Blue White Illustrated

F E B R U A R Y 8 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 6 he ran the 40 in 4.6 seconds at multiple camps this past summer. George runs very precise routes and does a superb job of catching the football with his hands. In fact, among the group of re- ceivers that Penn State will sign this year, he may have the best hands of the bunch. George also uses his body well to ward off defenders and catch the ball at the high point of its arc. I expect him to play at one of the two outside wide re- ceiver positions. TRENT GORDONGordon collected an impressive 37 scholarship offers and is one of the top student-athletes in this class. Among the schools that wanted him were Yale, Princeton and Dart- mouth of the Ivy League, as well as Duke and Northwestern. He is listed at 6-foot-0, 180 pounds, and he has the speed to cover running backs coming out of the backfield on passing downs (4.5 seconds in the 40), but he hits like a 210-pound linebacker. A three-year starter at safety, he's athletic enough to play the boundary cornerback position at the college level and is capable of pressing wide receivers and playing man-to-man coverage. He's also terrific in run support. I expect Gordon to red- shirt his freshman season. AENEAS HAWKINSHawkins is a high- motor three-technique defensive tackle with one of the most explosive first steps that I've seen on film for the Class of 2018. He does an exceptional job of using his hands and not allowing offen- sive linemen to get to his body, and he sheds blocks with perfect technique. Hawkins has the potential to add 20 pounds without losing any of his lateral quickness. I expect him to play the three-technique position at Penn State, where he may remind some fans of cur- rent defensive tackle Kevin Givens. ISAIAH HUMPHRIESJust like his fa- ther, former Penn State cornerback Leonard Humphries, who lettered 1989-1991, Isaiah has a nose for the football. He mainly played two-deep zone coverage his junior and senior seasons but is fully capable of playing man-to-man coverage. Humphries is excellent in run support and has excep- tional tackling technique. He knows how to finish through the ball carrier. If he can add 15 to 20 pounds, I believe Humphries could compete for the starting free safety position by the start of his second year. A smart defender who rarely makes mental mistakes in coverage, Humphries is also excep- tional in the classroom, having earned a 4.15 GPA. CHARLIE KATSHIRKatshir was one of four players who committed to Penn State in February 2017, just a few days aAer the previous class had signed its letters of intent. He was the first of those four to commit, and his was a welcome announcement. He's one of the best pure athletes in Penn State's Class of 2018, having seen action at free safety, inside linebacker, defensive end, wide receiver and running back, while also playing a key role on special teams. In college, he'll most likely play the star outside linebacker spot. I expect him to use a redshirt his freshman year, mainly due to a shoulder injury that has re- quired two surgeries, the most recent of which took place at the end of Novem- ber. He reminds me of former Penn State great Sean Lee. That's not to say he'll be the second coming of Lee, who is now a star in the NFL. But Lee played a variety of positions in high school be- fore settling in as a linebacker with the Nittany Lions, and Katshir is following a similar career path. ZACK KUNTZAs Franklin has noted, Kuntz is very reminiscent of Gesicki. He's even taller than his predecessor at 6-foot-7, but Kuntz is very athletic, having excelled in both track and bas- ketball. With a 38-inch vertical leap and a lanky frame that could likely handle another 25 or 30 pounds, he has the po- tential to fit into Penn State's offense just as Gesicki did. Indeed, I expect his role to be almost identical to the one that Gesicki filled so well the past two seasons. Kuntz will bring an extra di- mension to Penn State's offense by ver- tically stretching the field from the tight end position. I believe that he has a real chance to play as a freshman. WILL LEVISLevis is listed as a pro- style quarterback by Rivals, but when he attended Penn State's camp last July, he proved to the staff that he has athleti- cism to run Penn State's RPO offense. During that camp, he showed the ability to throw from inside the pocket and also while rolling out. He has a quick release and a powerful arm and is capable of making all the throws in Penn State's spread offense. When Fields backed out of his commitment to Penn State and ended up at Georgia instead, Levis be- come one of the most important offen- sive signings in Penn State's Class of 2018. JESSE LUKETAWith both Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith graduat- ing, Luketa is one of the most important members of Penn State's Class of 2018. Depth at the middle linebacker position could be an issue for the Nittany Lions this coming season, as redshirt fresh- man Ellis Brooks and junior Jake Cooper are the only MLB candidates on the ros- ter. With Luketa having enrolled in Jan- uary, they'll have some additional competition in practice this spring, which is exactly what the Lions need as they work to rebuild a linebacker corps that may also be without suspended OLB Manny Bowen. The 6-foot-2, 240- pound Canadian plays a physical brand of football, just as Cabinda did. JORDAN MINERListed by Rivals as a 5.8 four-star prospect, Miner has shown the ability and athleticism to play the boundary cornerback position at Penn State. He played both free safety and cornerback during his senior season at Wiregrass Ranch, while also playing quarterback and wide receiver on offense. He was listed as having 4.7- second 40-yard speed prior to his sen- ior season but looks to have improved substantially in that area. In fact, one could make a strong case that Miner made the biggest strides of any prospect in Penn State's class between his junior and senior seasons. I expect him to begin his career at free safety, and he could end up providing depth in the secondary as a freshman, especially with Isheem Young having lost his scholarship offer in December. P.J. MUSTIPHERRated by many as the top defensive tackle in the Maryland/Washington D.C./Virginia region for the Class of 2018, Mustipher has the strength, athleticism and explo- siveness to play either the one- or three-technique defensive tackle posi- tion at the college level. He has the frame to play at 310 pounds at Penn

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