Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/847744
"But I also like that it's not far from home. It's far enough that I can get a great college experience, but it's also close enough to home that I can get home if I need to. Really, there's nothing that I don't like about it. The academics there are great and they have a great alumni base. Penn State is everything you want in a college." A8er Hardy's commitment, the class stood at 13 members. The Nittany Lions had the No. 4 class in the country as of late June, as rated by Rivals. Hardy is ranked No. 154 overall in the Class of 2018 and is also the eighth- ranked defensive end in the nation. Dur- ing the past year, he's earned more than 20 scholarship o7ers, many coming from schools in the Big Ten, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast conferences, including Al- abama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Pitt, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Hardy was the 6rst player to give Penn State a verbal commitment since o7en- sive lineman Bryce E7ner made the call in early May, but the Lions were also ex- pected to add another defensive back in early July. Four-star cornerback Jordan Miner an- nounced June 27 that he would be making his commitment on July 6. A native of Wesley Chapel, Fla., Miner traveled to Penn State for the 6rst time in the begin- ning of June, and his father spoke very highly of the visit. A number of recruiting reporters based in the South believed that the Nittany Lions were the favorites in the days leading up to his commitment. Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee were the three other schools he was con- sidering. "There was a lot that we liked, but probably the most important thing that stood out to us on this trip was how en- gaged Coach Franklin was throughout," said John Miner, Jordan's father. "I've gone to a lot of schools with Jordan, and a lot of the presentations and tours are given to us by recruiting assistants or graduate assistants. At Penn State, Coach Franklin was with us almost the entire time. He was the one who gave us a pres- entation in their meeting room about why Penn State is the right 6t for Jordan. "I was really impressed that he took the time out of his schedule to do all that, es- pecially since it was the same day that they were hosting a camp. I think it speaks very highly of Coach Franklin." Penn State is also believed to be the fa- vorite with four-star safety Isheem Young of Philadelphia. A rising senior at Imhotep Charter, Young announced at the end of June that he would be making his commitment on July 18. Over the past year, Young has visited Penn State on six occasions. Of the other schools he was considering – Alabama, Clemson, Mary- land, Ohio State and West Virginia – only Maryland earned a visit. That trip took place in February. ■