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B y the time Bryce E9ner lacerated his spleen – an injury he now describes as a "8uke" that put him on bedrest for four days – the o9ensive lineman had already secured a spot in Penn State's Class of 2018. He was OK there. E9ner had already earned his scholarship o9er, plus a dozen others, during his junior year. There was one night in particular that Metea Valley High coach Ben Kleinhans said "really put him on the map." But 10 months a:er that game, the Au- rora, Ill., prospect found himself in a buddy's car heading to the hospital a:er a summer scrimmage because something just didn't feel right. He had been block- ing someone, just as he had been trained to do. "I pancaked the hell out of this kid," E9ner recalled, "and when I landed on him, I just felt something, kind of like, 'Boom.' Whoa, what was that?" He initially thought he had hurt his col- larbone, but he wasn't sure. He rode the team bus home and toughed it out. Toughing it out, a:er all, was how he had gotten himself on the radar of college coaches in the 7rst place. E9ner had been attracting attention from smaller schools as a sophomore, but then he gained 50 pounds and spurted two inches in one year. At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, he found that the discussions about his future were starting to heat up, and they continued to gain steam when the Mustangs traveled to Lake Park in late September of his junior season. E9ner was starting at le: tackle. Across the line of scrimmage was defensive line- man Jacub Panasiuk, who was committed to Michigan State. Panasiuk also had multiple o9ers under his belt, including one from Penn State. Looking back at it now, E9ner remembers the clash with Lake Park as "my favorite game that I ever played in my entire time in high school." But when the ball was 7rst snapped, it was Panasiuk, a senior and one year older than E9ner, who got the upper hand. "He got me the 7rst couple minutes," E9ner said. "I wasn't used to it. Then I was just like, all right. I [switched to] an angry mood and I said I'm not going to let this happen. Then it was just a battle the whole game, and I thought I came out on top at the end of the game, which was a huge con7dence booster." That night, he helped li: his team to a 27-19 victory, neutralizing the defense's best player. It was a special moment for both E9ner and Kleinhans, because wins had been hard to come by at Metea Valley, a high school that opened in 2009. During E9ner's junior and senior seasons, the Mustangs won only four games. But fol- lowing the victory over Lake Park, Klein- hans began 7elding more calls from college coaches than before. Before their eyes, E9ner was becoming the school's 7rst major-college football recruit. "He brought more schools and coaches here than any player we've ever had," Kleinhans said. "I cannot think of a better person to represent our school and pro- gram." Bowling Green was the 7rst to o9er right a:er his junior season ended. Then a host other Mid-American Conference schools followed. Once E9ner hit the road in the spring, coaches got a 7rsthand evaluation to go along with his highlight 7lm. Kansas was the 7rst Power Five school to o9er, a 7rst-ever at Metea. The next was Penn State. The Lions' o9er came two days a:er E9ner 7rst visited PSU. O9ers from Duke, Minnesota and Syracuse soon followed, but he knew right away that Penn State's scholarship was the one he wanted. "It was just a huge event in my life when that dropped on me," E9ner said. He verbally committed about a month and a half later, and the conversation quickly shi:ed, as observers began to speculate about what position he'll play at the college level. The discussion is ongoing. "Tackle would obviously be my pre- ferred position, but Coach [Matt] Limegrover made it seem very possible that I could play both [tackle and guard]," E9ner said. "He said my body type was perfect to be a swing guy who can 7t in at Healthy again, Effner ready to make impact at PSU | CLICK HERE to see video of E4ner in action. U P C L O S E & P E R S O N A L THE EFFNER FILE STATS Was a three-year letterman at Metea Valley High and a team captain as a senior... Had 84 tackles as a senior, in- cluding 13 tackles for loss and eight sacks... Helped Metea Valley, a school that opened in 2009, win eight games dur- ing his three seasons as a member of the varsity team HONORS Named a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, as well as the No. 10 prospect in Illinois and No. 46 o4ensive tackle nationally... Won first-team All-DuPage Valley Confer- ence honors his junior and senior seasons... Was a sec- ond-team All-Illinois selection by USA Today in 2017... Named team MVP last season

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