Blue White Illustrated

J U N E 8 , 2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 3 people down here in Virginia always talking about, 'Go there, go there, We Are,' all that stuff. I also got Nana [Asiedu] and Ricky [Slade] in my ear, too." Ford had built a strong relationship with running backs coach Charles Huff, and it felt as though the assistant coach's departure for Mississippi State last De- cember might hurt Penn State's chances. But he hit it off with Huff's replacement, Ja'Juan Seider, and that relationship played a major role in Ford's commit- ment. He was also interested in Penn State's offensive system, specifically how it used All-America running back Saquon Barkley. "I feel like Saquon Barkley is a trail- blazer for Penn State," Ford said. "You didn't really have a back like that come out until he actually did it. Now, that's set the tone for other backs behind him. ... It was amazing to see what they did with him and how versatile you can be" in that offensive system. Ford earned first-team All-State hon- ors at running back following his junior season at North Stafford, in which he rushed for 2,056 yards and 32 touch- downs. He earned 30 scholarship offers over the course of his high school career and gave serious consideration to Clem- son, North Carolina, Ohio State, Okla- homa and Virginia Tech before narrowing his list down to the Nittany Lions and Hokies. Ford became the fourth five-star prospect to commit to Penn State in the past three recruiting classes, joining de- fensive back Lamont Wade, wide re- ceiver Justin Shorter and linebacker Micah Parsons. MARQUIS WILSONA 6-0, 175-pound cor- nerback from Windsor, Conn., Wilson is no stranger to Penn State, having visited on five occasions prior to his May 20 commitment. The four-star player began taking an interest in the Lions last July aAer attending the Underclassmen Combine. He received an offer a few weeks later, prior to his visit in Septem- ber for the Pitt game. More recently, Wilson attended a Jun- ior Day in February before returning to University Park for an official visit on Blue-White Weekend. He also made an unannounced trip to Penn State in mid- May. AAer speaking with the coaching staff, he committed to Franklin in person. He had originally been expected to take a few more official visits but de- cided to forgo them and instead join the Nittany Lions. A member of the Rivals250, Wilson earned just over 20 scholarship offers. The notable programs that pursued him in- cluded Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. He visited Penn State more than any other school. Wilson is ranked No. 220 overall in the Class of 2019. He's the 25th-ranked cor- nerback and the third-ranked prospect in Connecticut. BRANDON SMITHA 6-3, 218-pound line- backer from Mineral, Va., Smith had been a regular at Penn State, visiting on five occasions in the year leading up to his May 21 commitment. Those trips in- cluded an appearance at the Lasch Bash barbecue last July and a visit for the game against Pitt in September. More recently, he and his family made the trip north to Happy Valley in early April to watch spring practice and meet with the staff. Rico Smith, Brandon's father, said that Franklin made a very positive impression on the family during their visits. "Penn State fans need to know that they have someone special in charge of their team," he said. "The way he teaches, the way he leads, the way he interacts with everyone – Coach Franklin is a special guy. Penn State fans should be really proud of the Brisker was a rare freshman starter at Lackawanna. He fin- ished the 2017 season with 54 tackles, in- cluding 30 solo stops, and four intercep- tions, two of which he returned for touch- downs. Photo by Denise Duda/Lack- awanna College

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