Blue White Illustrated

Walton, a native of Daphne, Ala., picked up an offer in the spring, making him one of the staff's top linebacker prospects from the start of the recruiting process. A visit to Penn State's summer football camp sparked his interest. Linebacker Zayd Issah was another top target. The 6-3, 205-pounder from Harrisburg, Pa., recommitted to the Nittany Lions after backing out in August following the announcement of the NCAA's sanctions. Issah reminds many analysts of Gerald Hodges. He's very athletic and has the potential to transform himself physically in a Division I weight program. The three-star prospect, as rated by Rivals.com, was the staff's No. 1 target at outside linebacker, but he was also interested in Oregon. Issah said his decision to rescind his original commitment was difficult. "I always felt that if I was going to play linebacker, Penn State is definitely the best fit," he said. "But I also wasn't completely sure if I wanted to go through these sanctions, so I didn't want to hold up the coaching staff. I wanted to let them know that I wasn't sure. I wanted to be fair with everyone." Anthony Smith, a 6-0, 186-pound cornerback, is the fifth and final early enrollee for Penn State. Originally from Pope John XXIII High School in Randolph, N.J., Smith decided to play a year of postgraduate football at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pa., after earning scholarship offers only from smaller schools in high school. "Just after meeting these guys – the current players and the recruits – this is a great fit for me," Smith said. "I'm just very thankful to be part of this. Last season, [Penn State] really started building something here, and I'm excited to be part of this family now." Wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton of Mountain View High in Stafford, Va., put the icing on the cake, verbally committing to the staff on the evening of Dec. 9. A Rivals.com three-star prospect, Hamilton was thought to be leaning toward either Virginia or Virginia Tech, but one visit from O'Brien with the Hamilton family helped close the deal. "I think the big thing with Penn State was just that he and his folks really liked Coach O'Brien," Mountain View PENN STATE COMMITMENTS* NAME POS HT Richy Anderson RB Brandon Bell Adam Breneman WT 40 HOME SCHOOL 5-11 180 – Frederick, Md. Thomas Johnson LB 6-1 224 4.6 Mays Landing, N.J. Oakcrest TE 6-5 220 – Camp Hill, Pa. Cedar Cliff Newtown, Pa. Council Rock North Curtis Cothran DE 6-5 225 – Parker Cothren DT 6-5 265 4.95 Hazel Green, Ala. Hazel Green Tyler Ferguson QB 6-4 190 – College of the Sequoias Kasey Gaines DB 5-10 160 4.44 Loganville, Ga. Grayson Christian Hackenberg QB 6-4 215 4.84 Fork Union, Va. Fork Union Military Academy DaeSean Hamilton Ath. 6-0 182 4.57 Stafford, Va. Mountain View Tanner Hartman OL 6-4 247 4.9 Liberty Christian Academy Zayd Issah LB 6-3 205 4.57 Harrisburg, Pa. Central Dauphin Brendan Mahon OL 6-5 302 – Randolph, N.J. Randolph Andrew Nelson OL 6-5 265 – Hershey, Pa. Hershey Neiko Robinson DB 5-11 170 4.51 Bratt, Fla. Northview Garrett Sickels DE 6-4 225 4.7 Little Silver, N.J. Red Bank Regional Anthony Smith DB 6-1 186 – Randolph, N.J. Valley Forge Military Jordan Smith DB 6-0 180 4.5 Washington, D.C. H.D. Woodson Jonathan Walton LB 6-2 228 – Daphne, Ala. Bayside Academy Bakersfield, Calif. Lynchburg, Va. THE HOT LIST* NAME POS HT WT 40 HOME SCHOOL Tyler Boyd WR 6-1 168 – Clairton, Pa. Clairton Rod Crayton DT 6-1 290 – Dadeville, Ala. Dadeville Garret Dooley LB 6-2 215 – Rochester, Ill. Rochester Jaleel Hytchye DB 5-11 165 4.4 Cincinnati, Ohio La Salle Trey Johnson LB 6-3 222 – Lawrenceville, Ga. Archer Brian Lemelle WR 5-11 175 – Harrisburg, Pa. Bishop McDevitt Deondre Singleton DB 6-0 175 – Lawrenceville, Ga. Archer David Williams RB 6-1 192 4.44 Philadelphia Imhotep Charter * As of Dec. 17 head coach Lou Sorrentino said. "They all seemed to really hit it off well. He's done all of his homework; he knew Penn State was a great school." The Virginia native played varsity football beginning as a freshman at Mountain View and finished his career with 190 receptions for more than 2,800 yards. He also has a 4.1 GPA. Penn State now turns its attention to just a few remaining prospects in 2013. Defensive back Deondre Singleton was

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