coaches to begin touch- ing base. Having previous experience in the recruiting process, however, he al- ready had a good idea which schools might suit him. So he began reaching out to them in order to set up visits on his own accord. "I was back on the recruiting market and just getting contacted from schools, but I knew which schools I wanted to look at," he said. "Then I started to go on visits immediately. The past month I was on visits to N.C. State, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa State, Penn State. I was talking with [Virginia], and then Pitt called me, so it was a crazy month." Verkleeren had been to Penn State be- fore – his older brother just finished his freshman year at University Park – and already was familiar with the campus. He had considered the Nittany Lions before signing with Iowa State, but his contact with the coaching staff at that point was minimal. With the Lions' scholarship al- lotments almost maxed out, Verkleeren knew that if he were to pick Penn State this time, he would be bypassing more fi- nancially lucrative offers from other teams. On his most recent visit, then, it wasn't only about getting the full expe- rience inside the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, which he received, it was also about getting to further know the coach- ing staff to ensure that it was a place he would enjoy spending his next four years or more. "I think just being there, it shows what the coaches do," Verkleeren said. "I walk into the room and there are like 15 na- tional champs wrestling around. It's just an awesome atmosphere. The coaches are awesome. The campus is close to home. My brother goes there, so it just kind of felt like a good fit." Verkleeren will enroll this summer after having finished his high school career with a 135-19 record and a state title as a senior at 145. He forecasts himself as a ca- reer 149-pounder who has plans to "take after Zain Retherford" in 2018, he said. "That's my goal." Verkleeren is one of multiple mid- dleweight prospects who are being brought aboard by the defending national champions. Verkleeren joins four-time Minnesota state champion Brady Berge, who is currently ranked No. 1 at 160 by FloWrestling.com and finished his career with a 282-5 record for Kasson-Man- torville. Two other newcomers are already on campus. Nick Lee, a two-time state fi- nalist in Indiana, graduated early from Evansville Mater Dei High School and grayshirted this past semester. He trained with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and competed in open tournaments at 141. Mason Manville, who graduated from Wyoming (Pa.) Seminary in 2016, arrived this spring after spending a year away from school at the Olympic Training Center to focus on his international en- | N E W C O M E R S O F I N F L U E N C E QUIET CONFIDENCE Another blue-chip class gets a low-key introduction from Penn State VERKLEEREN WRESTLING

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