Blue White Illustrated

S ome observers may have been caught o4-guard by Judge Culpepper's an- nouncement in mid-July that he was planning to attend Penn State. A senior- to-be at Plant High in Tampa, son of former Florida All-American Brad Culpepper and grandson of 1962 Gators co-captain Bruce Culpepper, the 6- foot-5, 265-pound defensive line prospect seemed like a strong contender to play his college football in The Swamp. But like his older brother Rex, a redshirt freshman quarterback at Syra- cuse, Culpepper had no reservations about leaving his home state. Penn State's coaching sta4 had been pursuing Culpepper vigorously, and as it turned out, the interest was mutual. Culpepper ended his recruitment on the day before the Lasch Bash barbecue, an- nouncing his intention to sign with the Nittany Lions. Shortly a5er his commitment, Blue White Illustrated recruiting reporter Ryan Snyder caught up with Culpepper to talk about his decision. Here's what he had to say: BWI What was it about Penn State that put it over the top? What were maybe two or three things that really set it apart from the rest? CULPEPPER It's got to be the coaching sta4. That's the main thing. From Coach [Sean] Spencer to Coach [Terry] Smith to Coach [James] Franklin, they're all a bunch of great guys. They always made me feel at home. It was great. Another thing is the school itself. Everything there is really nice. The campus is beautiful and their facilities are amazing. The whole football program is on the rise. I really love that. I feel like I'm coming in at a great time. Also, the front that they run is very similar to what my dad used to run. He knows that system really well, so I feel like that's only going to help me 3t into their defense as a three-technique or a 3ve-technique, whatever it may be. BWI Are you expecting to play defen- sive tackle? I know you've mentioned strongside defensive end. CULPEPPER Yeah, that's the plan. I'm already 265 pounds and I'm still pretty lean. I'm also about 6-foot-5. So, there shouldn't be much of a problem adding weight. That was one of the things I liked about PSU, too. They needed de- fensive tackles… so that's a position they want to continue building on. BWI Take me through your recruit- ment. What were the schools that really stood out and proved to be Penn State's top competitors? Also, when did you re- ally know that Penn State was de3nitely the school for you? CULPEPPER Well, I really had it down to six schools. It was between Penn State, Florida, Syracuse, Nebraska, LSU and Georgia. All of those schools really pushed for me hard and brought di4er- ent things to the table. When Penn State o4ered me, coming down to a school like Plant, way down in Tampa, that stood out to me. That always grabbed my at- tention as a school I needed to give a look at. So I ended up going up there in the spring. … The plane was delayed and then we had to drive all the way from Washington, D.C., to State College. It started o4 the worst way possible, yet it ended up being one of the best visits I've ever taken. So, from that moment, that's when I knew that Penn State was a seri- ous contender. It really came down to Penn State, Florida, Nebraska and Syracuse. LSU was kind of in the mix still, but when I came up [to Penn State], I didn't know if I was going to commit or not. I was still thinking about taking other visits, but then that visit just sealed the deal. It was just as good as the 3rst visit. Plus, all the coaches came back early from vacation to be there for me. That really stood out to me. That meant a lot. BWI I have to ask about Sean Spencer and his impact on this decision. He's got a lot of energy. I know you've gotten to know him well, so was his style of coaching a factor for you? CULPEPPER Yeah, his coaching style is awesome. The way he treats his players and the respect they have for him, it's unrivaled, for lack of a better word. He's the man, but he's also an unbelievable coach. Just look at the way he's been de- veloping some of these guys in recent years. They're really getting a5er it. Plus, he had that season with Carl Nas- sib, who was originally a walk-on and went on to record 15.5 sacks and set the school record. It just shows that he knows how to develop guys. BWI Take me through your training schedule during the summer months. CULPEPPER At Plant, we usually work out about four hours, and it's four days a week [in the summer]. We do an hour in the weight room, an hour of skill work, an hour of speed training and then an hour of mental work, which is usually 3lm study. We also have seven-on-seven on Wednesdays and a few di4erent Sat- urdays throughout the summer. But also, I've been working with my dad a5er practice and that's usually two or three times a week. We work with the I N T E R V I E W J U D G E C U L P E P P E R The whole program is on the rise. I really love that' '

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