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2017 Recruiting Class Thread

Did you see him kick? His kickoffs were off the charts, his punting is real good, and I saw him easily hit a 47 yarder vs the Zephyrs.
No, we didn't play Emmaus in EPC crossover this year. I did hear good things about him.
 
Yeah, seems reasonable.

Looking at USC's 21 commits for the 2017 class:
10 from California, and most of the rest scattered through the West -- NV, OR, UT, AZ
1 from FL and 1 from TX

PSU is reaching out in the Southeast (there's room for success in the Carolinas and GA for sure), but not so much to the West (sometimes there might be a legacy kid who lives out West); if USC and Penn State are going to cross swords in recruiting, it might be some in FL and TX in the future.

Definitely like to see PSU expand their base and really push for kids from FL/GA/TX/CA area's more.... Help the brand grow. Plus as the team has more success and has a valid chance at landing 5* players consistently they will end up fighting with the OSU/Bama/USC teams with each of those top players.
 
Just a note about recruiting this year it seems like USC is closing the deal late on a number of recruits especially 5* recruits. End of season really helped them, they are beating out OSU for these guys as well. They have landed 2 5* recruits in the last 10 minutes. Next step up on the ladder for PSU.
PSU, I don't think will ever get multiple commits on signing day from the ESPN dog and pony show. That said, there is no reason we can't get multiple 5*s in a class. Next year it is likely that we get a 5* DE from PA, 5* QB from GA, and a 5* RB from VA. Now, they'll all be guys committed for over or almost a year. I think that is generally the 5*s we go for.
 
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PSU, I don't think will ever get multiple commits on signing day from the ESPN dog and pony show. That said, there is no reason we can't get multiple 5*s in a class. Next year it is likely that we get a 5* DE from PA, 5* QB from GA, and a 5* RB from VA. Now, they'll all be guys committed for over or almost a year. I think that is generally the 5*s we go for.
Geography recruiting isn't how you build a program. It's what you do once you are fully established which is coming. Continue to get the best you can around you and pick a kid outside the area every now and then. We already have 4* kids from Tx and Ga for 2018 and I imagine that list will grow in addition to a ton of good PA talent next year.
 
Tariq Castro-Fields announcement coming in minutes. Would he really postpone his announcement to do it in front of a gym full of students and parents and then spurn the home state school for PSU?
 
Right now.....PSU has 86 recruited scholarship kids on the roster - not counting ANY former walk-ons who may or may not be on scholarship for 2017.

There is always SOME attrition - but since we are already past the NFL entry date, there can't be much room, even for a quality recruit
 
Right now.....PSU has 86 recruited scholarship kids on the roster - not counting ANY former walk-ons who may or may not be on scholarship for 2017.

There is always SOME attrition - but since we are already past the NFL entry date, there can't be much room, even for a quality recruit
Nope..

1 Curtis Cothran 2 Parker Cothren 3 DaeSean Hamilton 4 Brendan Mahon 5 Andrew Nelson 6 Chasz Wright 7 De'Andre Thompkins 8 Marcus Allen 9 Mark Allen 10 Troy Apke 11 Nick Scott 12 Noah Beh 13 Mike Gesicki 14 Jonathan Thomas 15 Jason Cabinda 16 Brendan Brosnan 17 Trace McSorley 18 Grant Haley 19 Koa Farmer 20 Saeed Blacknall 21 Amani Oruwariye 22 Christian Campbell 23 Torrence Brown 24 Sterling Jenkins 25 Tommy Stevens 26 Jarvis Miller 27 Ryan Bates 28 Saquon Barkley 29 Ryan Buchholz 30 Jake Cooper 31 Andre Robinson 32 Juwan Johnson 33 Brandon Polk 34 Stephen Gonzalez 35 Jonathan Holland 36 Ayron Monroe 37 Manny Bowen 38 Irvin Charles 39 John Reid 40 Garrett Taylor 41 Robert Windsor 42 Shareef Miller 43 Nick Bowers 44 John Petrishen 45 Kevin Givens 46 Jake Zembiec 47 Connor McGovern 48 Daniel Dalton 49 Alex Gellerstedt 50 Miles Sanders 51 Shane Simmons 52 Zechariah McPhearson 53 Michal Menet 54 Will Fries 55 Blake Gillikin 56 Ellison Jordan 57 Daniel Joseph 58 Cameron Brown 59 Shaka Toney 60 Alex Barbir 61 Antonio Shelton 62 Dae'lun Darien 63 Tyrell Chavis 64 Anthony (TJ) Johnson

64+20=84 there are 4 walk-ons that I think did get schollies in (Fessler, Davis, Smith, McPherson) but you said not counting them.
 
