Immediately following his press conference at North Hunterdon High School on Monday, Penn State's newest verbal, tight end Kevin Haplea headed to the Lions' Den to chat with our BWI subscribers.
See what the newest Nittany Lion had to say in a different version of Q&A with the Nittany Lions' Newest Commitment.
saw120489: First off, congrats and welcome to the family. A lot has been made in a short period of time about your quote mentioning Fortt along with other PSU commitments saying that all of you are ready to come to PSU and practice. Does that mean that Fortt is "in the bag" so to speak?
Kevin Haplea: I definitely know for a fact that Penn State has been on his top list for a really long time, but he just wants to get his officials in to nail it down. He doesn't really tell me that's he's committing here, but Penn State has definitely been in his top for a long time.
He definitely has a lot of people in his ear.
pji103: What are your biggest strengths as a Tight End and how excited are you to be a Nittany Lion?
Kevin Haplea: I think my biggest strengths are that I'm pretty well-rounded and I can adapt to different offenses. Depending on if they want me as a blocker, or splitting out and going against DB's, I think I can bring a lot to the game.
I'm really excited. I can't wait to get down there in January, but I have to get done my season first.
kod53ms: Kevin, who was your number two school at the conclusion of your decision process and what differentiated Penn State from that school for you?
Kevin Haplea: My number two school was probably West Virginia, but there was definitely a huge gap between one and two for me. I've been high on Penn State for a while.
I got a real feeling of being at home, it wasn't like I had to adapt to what the campus was like. It just felt right.
dmdpsu: Kevin, Welcome to Penn State. You are going to have the greatest 4 year experience of your life. My questions are, what is your greatest asset, greatest weakness? and I saw where you were offered by USC. Is this true & how hard did they recruit you? Thanks and good luck!
Kevin Haplea: I think my greatest asset is multiple things that I can bring to the game, I think I can bring multiple components to the offense.
I guess what I got from some coaches was that I was a little too short to be a real 'y' guy to play with my hand down and blocking. A lot of people think I'm still 226, but I'm 240 right now.
I wasn't offered by Southern Cal, it may have been South Carolina that you saw.
broey: Now that your recruitment is over, what are your plans for the fall?
Kevin Haplea: I'm just going to try to win, hopefully, every game my team plays my senior year.
I'm also going to try to get down to as many games in Happy Valley in the fall. Also, I'm going to get myself admitted so I'm ready to take classes in January.
thecoolestfish: How many National Championships do you plan on winning during your next 4/5 years? (wink)
Two of the last four PSU seasons have been 1-loss seasons. We need guys like you to get us back over the hump. Welcome aboard.
Kevin Haplea: I'd like to say four, but being realistic, I definitely want to win as many as we can. There's no reason that you should play college football if you don't want to win a national championship.
kod53ms: Kevin, how does it feel to finally end the recruiting process and be a Nittany Lion? Talk about your feelings on the process itself. Was it fun for you? Stressful? Both?
Kevin Haplea: To end the process feels pretty good. I'm real happy with my decision. Being a Nittany Lion, I just think, not a lot of people can say that and it's a special thing to be able to say about yourself.
On the process, it's fun and stressful at the same time, but you just have to keep things in perspective. You have to take things as they come and try to make the best decision for yourself.
Probably the worst part was not being offered until late February/early March. Doing all that work and thinking all the stuff I was doing with coaches and all the recruiting stuff was for nothing. Obviously it didn't turn out that way.
psubowhunter: If you had to give one reason why the Nittany Lions?
Kevin Haplea: One reason?
Let's see. That's tough.
I would probably say, if it was one thing, is overall you can't beat the atmosphere in football season and the overall buzz you get at Penn State. There's nothing like it in the country.
Fe-man: Kevin - you are highly rated as a TE. You are also a highly regarded DE. any interest in experimenting at DE or do you just want to focus on the TE position?
Kevin Haplea: Coach Johnson actually got ahold of my defensive highlights that were on my highlight tape that I gave to coach Kenney. It has my stats and I have the records for here for sacks in a career, season and a game (5.5). He said that he wishes he could have got ahold of me before Coach Kenney got to the door that morning to try to bring me over to the defensive side.
I'm not sure what the possibility of that is, but if it got me on the field faster, whatever it takes to help the team win, because that's what I want to do.
pji103: Do you have a relationship with Paul Jones and Rob Bolden? What are those guys like? Can we win a championship with you and those QBs?!
