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N ana Asiedu was thinking about going out for football at North Sta9ord (Va.) High. Coach Joe Mangano thought that would be a good idea – so good, in fact, that he gave the young athlete a guarantee. Asiedu, then a freshman, had played football in middle school but shi:ed his focus to basketball during his 8rst year of high school. He had earned All-Region honors as a freshman on the basketball team, but Mangano saw football potential in the young athlete. "He was 6-foot-5, 240 and just looked like a future o9ensive tackle, I thought," Mangano said. "He came to me at the end of the season and said, 'I want to come out for football.' I said, 'Nana, if you come out for football, I guarantee if you do any- thing on 8lm at all, [show] any kind of po- tential, you'll have Division I scholarships all around the nation.'" Mangano's prediction was spot on. Asiedu drew o9ers from at least one school in every Power Five conference, earning 27 o9ers in total. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 141 prospect in the country and the 11th-best o9ensive tackle. Asiedu's choice was a game changer, both for him and Mangano. The year be- fore Asiedu joined the team, North Sta9ord went 6-6. But in his 8rst season of football, the Wolverines won nine games, and they followed that perform- ance by going 7-5 in 2016 and 8-4 last fall. Soon to be a Penn State freshman, Asiedu said the close-knit environment he saw at a junior day last February ulti- mately played the biggest role in his deci- sion to continue his football career at PSU. "What sold me was the family environ- ment and how I could feel that the coaches really care for the players here," Asiedu said. "Not just that, but the tradi- tion at the school, too, with the football program and the people around it." Part of an o9ensive line class that in- cluded three four-star recruits, the 6- foot-5, 275-pound Asiedu will be looking to help give the Nittany Lions the same kind of boost that he gave North Sta9ord. "I think you take Nana at one tackle, you take Rasheed [Walker] at the other tackle, you put Juice [Scruggs] at center and then you have a situation with [Bryce] E9ner being a swing guy who could play either guard, possibly center or tackle, then I think we've put a helluva class to- gether," coach James Franklin said during his signing day teleconference. Asiedu admitted that he had some doubts a:er returning to the football 8eld. But he quickly proved himself, ex- celling on the o9ensive and defensive lines, even catching six touchdown passes as a tight end during his junior season. Eventually, though, Asiedu settled in at le: tackle. During his senior season, he didn't allow a single sack. "He's going to be a typical 310-, 315- pound o9ensive tackle that you see at schools like Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan," Mangano said. "He's going to be that prototypical le: tackle. But with his athleticism, he's a little bit di9erent than some of the other ones." Asiedu is a quick study, Mangano added. That talent helped him catch up fast a:er not playing football as a fresh- man. He went on to 8ll a variety of roles at North Sta9ord, even lining up at times on the outside as a receiver. Pair that skill set with Asiedu's elite physical gi:s, and the Nittany Lions are getting the full package. "Nana is an extremely rare talent – long, athletic, one of those guys who is strong physically and then athletically gi:ed," Mangano said. "We just did the bench press the other day in the weight room and he hit 355 for one rep for being his age with his long arms. He did 225 18 times the week before, so he's got some pretty good physical gi:s. When you're the le: tackle, you're kind of the corner- stone of the o9ensive line, and that's what he was this year for us." You wouldn't get a sense of Asiedu's talent through conversation, however. The Virginia native, who spent two years as a captain for North Sta9ord, handles his business with a quiet con8dence. His words aren't loud, but his on-8eld performance certainly is. "He's not the rah-rah guy," Mangano said. "He's not your hype guy. He's very cerebral. He's locked in. He does his job. He works. But you're not going to hear him." ■ Virginia standout a quiet force on the offensive line | CLICK HERE to see video of Asiedu in action. THE ASIEDU FILE STATS Had 40 catches for 615 yards and 18 touchdowns in two seasons as a tight end... Finished junior season with 10 sacks... Had 20 tackles as a senior... Helped lead North Sta2ord High to a three- year record of 24-14 HONORS Named a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 141 prospect in the country, No. 11 o2ensive tackle in the Class of 2018 and No. 4 prospect in Vir- ginia... Was an Army All-American... Made USA Today's first-team All-Virginia squad in 2016 and '17

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