Blue White Illustrated

FOOT B ALL RECRUITING CLOSING TIME Five prospects choose Penn State, as staff grows its 2013 recruiting class BY RYAN SNYDER Blue White Illustrated anuary tends to be one of the busiest months for coaches, as they look to put the finishing touches on their recruiting classes. Even with limited scholarships to offer this year, that will still be the case for Penn State, but it's beginning to look as if the majority of the staff's travel will be spent working on the Class of 2014. With no bowl practices to worry about, Bill O'Brien and his staff took advantage ISSAH of their free time this past month, hitting the road less than 72 hours after the Wisconsin game. Three weeks later, the staff had not only managed to visit with roughly 30 of its top junior prospects for next year – all of whom have now received verbal offers from Penn State – but also had received additional verbal commitments from five of its top 10 uncommitted Class of 2013 targets. Following the departure of Paul Jones this past fall, the quarterback spot became Penn State's most glaring need. That forced Charlie Fisher to target multiple junior college prospects, and within weeks, Jake Waters from Council Bluffs, Iowa, became the staff's top guy. The Iowa Western Community College sophomore led his team to an undefeated season and an NJCAA national championship. The majority of recruiting experts considered him the top junior college signal-caller in the nation. After an official visit to Penn State J for the game against Indiana, Waters made it clear to O'Brien personally that he was leaning toward the Nittany Lions. But Waters had a change of heart the night before his decision. On Dec. 13, he announced that he had chosen Kansas State, the program that was believed to be in the lead before Penn State made its offer. "Just the other day, talking with the coaches, I was pretty much leaning [toward Penn State]," Waters said at his news conference. "But I just thought it over again and something clicked. I think God just showed me a sign that K-State was the place for me." Two hours after Waters' decision, College of the Sequoias freshman Tyler Ferguson emerged as Penn State's next option. A native of Bakersfield, Calif., Ferguson had verbally committed to Houston earlier in the day, but once he realized what was happening, he backed away from the Cougars in what will go down as one of the shortest commitments of all-time. The next day, he officially became a Nittany Lion. "I really was just closest with Coach O'Brien and Coach Fisher," Ferguson said Dec. 14. "Coach Fisher, we've been talking for a while, a few months now. I'm pretty close with them. He came out to see me maybe two or three weeks ago. We met for about three and a half hours. It's a good opportunity for me." Ferguson decided to attend junior college after breaking his collarbone in the seventh game of his senior season at Ridgeview High. To that point, he had led Ridgeview to a 6-0 record, throwing for 1,211 yards and 10 touchdowns. Schools that showed interest prior to his injury included San Jose State, Fresno State, Washington State, San Diego State, Nevada, Utah and UCLA. This past season, Ferguson threw for 2,614 yards, with 22 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He will have four years to play three seasons at Penn State and will enroll in January. Going into the Dec. 7-9 official visit weekend, PSU had received verbal commitments from 13 prospects, three of whom – tight end Adam Breneman, athlete Richy Anderson and defensive back Jordan Smith – were set to enroll early. That left two spots for additional early enrollees – both of which have since been filled – and five for prospects who will enroll in the summer. The plan, at the time at least, was to make as much progress as possible during the official visit weekend, then spend January making a final push with both the prospects and their families during in-home visits. Before the prospects stepped off campus, O'Brien had one last chance to talk to them about what Penn State had to offer. The result? Four of the five uncommitted prospects who were on campus that weekend committed either before they left State College or within 12 hours of leaving. "I'd say Penn State had a slight lead going into the visit," said Jonathan Walton, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound middle linebacker who was also considering Minnesota. "They kind of had something planned out for me. They offered me a while back and were always very interested in me. They have a plan for me. "The coaches [at Penn State] have been great the whole time. Everyone at Minnesota was real great. Minnesota was always right up there with them. I really enjoyed my time up there, too, but Penn State was always interested from the start. I knew this was the place for me." FOLLOW RECRUITING ONLINE Visit bwi.rivals.com for updated news on PSU's scholarship offers and commitments.

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