Kevin Haplea: I haven't met Bolden in person, I've talked to him a little bit in person. I met Paul briefly at the Blue-White game. I've seen all their highlights and stuff, and they seem like really good guys, and they seem like elite, topnotch quarterbacks and I definitely won't mind having them throw the ball to me.
When I've talked to them, like all the recruits, they're real excited to get down here, they're pumped about their decision and they all want to win national championships.
To your last question, definitely.
kod53ms: Kevin, share with us your most interesting/coolest moment in your recruitment.
Kevin Haplea: One of the cooler moments was at Clemson actually. The Rock that they touch, when we were walking around there, they had a No. 10 Clemson jersey, and they had me put it on and take a picture next to the rock. But obviously, it didn't work for them. It was a pretty cool picture though.
Lionguy32: Did you feel any pressure to commit early?
Kevin Haplea: It wasn't really pressure since I knew a while ago that I was going to come in early. It didn't change my mindset about it or anything since I knew I was coming in early.
dmdpsu: One other thing. What is your true height & weight? and Did the coached encourage you at all to commit sooner since scholarships are filling up?
Kevin Haplea: When I went to Miami I was measured and weighed in, I was 6-3 3/4, a hair under 6-4, and weighed in at 240.
I'm not sure that they encouraged it, but they definitely made me aware of the scholarships that they had. They didn't pressure me, they knew I was doing all of my homework, but I knew I would make the right choice.
Seltz: You mentioned you are versatile and can play in multiple sets, was the "Spread HD" philosophy one of the factors that drew you to PSU? What do you think of the "Spread HD"?
Kevin Haplea: The spread HD is different from other spreads. They're definitely going in a new innovative direction for it. I think I can fit in a lot of different places, I can move around and it can help me develop my game in all aspects.
That was probably one of the big factors in my decision overall. Nobody can promise anything, but you can watch the film and see how the coach coaches the position. The bottom line is that, if you're open, you're going to get the ball.
saw120489: I read in an article that you grew up an Ohio State fan. Will you have a strong hatred for them built up by November?
Kevin Haplea: That's interesting. I was a really big Ohio State fan. My whole dad's side of the family pretty much was. I used to get Ohio State stuff from them for Christmas and stuff every year.
When it comes to picking a school, you can't go based off of who your favorite team is. If you're not going to have a good time, what is the point of going there? A lot more factors go into it other than who is your favorite team growing up.
As far as hatred going into November goes, I don't know if you can call it hatred, but I will be rooting for the Nittany Lions, and I'll hopefully be helping PSU beat them down the road when I'm there.
ApexLion: As you know, PSU is bringing in a great class of athletes as evidenced your announcement today. Is the HD offense a big plus (a difference maker in comparing schools) in your mind and the other recruits you have talked to? Does the offense even come up with other recruits?
Welcome to PSU. Its the best place to get an education and play big-time ball in the country.
Kevin Haplea: The offense is a new, innovative offense in terms of what you can do. It's real easy to tweak it to adapt to the strength of your players, and it's a really good offense.
It doesn't really come up with other recruits, usually we just talk about what we like at the school, we like to talk about normal stuff. We're normal kids, we just like to talk about whatever.
lang06: Who are your remaining targets for this class? Many board members wouldn't mind seeing Dakota Royer, Shariff Floyd, CJ Olanyian, and Marcus Lattimore commit to PSU over the next couple of months?
Kevin Haplea: Like i said, I'm pretty good buddies with Khairi, I've spent a lot of time with him in San Antonio, and on our Blue-White visit, we hung out a lot.
He's probably the biggest concern that was left, most of the kids have already gotten on board.
I pay attention to it, naturally. We read the stories, what is said in the articles, and you try to text another recruit and see if they're really serious about what they're saying or juicing up the article or something like that. But we follow it.
saw120489: Because you're enrolling early, are you going to play in any post season all-star games?
Kevin Haplea: I would say no. I'm not really sure if I want to anyway.
philafan:
First off congrats on your selection of PSU!
What do you wish to study at PSU?
What part of your game do you do best?
Any idea on your number ?
Was PSU always your team as a kid?
When did you decide on PSU?
Thank you and good luck!!!!!!
Kevin Haplea:
1) I don't know. There are some classes that I don't like that are prerequisites for Kinesiology, that is the main thing I've been focusing on. I haven't picked a major, yet.
