Penn State Recruiting – August 1st Predictions
By Editorial Staff
Ahh, August 1st is here. Football season is finally getting into the swing of things, as is recruiting. From here on out, every August 1st, I’ll give my predictions on where the Penn State prospects will end up. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the near 2000 words of Penn State football recruiting goodness.
QB and OL don’t have a group because we are done recruiting each position. Devin Fuller may be recruited as a QB, but I addressed him in the WR group.
RB
William Mahone (OH)
Height/Weight: 5’11 205
VIP Teams: Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, and Michigan State
-Mahone was originally scheduled to announce August 7th, but decided to push it back. It now looks as though Mahone will be taking OVs, with one possibly going to PSU/Alabama (Tweeted it). Like I said last week, the three main teams here are PSU, ND, and Pitt. What team does this help out the most? Notre Dame, as he only visited there once, and has yet to meet Brian Kelly. Nothing is over until it’s over, and OVs could sway him in certain directions, but one has to believe that Notre Dame holds the edge.
Prediction: Notre Dame
Akeel Lynch (NY)
Height/Weight: 6’0 205
VIP Teams: Boston College and Penn State
-Lynch is currently committed to Boston College, but it’s only a soft verbal. He has stated he will be visiting Penn State, most likely for the Alabama game (He’ll also visit BC too). He seems very open in his recruitment, and honestly…not sure why he even committed. Totally my opinion (Like much of this article is), but Penn State seems to be the favorite.
Prediction: Penn State
Bri’onte Dunn (OH)
Height/Weight: 6’2 215
VIP Teams: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, and Miami
-Dunn visited Penn State last week, and did enjoy his visit. Basically, he is still committed to Ohio State, and unless they get hammered by the NCAA (not likely at this point)…he’ll end up a Buckeye. He has said that PSU and Michigan will probably both gets OVs.
Prediction: Ohio State
WR
Eugene Lewis (PA)
Height/Weight: 6’2 185
VIP Teams: Penn State, Va Tech, Oregon, Pitt, and Maryland
-Lewis is a big Penn State lean, as he has been for months. He wants to decide early, and will be visiting for a summer practice according to Lions247. Simple math, folks…simple math.
Prediction: Penn State
Devin Fuller (NJ)
Height/Weight: 6’0 185
VIP Teams: Too early to name…but Nebraska, Alabama, Penn State, Rutgers, Michigan, and UCLA seem to be sticking out.
-Fuller is a difficult recruitment to follow. He wants to play QB, but he’ll almost certainly be at WR or DB in college. Some schools are telling him that he will have a shot at QB (PSU), some schools are telling him just WR, and some schools are saying DB. Very tough prediction, but I’ll go with the team I think is most likely to play him at QB. But like I said, it’s still such a crap shoot.
Prediction: Nebraska
Cyrus Jones (MD)
Height/Weight: 5’11 183
VIP Teams: Alabama, Auburn, Penn State, West Virginia, Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Va Tech, Maryland, and Ohio State.
-A teammate of Brian Gaia, Cyrus Jones has big time interest in Alabama and Auburn. Although, he said they may not get OVs because he has seen them so many times. It’s possible that he visits Penn State with Gaia, but I’m not holding my breathe here. He can also play CB.
Prediction: Alabama
Flex TE
Kent Taylor (FL)
Height/Weight: 6’5 220
VIP Teams: Penn State, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,and LSU
-Another interesting recruitment. Kent Taylor grew up a fan of Penn State, and even wore PSU attire to the Outback Bowl this year. So he PSU interest was there, and even after he visited in April he said PSU really moved up his list. Still, Florida State was the leader. Unfortunately for Taylor, Florida State took a commitment from another TE and stopped recruiting him. Now, all 5 teams will get an official visit. The three main teams to watch: Florida, Penn State, and Alabama. He’ll be visiting PSU for the Bama and Nebraska game, basically will be up for the two biggest games of the year. Where does he end up? I think his family wants him to go to Florida, and actually Taylor has alluded to that. I think he really does like Penn State, and may even possibly like them the most. But I’ll go with the dark horse of the group.
Prediction: Alabama
Canaan Severin (MA)
Height/Weight: 6’3 215
VIP Teams: Boston College, Penn State, Virginia, Iowa, and UConn
-Severin was at one time thought to be a big PSU lean. even a guy who would of committed in April or May. Since then, he’s taken the recruiting process slower, and has visited other schools. He’s narrowed it down to 5 (teams above), and new info has come out about Severin. He wants to play WR (BC and UVa), meanwhile Penn State wants him for a Flex TE position (Like Kent Taylor). It seems like interest has fallen on both sides, but Severin may still visit for Bama. Although, it seems that Penn State’s first priority here is Kent Taylor. Bottom line, I’m not feeling Severin.
Prediction: Canaan Severin
DE
Noah Spence (PA)
Height/Weight: 6’4 235
VIP Teams: Penn State, Maryland, Nebraska, Notre Dame, NC ST, Alabama, Auburn…to name a few
-Everyone’s favorite prospect. One of the top DEs in the nation, and one of the biggest prospects PSU has recruited since Derrick Williams/Terrelle Pryor. Spence has always shown interest in Penn State, as he has visited multiple times. The main competition always seemed to be Maryland and UNC. Luckily, for Penn State, the UMD interest has seemed to tail off. While with the firing of Butch Davis, UNC is no longer in the running. Spence’s father made waves last weekend when he posted on Scout saying “Go PSU”, and at this time, it seems like his father is a big time proponent of Penn State. Spence plans on taking all of his OVs, and Penn State will certainly get one. Who else? Tough to tell at this point. Nebraska seems to be a player, and Notre Dame always seems to go after the same prospects we do. Auburn and Alabama may get visits too. At this point, Spence to Penn State is starting to pick up, but he won’t commit until the Under Armour All-American game.
