Blue White Illustrated

T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 8 >> WHAT HE DID Humphries set a district record with 15 career interceptions. Seven of those picks came during a spectacular senior year in which he helped lead one of the best teams in Sachse High history. With Humphries patrolling the secondary, Sachse went 12-1 and made its deepest postseason run, reaching the third round of the UIL State Championships. The Mustangs had previously never made it out of the second round. Humphries combined for 113 tackles during his =nal two seasons. An early enrollee at Penn State, he is taking classes and will participate in spring practice when it begins next month. WHAT HE WON As a senior, Humphries was named to the District 10-6A =rst team and was its defensive MVP. He also earned =rst-team Academic All-State honors. Rivals considers Humphries to be a three-star prospect and the No. 76 player in Texas. He's the 39th-rated safety nationally. WHERE HE VISITED Humphries made a lot of visits, checking out schools that were near to his home in the Houston area (Oklahoma, LSU, TCU, Texas A&M) and others that were more distant (Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Stanford, UCLA, USC). But those schools were chasing Penn State from the start. Humphries had made his =rst trip to University Park during his sopho- more year at Sachse. He attended the Blue-White Game and came away from that experience wanting to fol- low in his father's footsteps and become a Nittany Lion. He committed to Penn State in December 2016. QUOTABLE Humphries: "I went to other places and they didn't look like Penn State. Everywhere I went, it was nice, but it's not Penn State. I was sold from that point on. It helped a lot, though, because I went to places and compared them to Penn State and then checked them o> the list." PHIL'S TAKE Just like his father, former Penn State cornerback Leonard Humphries, who lettered from 1989-91, 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 cover- age. Humphries is excellent in run sup- port and has exceptional tackling technique. He knows how to =nish through the ball carrier. If he can add 15 to 20 pounds, I believe Humphries could compete for the starting free safety po- sition by the start of his second year. A smart defender who rarely makes mental mistakes in coverage, Humphries is also exceptional in the classroom, having earned a 4.15 GPA. ■ FAMILY TIES Humphries began to take an interest in Penn State, his father's alma mater, after visiting for the Blue-White Game a few years ago. Photo cour- tesy of Rivals.com Rivals.com ISAIAH HUMPHRIES RIVALS ★★★ | POS Saf. | HT 6-0 | WT 190 | HOME Rowlett, Texas | SCHOOL Sachse

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