2) I just think that I can keep my composure and play like I know how to play. I think my technique is good, the little things that make a big impact.
3) I've been 10 my whole life, if it's available I would like to get that.
4) No. Ohio State was.
5) I think I knew probably a little earlier this month, but obviously I didn't announce it until today.
Seltz: What do you think of Joe Pa? What other experiences did you think were cool, as far as meeting big name coaches or players you may like from college football?
Kevin Haplea: First off, he's the best coach in the history of college football. He's a great guy to talk to, he's a funny, upbeat guy. He offered to fix my sister up with one of the players, even though she goes to West Virginia. He was joking, of course.
I definitely think that he was the one I was most excited to meet and the most exciting to meet. I think that meeting Joe Paterno, sitting in his office next to him is something that not too many people can say they have done.
I'm really excited to play for him.
This post was edited on 7/28 11:01 AM by Sean Fitz/BWI
See what the newest Nittany Lion had to say in a different version of Q&A with the Nittany Lions' Newest Commitment.
saw120489: First off, congrats and welcome to the family. A lot has been made in a short period of time about your quote mentioning Fortt along with other PSU commitments saying that all of you are ready to come to PSU and practice. Does that mean that Fortt is "in the bag" so to speak?
Kevin Haplea: I definitely know for a fact that Penn State has been on his top list for a really long time, but he just wants to get his officials in to nail it down. He doesn't really tell me that's he's committing here, but Penn State has definitely been in his top for a long time.
He definitely has a lot of people in his ear.
pji103: What are your biggest strengths as a Tight End and how excited are you to be a Nittany Lion?
Kevin Haplea: I think my biggest strengths are that I'm pretty well-rounded and I can adapt to different offenses. Depending on if they want me as a blocker, or splitting out and going against DB's, I think I can bring a lot to the game.
I'm really excited. I can't wait to get down there in January, but I have to get done my season first.
kod53ms: Kevin, who was your number two school at the conclusion of your decision process and what differentiated Penn State from that school for you?
Kevin Haplea: My number two school was probably West Virginia, but there was definitely a huge gap between one and two for me. I've been high on Penn State for a while.
I got a real feeling of being at home, it wasn't like I had to adapt to what the campus was like. It just felt right.
dmdpsu: Kevin, Welcome to Penn State. You are going to have the greatest 4 year experience of your life. My questions are, what is your greatest asset, greatest weakness? and I saw where you were offered by USC. Is this true & how hard did they recruit you? Thanks and good luck!
Kevin Haplea: I think my greatest asset is multiple things that I can bring to the game, I think I can bring multiple components to the offense.
I guess what I got from some coaches was that I was a little too short to be a real 'y' guy to play with my hand down and blocking. A lot of people think I'm still 226, but I'm 240 right now.
I wasn't offered by Southern Cal, it may have been South Carolina that you saw.
broey: Now that your recruitment is over, what are your plans for the fall?
Kevin Haplea: I'm just going to try to win, hopefully, every game my team plays my senior year.
I'm also going to try to get down to as many games in Happy Valley in the fall. Also, I'm going to get myself admitted so I'm ready to take classes in January.
thecoolestfish: How many National Championships do you plan on winning during your next 4/5 years? (wink)
Two of the last four PSU seasons have been 1-loss seasons. We need guys like you to get us back over the hump. Welcome aboard.
Kevin Haplea: I'd like to say four, but being realistic, I definitely want to win as many as we can. There's no reason that you should play college football if you don't want to win a national championship.
kod53ms: Kevin, how does it feel to finally end the recruiting process and be a Nittany Lion? Talk about your feelings on the process itself. Was it fun for you? Stressful? Both?
Kevin Haplea: To end the process feels pretty good. I'm real happy with my decision. Being a Nittany Lion, I just think, not a lot of people can say that and it's a special thing to be able to say about yourself.
On the process, it's fun and stressful at the same time, but you just have to keep things in perspective. You have to take things as they come and try to make the best decision for yourself.
Probably the worst part was not being offered until late February/early March. Doing all that work and thinking all the stuff I was doing with coaches and all the recruiting stuff was for nothing. Obviously it didn't turn out that way.
psubowhunter: If you had to give one reason why the Nittany Lions?
Kevin Haplea: One reason?
Let's see. That's tough.
I would probably say, if it was one thing, is overall you can't beat the atmosphere in football season and the overall buzz you get at Penn State. There's nothing like it in the country.