Right now.....PSU has 86 recruited scholarship kids on the roster - not counting ANY former walk-ons who may or may not be on scholarship for 2017.

There is always SOME attrition - but since we are already past the NFL entry date, there can't be much room, even for a quality recruit

Nope..

1 Curtis Cothran 2 Parker Cothren 3 DaeSean Hamilton 4 Brendan Mahon 5 Andrew Nelson 6 Chasz Wright 7 De'Andre Thompkins 8 Marcus Allen 9 Mark Allen 10 Troy Apke 11 Nick Scott 12 Noah Beh 13 Mike Gesicki 14 Jonathan Thomas 15 Jason Cabinda 16 Brendan Brosnan 17 Trace McSorley 18 Grant Haley 19 Koa Farmer 20 Saeed Blacknall 21 Amani Oruwariye 22 Christian Campbell 23 Torrence Brown 24 Sterling Jenkins 25 Tommy Stevens 26 Jarvis Miller 27 Ryan Bates 28 Saquon Barkley 29 Ryan Buchholz 30 Jake Cooper 31 Andre Robinson 32 Juwan Johnson 33 Brandon Polk 34 Stephen Gonzalez 35 Jonathan Holland 36 Ayron Monroe 37 Manny Bowen 38 Irvin Charles 39 John Reid 40 Garrett Taylor 41 Robert Windsor 42 Shareef Miller 43 Nick Bowers 44 John Petrishen 45 Kevin Givens 46 Jake Zembiec 47 Connor McGovern 48 Daniel Dalton 49 Alex Gellerstedt 50 Miles Sanders 51 Shane Simmons 52 Zechariah McPhearson 53 Michal Menet 54 Will Fries 55 Blake Gillikin 56 Ellison Jordan 57 Daniel Joseph 58 Cameron Brown 59 Shaka Toney 60 Alex Barbir 61 Antonio Shelton 62 Dae'lun Darien 63 Tyrell Chavis 64 Anthony (TJ) Johnson

64+20=84 there are 4 walk-ons that I think did get schollies in (Fessler, Davis, Smith, McPherson) but you said not counting them.
64+21.

Guess there was room for one more.
 
IT'S THE BIG ONE!!

1359706423-fred-heartattack-o.gif
 
Video of TCF at the link...

http://www.scout.com/college/footba...no-28-cb-castro-fields-picks-penn-state?s=157


Tariq%20Castro%20Fields%20SMSB.jpg
Tariq Castro-Fields (photo by Brian Dohn)
Penn State closed out its 2017 class with a commitment from No. 29 CB Tariq Castro-Fields
234179.jpg

BRIAN DOHN
11:38 AM/ Originally published onScout Football

New Penn State Scout 300 cornerback commit Tariq Castro-Fields breaks down his decision.

When Tariq Castro-Fields made his official visit to Penn State in mid January, he left knowing he found his new home.


However, the gravity of the decision weighed on heavily on him, so he postponed his Jan. 23 decision as weighed his options between Penn State and Maryland.

And moments ago, the No. 29 cornerback in the nation chose the Nittany Lions.

"Mainly, it's because of my relationship with the coaching staff, and I love the direction the program is running," Castro-Fields said. "With them playing in the Rose Bowl, and them winning the Big Ten championship, everything is on the ups with them."

The 6-foot-1, 177-pound Castro-Fields, who starred at Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist, has plenty of familiarity with Penn State. He visited campus numerous times, and his former teammate and friend, Zechariah McPhearson, is a freshman with the Nittany Lions.

Also, although Penn State signed three other cornerbacks -- Lamont Wade, Donovan Johnson and D.J. Brown -- Castro-Fields is the only one bigger than 5-11.

"Early playing time is evident with them as well," he said. "They don't have a lot of tall corners, and me being able to join the two corners they have, they are good players, that would mean we would have a great DB class."

Although Castro-Fields chose between Penn State and Maryland, his third school was actually the one on his mind the most prior to his Jan. 13 trip to Happy Valley.

"Before the visit, I was kind of Alabama, Alabama," Castro-Fields said. "It's been cool (to go through the process). I've been blessed to pick where I want to go."
 
Nope..

