Penn State Recruiting 8/25/10

Welcome back to my weekly “Penn State Recruiting”.  I know I said that I was going to go through some 2012 recruits, but there was more than enough news this week that I could make an article out of it.  I’ll get something out on the 2012 guys soon, don’t know when though.  Enough of that, lets get to the article.

-Not surprising to most, Kyshoen Jarrett [CB/DB] chose Pitt over Penn State.  What it really came down to was the Pitt recruits he has developed such a relationship with.  Which is happening with a lot of kids now a days.  Really, the best recruiting is the recruits themselves.  They can talk with each other unlimitedly.  They both have a mutual understanding of how stressful this process is.  Last year, Penn State had quite a few of these kids.  Mike Hull was an early commit, and started recruiting for Penn State.  Then you had Silas Redd, who was a huge reason Khairi Fortt picked Penn State.  This year, Pitt has one major kid who is helping bring in all these guys.  Linebacker, Quinton Alston.  Really liked PSU in the early going, but PSU told him they weren’t taking any linebackers.  So he committed to Pitt.  Ironic to say the least.

-Second week in a row we have a Penn State recruit making there announce on a Wednesday as Zach West [OT/OG] will be making his announcement later today.  Has it down to three: Kentucky, Penn State, and Tennessee.  Many feel Kentucky will get him, but Penn State is right behind them.  It’s tough enough to take a kid out of his home state, let alone when their is major distance involved.  He is looking to possibly major in Forensic Science, something which Kentucky nor Tennessee have available (While PSU does have available).  He wants to become a U.S. Marshal, which means that his major can be flexible so Forensic Science isn’t a “make or break” major for him.  I’m going to be following his press conference so follow me on twitter.  You can find the link at the bottom. EDIT: Zach West has chosen Kentucky

–Dominique Noble [CB/DB] from NC has been a bit of a mystery.  As stated before, he was going to go on a visit to Penn State.  If it didn’t blow him away, he would have probably committed to GT the next tim he visited, which was a few days after his scheduled Penn State visit.  But he didn’t go on either of his visits.  Reportedly, his coach wanted him to make the visit to Penn State to make sure he is absolutely sure about GT.  Unfortunately, Dominique has committed to Georgia Tech on 8/23.

-As I put on my Twitter, Penn State offered a Running Back from West Virginia, Allan Wasonga.  Said to be “thrilled” by the Penn State offer.  Said, “They are definitely my #1 school right now.”  He said he is going to sit down with his parents, but he should have a decision out shortly.  So expect a decision any day now.  Unless some crazy things happen, Wasonga will be a Penn State Nittany Lion.  Oddly enough, running back wasn’t a huge need this year.  Now they have offered Mason and Wasonga so it should be interesting to see how this effects Mason’s recruitment because it isn’t like the Running Back Depth Chart at Penn State is bare.

-Another player cut his list, a Glenville product, Andre Sturdivant [DE/DT].  The schools being: Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Toledo, and “Ron Zook”.  When asked about Penn State he said: “I don’t even think words can how excited I am.  I loved it-everything about Penn State.”  Still has no Ohio State offer, and after talking to some Ohio State recruitniks, it certainly sounds like Ohio State won’t get an offer.  Penn State has a very good shot here.

–Doran Grant could be one of the weirdest recruitments out there.  Sometimes he’ll have an interview, and won’t even mention Penn State.  Then he’ll say how he wants to visit.  Here is the latest.  Ohio State and Michigan State still lead, and will both get official visits.  Out of these four schools, two will get official visits: Gerogia Tech, Penn State, UNC, and USC.  My guess?  UNC and Georgia Tech will get the official visits, while he’ll take an unofficial visit to Penn State.  Could be wrong, but just a gut feeling.  Would love to see Penn State get an official visit, though, not expecting it.

-Another name to keep in mind, Matt Zanellato. A WR from Virginia.  6’3 180, has good hands, decent speed.  Looks a little bigger than 6’3.  Really like a taller Graham Zug.  Only a 2-Star which has some people upset.  Coach MM (Big Red), told him that they want to see some senior film, and/or they want to see how the rest of the other recruits play out.  He has no other offers, which is rather surprising.  I would think Virginia, Maryland, Rutgers, etc.  Those kind of schools would offer, but apparently not that isn’t the case.  He says he thinks Maryland will offer him soon.  If Penn State does offer, he is probably all Penn State.  We probably won’t offer for a while, but stay tuned.  Because we are on topic of WRs we may offer, another quick name to be on the lookout for is, Allen Robinson.  WR from Michigan, Robert Bolden high school to be exact.  6’3 190, athletic.  He came into high school standing 5’7 155, missed his Sophomore season because of an injury.  Came out last year at 6’3 180.  So a really late bloomer, I could see him racking up some more offers during his Senior season showing that he is a legit football player.  He really likes Penn State so he is another guy that we could offer, and probably lock him up.

–Miles Shuler [WR/CB] cut his list down to seven.  Those seven being: Rutgers, Pitt, Nebraska, Florida, Notre Dame, Northwestern, and Michigan.  As you can see, Penn State did not make the cut.  Not very surprising, but noteworthy nonetheless.  Rutgers and Pitt are the reported Top 2, with Notre Dame and Florida making some noise.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ItsPatrickH (Check it out for updates on Zach West)

E-Mail: patrickharrington93@gmail.com

Thanks for reading.