Prediction: Penn State
DT
Jarron Jones (NY)
Height/Weight: 6’5 308
VIP Teams: Notre Dame, Va Tech, and Penn State
-Although Jones de-committed from Penn State a few weeks back, interest is still high. Jones has said he’ll visit for the Alabama game, which really will be the best atmosphere at PSU since the ND game. As for when he’ll decide…who knows? He wanted to decide before his season started, but it doesn’t look that way now. Notre Dame is still the perceived leader, but things are starting to look up for Penn State. This is probably the most risky prediction, but I think he ends up at Penn State.
Prediction: Penn State
Tommy Schutt (IL)
Height/Weight: 6’3 300
VIP Teams: Notre Dame, Penn State, Florida, and Wisconsin
-Has yet to visit Penn State, but claimed to be a huge Penn State fan. Said he’ll visit this summer, but that has yet to be seen. Schutt plans on visiting all 4 schools, and then deciding in September. He’s been very quiet with the media so not much to be said here. The only school he has visited is Notre Dame.
Prediction: Notre Dame
Faith Ekakitie (IL)
Height/Weight: 6’3 255
VIP Teams: Boston College, UCLA, Oregon, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, and Penn State
-There are a few other schools he likes, but those are the schools he mentions. In my opinion, I think if Penn state really pushed for him, they could be leading. But they don’t seem to be all that keen on Faith, as they are focusing more on Jones and Schutt. He may still come for an OV so anything is possible.
Prediction: Wisconsin
Jamil Pollard (NJ)
Height/Weight: 6’4 280
VIP Teams: Penn State, Boston College, and Rutgers.
-Basically, Penn State de-committed from Pollard after his grades regressed in school. If he can improve them this fall, he’ll no doubt be a Lion. It’s just a question of if he can.
Prediction: Rutgers (If the grades don’t improve)
DB
Mike Tyson (VA)
Height/Weight: 6’2 190
VIP Teams: Penn State, UVa, and Va Tech
-Tyson has been flying under the radar, but he has 3 big time offers. He says he likes PSU and UVa the most right now, but Va Tech is just behind them. Still very early to now exactly were he ends up, but just guessing he stays home.
Prediction: UVa
Leonte Carroo (NJ)
Height/Weight: 6’1 205
VIP Teams: Rutgers, Cal, Wisconsin, Boston College, and Penn State
-Visited PSU yesterday, in what was a surprise visit. He said he really loved his visit, but he doesn’t have an offer yet. Will probably get one in the upcoming days. Still plans on announcing August 6th. Was a perceived lock for Rutgers, but I know I would be really worried if I was a Rutgers fan. Still, I’ll go with Rutgers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does end up at Penn State.
Prediction: Rutgers
Demetrious Cox (PA)
Height/Weight: 6’1 192
VIP Teams: Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pitt, and a whole host of others
-Cox is similar to Severin in the fact, he was seen as a guy who would of committed by now. He visited plenty of times in the early stages of his recruitment, but just never seemed to pull the trigger. Now, he has visited quite a few places. Pitt, Ohio State, and Notre Dame seem to be the other big time players in the recruitment. Guessing an official will come for Penn State, but that has yet to be confirmed. Either way, he is taking his recruitment nice and slow.
Prediction: Penn State
CB
Armani Reeves (MA)
Height/Weight: 5’11 185
VIP Teams: Penn State and Notre Dame
-Big time CB, who has always had PSU on top. Best friends with current PSU commit Camren Williams. I would be shocked if Reeves doesn’t end up at PSU, but Notre Dame is making quite a push. He would like to commit before the season, but I think this one goes into October.
Prediction: Penn State
Malik Golden (CT)
Height/Weight: 6’1 185
VIP Teams: Penn State, Iowa, Boston College, and UConn
-The whole visit saga has been figured out, and Golden will be visiting within the next few weeks. Don’t think he’ll commit though, but Penn State is sitting very well. May take OVs, which PSU will certainly get. Bottom line though is I just can’t see Golden ending up elsewhere.
Prediction: Penn State
So here what I think the Penn State class ends up with…
QB: Skyler Mornhinweg 3-Star
RB: Akeel Lynch 3-Star
WR: Eugene Lewis 4-Star
TE: Jesse James 3-Star
TE: Brent Wilkerson 4-Star
OT: JJ Denman 4-Star
OG: Joey O’Connor 4-Sar
OG: Anthony Stanko 3-Star
DE: Noah Spence 5-Star
DE: JP Holtz 4-Star
DT: Jarron Jones 4-Star
DT: Derek Dowrey 2-Star
DT: Austin Johnson 3-Star
LB: Camren Williams 4-Star
LB: Nyeem Wartman 4-Star
DB: Demtrious Cox 4-Star
DB: Jake Kiley 2-Star
CB: Malik Golden 3-Star
CB: Armani Reeves 4-Star
Then you could potentially add Pollard if his grades improve and another RB (not sure who yet). All in all, that’s a pretty good class. Probably right around the #15 area. Still a long way to go though, and my predictions are a far thing from a science.
1850 words later, I’m done. I may be back this Thursday if any big news is out, but if not…next Thursday for sure.
Twitter.com/PatrickVBR