One of the Valley View Cougars top returning two-way athletes, tight end/linebacker Nyeem Wartman, has issued an oral declaration to continue playing football in the Big Ten Conference.
The 6’3, 230-pound Wartman issued an oral declaration to Penn State Sunday, according to ESPN.com’s college football recruiting as well as reputable sources from the District 2 region. Wartman’s profile on national recruiting service Scout.com listed the Nittany Lions as one of three programs in which he was showing high interest in addition to North Carolina State and Rutgers.
During his recruiting process, Wartman held a total of 13 verbal Division-1 FBS or FCS offers, according to national recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com. In addition to Penn State, Akron, Boston College, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Northwestern, North Carolina State, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple and Villanova have all offered the Cougars’ athlete, and schools like Maryland, Miami (FL), Michigan, Michigan State and North Carolina have shown interest in Wartman.
Scout.com ranks Wartman as the #30 outside linebacker and a three-star prospect in the 2012 recruiting class. Wartman is one of two Pennsylvania prospects ranked nationally in Scout’s list of outside backers – the other is Sto-Rox’ Deaysean Rippy, ranked #7 in the nation at that position. Rippy holds close to 30 offers. Rivals.com likewise rated Wartman as a three-star prospect and ranked him #31 at outside linebacker in the 2012 class.
Wartman would become the eighth athlete in the Nittany Lions’ 2012 recruiting class ranked as a three-star or higher prospect. Before Wartman’s commitment, Scout reported Penn State’s recruiting class already ranked 34th in the nation.
Wartman has played both on offense and defense for the Cougars the last two seasons. As a junior, he tallied 115 tackles (70 solo), an interception and three fumble recoveries, and also caught 13 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns (an average of 17.4 yards per reception). As a sophomore, Wartman tallied 68 tackles (53 solo), an interception and a fumble recovery.
Valley View finished 7-5 in 2010, winning the Eastern Conference AAA football championship over Berwick, 35-21.
