STATE COLLEGE – Call it what you want. Be it the result of NCAA sanctions, a change in attitude about freshmen that fans aren’t used to or a fresh outlook on the way players make their way to the field but one thing was made crystal clear during the first press conference before spring practice began: Any recruit that commits to Penn State has a chance to play immediately. “At the end of the day we’re going to put our best players on the field” Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien said about position battles. “Whether he’s a freshman run-on or a scholarship senior, if he practices hard and wins that position it’s his to lose.”
O’Brien has already shown he’s going to rely heavily on his “run-on” program, recruiting all over Pennsylvania to bring in the best talent he can and give them a chance to earn a scholarship down the road. We are all familiar with the story of Matt McGloin. And Selinsgrove’s Ryan Keiser has already done the same. “Ryan came here and showed us he wants to and can play, so we rewarded him with the scholarship. Matt Lehman is another great example of that. Derek Day, you know, those guys are great examples of guys that. Derek Day played a prominent role, also. Those guys are great examples of guys that are run-ons. And hopefully, especially in the state of Pennsylvania, high school players in the state of Pennsylvania can really look at that and say, ‘Here’s a place that I’ve grown up loving and I’ve always wanted to play at, and here’s my opportunity to go play and potentially earn a scholarship.”
The recruiting staff has reached out to all corners of the state this year bringing in guys like RB Cole Chiappialle of Blackhawk, RB Brian Tomasetti of Old Forge, RB Von Walker of Central Mountain, LB Kyle Searfoss of Red Land and LB Brandon Smith from Lewisburg. Most of these guys had offers from smaller schools but opted to take their chance at Penn State.
So hear this Pennsylvania high school juniors and seniors, because you haven’t gotten a scholarship offer doesn’t mean you can’t play college football for a D1 team. Penn State is looking for you and they’ll give you a chance. All you have to do is work hard, play hard and be a team player.
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Late last week, news broke that Penn State commit Zayd Issah had been arrested on multiple charges for basically attempting to pay for fast food with counterfeit money.
With his legal future still to be determined, it appears a decision has been made regarding Issah’s football future — at least for the time being. Ryan Snider of BlueWhiteIllustrated.com reports that Issah’s scholarship has been temporarily pulled. Penn State has not commented publicly on the matter yet.
Another Rhodes Scholar not going to Penn St. A preliminary hearing for Issah has been set for May 9, so it could be that Penn State is waiting to find out more about what Issah is facing before they make a permanent decision one way or the other.
A three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, Issah was a member of PSU’s 2013 recruiting class.
When can juniors go to tryout??
O’Brien also mentioned a few players possibly going both ways this year. Whartman was named as well as Malik Golden and Nate Cadogan.
Also, I have a feeling we might see a few more 5-star recruits heading to PSU that want to play both ways. O’Brien made that comment and a few weeks later NJ’s Jabril Peppers was on his way to PSU for a visit. It was that exact conversation that might get him to PSU and that would be HUGE!!!
Well its about damn time PSU got off their azzes and started really recruiting their own backyard. As much admiration and respect that I had for Joe Paterno and staff, the very thing that drove me crazy was their LACK OF recruiting in our state. I love this situation, now we will see qualified freshman taking the field at Beaver Stadium and now we’ll see a higher number of better athletes going to PSU with the hopes they can start as a freshman. GO PSU!!!