Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/897145
turned it over on downs and never got the ball back. BEST SACKLewerke took his sweet time on second-and-1 on Penn State's side of the field to open the second quarter, but the Nittany Lion defensive front had other plans. Shedding block- ers along the Spartans' offensive line, Penn State's Yetur Gross-Matos and Tyrell Chavis converged for a 9-yard sack. BEST HITMichigan State's Khari Willis and David Dowell absolutely un- loaded on a McSorley delivery to Hamilton in the middle of the field late in the first quarter. Hamilton managed to hold onto the ball, but the shot was one of the more wicked ones in the game. BEST EFFORTMichigan State's Darrell Stewart fought Penn State safety Troy Apke successfully in the end zone, snatching the ball then maintaining possession for a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter. The connection evened the score at 7-7. BEST KICKIt was Coughlin's second of the afternoon that meant the most. On soggy turf, he hit the 34-yarder for the win. BEST DECISIONPenn State choosing to go for it on fourth-and-8 with time winding down on the first quarter proved to be more than prudent. Saeed Blacknall was open in the flat, and the senior wideout slipped away from a Michigan State tackler, then split two more defenders on the sideline to complete the 27-yard touchdown catch. WORST DECISIONMarcus Allen brought the heat on a key third-and-4 with time running out, but his hit was just too late. Flagged for roughing the passer after slamming into Lewerke on an incompletion, Allen gave the Spar- tans a new set of downs, and they were able to capitalize. MOST TELLING MOMENTStreaking away from his own teammates, Coghlin raced toward the opposite end zone from the one he'd delivered the win- ning field goal and took a celebratory soccer-style slide through a field that was still soaked after an hours-long downpour. N O V E M B E R 4 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M 5 R E C R U I T I N G Pennsylvania's top senior prospect is entering the final weeks of his recruit- ment. In mid-October, five-star defensive end Micah Parsons informed Rivals.com that he was planning to sign his letter of intent on Dec. 20, the first day of the early signing period. The Harrisburg, Pa., prospect reaffirmed that commit- ment date on Nov. 1 via Twitter. His an- nouncement came just a few days a?er he took his third official visit, a trip to Oklahoma, where he watched the Soon- ers defeat Texas Tech, 49-27. "We got a good vibe from their coaches," said Terrence Parsons, Micah's father. "One thing we noticed is that they have guys from all over. We met one young man from the Washington, D.C., area, so they showed us that it doesn't matter where you come from. If you're ready, you're going to play there. "So it was good. It was a nice town. For the student-athletes, everything is right there. The dorms, the academic center, the football building – every- thing is right there, so you don't have to go all over. [Micah] enjoyed it." In the months leading up to that trip, Parsons was believed to be most inter- ested in Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State. Oklahoma didn't begin to seriously pursue the na- tion's top-ranked weakside defensive end until September. "It did kind of come out of nowhere," said Parsons' father. "They reached out to Micah back in September. They've had a couple of talks since then and they actually spoke with me and his mom [in late October], before we came out there. "They've always been interested, but he was committed to Penn State for a while. Then, when he decommitted, everyone thought he was going to end up at Ohio State, so they just weren't sure where he stood. But then, once their defensive line coach reached out and Micah responded, they've been talking ever since." Now that the 6-foot-2, 244-pound prospect knows when he'll be making his decision, there's a chance that he could potentially squeeze in two more official visits. As of this writing, his plans depended on Harrisburg's playoff schedule. Building on a 2016 season in which they reached the PIAA 5A cham- pionship game, the Cougars won their first nine games this fall, and did so in dominating fashion, outscoring their opponents 447-76. Since seeing his team fall short in the state championship game last year, Parsons has been focused on finishing his high school career in style. But he and his father are interested in using his final two official visits if they can find a way to fit them into their schedules. "We've been talking about it," Ter- rence Parsons said. "With the way his football schedule is, it's tough to make these trips. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but they're undefeated still and on a roll, so we're hoping that they go pretty far into the playoffs. We do know that the district championship game is Nov. 24, which is a Friday. That's a weekend he could potentially take a trip Saturday to Sunday, so that's something we're looking at." Parsons said Penn State would like his son to take an official visit to University Park on the weekend of Dec. 8-10, but the timing might not work out. "That's also the weekend of the state champi- onship," Terrence Parsons said. "They made it to the championship game last year and they're better this year." Five-star DE Parsons planning to announce decision in December R Y A N S N Y D E R | S N Y D E R 4 2 0 8 8 @ G M A I L . c O M