1 Curtis Cothran 2 Parker Cothren 3 DaeSean Hamilton 4 Brendan Mahon 5 Andrew Nelson 6 Chasz Wright 7 De'Andre Thompkins 8 Marcus Allen 9 Mark Allen 10 Troy Apke 11 Nick Scott 12 Noah Beh 13 Mike Gesicki 14 Jonathan Thomas 15 Jason Cabinda 16 Brendan Brosnan 17 Trace McSorley 18 Grant Haley 19 Koa Farmer 20 Saeed Blacknall 21 Amani Oruwariye 22 Christian Campbell 23 Torrence Brown 24 Sterling Jenkins 25 Tommy Stevens 26 Jarvis Miller 27 Ryan Bates 28 Saquon Barkley 29 Ryan Buchholz 30 Jake Cooper 31 Andre Robinson 32 Juwan Johnson 33 Brandon Polk 34 Stephen Gonzalez 35 Jonathan Holland 36 Ayron Monroe 37 Manny Bowen 38 Irvin Charles 39 John Reid 40 Garrett Taylor 41 Robert Windsor 42 Shareef Miller 43 Nick Bowers 44 John Petrishen 45 Kevin Givens 46 Jake Zembiec 47 Connor McGovern 48 Daniel Dalton 49 Alex Gellerstedt 50 Miles Sanders 51 Shane Simmons 52 Zechariah McPhearson 53 Michal Menet 54 Will Fries 55 Blake Gillikin 56 Ellison Jordan 57 Daniel Joseph 58 Cameron Brown 59 Shaka Toney 60 Alex Barbir 61 Antonio Shelton 62 Dae'lun Darien 63 Tyrell Chavis 64 Anthony (TJ) Johnson

64+20=84 there are 4 walk-ons that I think did get schollies in (Fessler, Davis, Smith, McPherson) but you said not counting them.
I Forgot to take Antoine White and Sorrell off the list......5-18-22-19-(and now)21, by year (I still had 20 for the 2014, Sorrell/White year)

But the gist, of course, remains the same

It's tight.......with TCF, that would mean one "recruited" kid would have to drop off the roster (between now and "count day") for every non-recruited kid (of which, I have no idea how many there will be - those guesses are never very reliable - but it can't end up being more than the number who "drop off"..........assuming all of these 2017 "signees" actually end up enrolling over the summer - which is just another variable :) )
 
Wow, 4 CB's in the class. Wade, Johnson, Brown, and Castro-Fields. Plus the Safety Sutherland. Wonder which CB ends up at Safety. My guess is Wade. He is very thick, solid as a rock already. Seems to love to hit as well. When he gets near 200 lbs he will be a wrecking ball......

The redshirted McPherson was getting glowing reports during his redshirt year. Great talent in the secondary, and we will need it to improve the pass defense that was somewhat exposed versus USC......
 
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Wow, 4 CB's in the class. Wade, Johnson, Brown, and Castro-Fields. Wonder who ends up at Safety. My guess is Wade. He is very thick, solid as a rock already. Seems to love to hit as well. When he gets near 200 lbs he will be a wrecking ball......

The redshirted McPherson was getting glowing reports during his redshirt year. Great talent in the secondary, and we will need it to improve the pass defense that was somewhat exposed versus USC......

I think Wade too. Been some pretty good shorter safeties recently; Bob Sanders, Troy P and Honey Badger(cb at LSU).
 
Rivals 11th
Scout 14th
247 15th
and of course the four letter assholes have us ranked the lowest at 17th.

No matter what, it's pure victory this year.
 
Wow, 4 CB's in the class. Wade, Johnson, Brown, and Castro-Fields. Wonder who ends up at Safety. My guess is Wade. He is very thick, solid as a rock already. Seems to love to hit as well. When he gets near 200 lbs he will be a wrecking ball......

The redshirted McPherson was getting glowing reports during his redshirt year. Great talent in the secondary, and we will need it to improve the pass defense that was somewhat exposed versus USC......

The cherry on the sundae as they say. What a great class. I was surprised at this one as he was stringing it out so long delaying his announcement. Great news. I wonder exactly were this class will be rated? The real story is in how that rating translates to on field production and a review five years down the road when the story has been written in blood, sweat and tears.
 
TCF looks like he's both an excellent open field tackler and a very good cover guy against both slot receivers and wide-outs. I think both Wade and TCF could excel at either position.
 
Wow, 4 CB's in the class. Wade, Johnson, Brown, and Castro-Fields. Wonder who ends up at Safety. My guess is Wade. He is very thick, solid as a rock already. Seems to love to hit as well. When he gets near 200 lbs he will be a wrecking ball......

The redshirted McPherson was getting glowing reports during his redshirt year. Great talent in the secondary, and we will need it to improve the pass defense that was somewhat exposed versus USC......

One of the coaches said there were 5 DBs in the class in one of his comments (can't remember which coach) - I would assume that he is counting Journey Brown as another with the potential to play DB.
 
Scanning the recruiting board i don't see anything about Webb. Wasn't he supposed to announce at 2:30.
 
Speaking of Hazelton....I feel like Webb will end up like him. Shoulda listened to Dad....ala like Vidal
Agree. I think that if it was up to Dad he'd be in Blue and White. Oh well, don't worry about what might have been, celebrate what we do have.
 
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Rivals 11th
Scout 14th
247 15th
and of course the four letter assholes have us ranked the lowest at 17th.

No matter what, it's pure victory this year.

Agree that these "rankings" don't mean jack squat.
PSU just landed a great class. I don't care what ranking number is assigned to it.
I'm not interested in comparing this group to those players signed by Alabama or OSU, Pitt or Rutgers. It is a silly exercise.
I'm interested in the young men who wanted to come to PSU. Can they make PSU better in the future?
Let's take a look in two or three years, after these players have actually seen playing time, to see if there are 16 better classes.
 
Agree that these "rankings" don't mean jack squat.
PSU just landed a great class. I don't care what ranking number is assigned to it.
I'm not interested in comparing this group to those players signed by Alabama or OSU, Pitt or Rutgers. It is a silly exercise.
I'm interested in the young men who wanted to come to PSU. Can they make PSU better in the future?
Let's take a look in two or three years, after these players have actually seen playing time, to see if there are 16 better classes.

I agree. Forever, I've continued to say that the MOST important part of recruiting for us, is that we find PENN STATE KIDS. Penn State kids, are a unique kind of kid: The very BEST PSU teams, from last season, all the way down through history, have had true PENN STATE KIDS playing for them. Our staff has done an outstanding job, of identifying that fact, and then pulling in the kids that win championships for PSU.

It's not about the hat game, not about the bling, not about the bag man, not about the press conference, not about the shell game, not about the name on the back of the uniform, and not about the pub. It's about that unique young man who shines on and off the field, and represents the University with pride and poise. It's what Joe Paterno stood for. It's about what Rip Engle stood for, before him, and now it's about what James Franklin has brought back from the dead. All the credit in the world to James and this staff, for redefining what the "Penn State Man" is all about.

I have said this all along. Our job is to identify the best kids who have OUR QUALITIES at heart. Let the big name ego's continue to go to the SEC, or to Ohio State, and Michigan. We will never beat them by playing their game: We beat them by getting OUR GUYS. It was OUR GUYS who beat Ohio State this year, it was OUR GUYS who won the Big Ten Championship, and it will be OUR GUYS who bring us to the National Playoff in the near future, and OUR GUYS who will eventually bring us a National Championship. Let Marvin Wilson break out his gym bag with the Florida State logo, we'll see where big boy ends up after 3 years and about 14 college credits to his name. Our guys have the name PENN STATE backing their game up, not just in the stadium, but in the bigger stadium, of life.
 
Did Cael announce a commit this year? He's usually part of this ceremony... just haven't seen any video footage of this years event yet
 
WOW, Army coming through with a whopping 84 recruits in this class!!! Congrats to the Black Knights, HOW ARE THEY DOING IT?

86
Army

84 0 0 0 1.67 900
 
Really excited about TCF - it'll be great to have a 6-1 or 6-2 corner on one side

I love Wade as a Honey Badger/Bob Sanders type playmaker. He is going to crush it for us
 
We might just see a starting Defensive backfield this year of Haley and Reid at the corners, Wade at SS, and Allen at FS.
 
[/QUOTE]
We might just see a starting Defensive backfield this year of Haley and Reid at the corners, Wade at SS, and Allen at FS.

Taylor was a high level recruit. Perhaps he could be in the mix.
 


Taylor was a high level recruit. Perhaps he could be in the mix.[/QUOTE]

Hell, I think Taylor is in the mix, and MacPhearson also, not to mention Monroe...

It's gonna keep getting better, every day now. I think we move Petrishen to linebacker.
 
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