Fe-man: Kevin - you are highly rated as a TE. You are also a highly regarded DE. any interest in experimenting at DE or do you just want to focus on the TE position?
Kevin Haplea: Coach Johnson actually got ahold of my defensive highlights that were on my highlight tape that I gave to coach Kenney. It has my stats and I have the records for here for sacks in a career, season and a game (5.5). He said that he wishes he could have got ahold of me before Coach Kenney got to the door that morning to try to bring me over to the defensive side.
I'm not sure what the possibility of that is, but if it got me on the field faster, whatever it takes to help the team win, because that's what I want to do.
pji103: Do you have a relationship with Paul Jones and Rob Bolden? What are those guys like? Can we win a championship with you and those QBs?!
Kevin Haplea: I haven't met Bolden in person, I've talked to him a little bit in person. I met Paul briefly at the Blue-White game. I've seen all their highlights and stuff, and they seem like really good guys, and they seem like elite, topnotch quarterbacks and I definitely won't mind having them throw the ball to me.
When I've talked to them, like all the recruits, they're real excited to get down here, they're pumped about their decision and they all want to win national championships.
To your last question, definitely.
kod53ms: Kevin, share with us your most interesting/coolest moment in your recruitment.
Kevin Haplea: One of the cooler moments was at Clemson actually. The Rock that they touch, when we were walking around there, they had a No. 10 Clemson jersey, and they had me put it on and take a picture next to the rock. But obviously, it didn't work for them. It was a pretty cool picture though.
Lionguy32: Did you feel any pressure to commit early?
Kevin Haplea: It wasn't really pressure since I knew a while ago that I was going to come in early. It didn't change my mindset about it or anything since I knew I was coming in early.
dmdpsu: One other thing. What is your true height & weight? and Did the coached encourage you at all to commit sooner since scholarships are filling up?
Kevin Haplea: When I went to Miami I was measured and weighed in, I was 6-3 3/4, a hair under 6-4, and weighed in at 240.
I'm not sure that they encouraged it, but they definitely made me aware of the scholarships that they had. They didn't pressure me, they knew I was doing all of my homework, but I knew I would make the right choice.
Seltz: You mentioned you are versatile and can play in multiple sets, was the "Spread HD" philosophy one of the factors that drew you to PSU? What do you think of the "Spread HD"?
Kevin Haplea: The spread HD is different from other spreads. They're definitely going in a new innovative direction for it. I think I can fit in a lot of different places, I can move around and it can help me develop my game in all aspects.
That was probably one of the big factors in my decision overall. Nobody can promise anything, but you can watch the film and see how the coach coaches the position. The bottom line is that, if you're open, you're going to get the ball.
saw120489: I read in an article that you grew up an Ohio State fan. Will you have a strong hatred for them built up by November?
Kevin Haplea: That's interesting. I was a really big Ohio State fan. My whole dad's side of the family pretty much was. I used to get Ohio State stuff from them for Christmas and stuff every year.
When it comes to picking a school, you can't go based off of who your favorite team is. If you're not going to have a good time, what is the point of going there? A lot more factors go into it other than who is your favorite team growing up.
As far as hatred going into November goes, I don't know if you can call it hatred, but I will be rooting for the Nittany Lions, and I'll hopefully be helping PSU beat them down the road when I'm there.
ApexLion: As you know, PSU is bringing in a great class of athletes as evidenced your announcement today. Is the HD offense a big plus (a difference maker in comparing schools) in your mind and the other recruits you have talked to? Does the offense even come up with other recruits?
Welcome to PSU. Its the best place to get an education and play big-time ball in the country.
Kevin Haplea: The offense is a new, innovative offense in terms of what you can do. It's real easy to tweak it to adapt to the strength of your players, and it's a really good offense.
It doesn't really come up with other recruits, usually we just talk about what we like at the school, we like to talk about normal stuff. We're normal kids, we just like to talk about whatever.
lang06: Who are your remaining targets for this class? Many board members wouldn't mind seeing Dakota Royer, Shariff Floyd, CJ Olanyian, and Marcus Lattimore commit to PSU over the next couple of months?
Kevin Haplea: Like i said, I'm pretty good buddies with Khairi, I've spent a lot of time with him in San Antonio, and on our Blue-White visit, we hung out a lot.
He's probably the biggest concern that was left, most of the kids have already gotten on board.
I pay attention to it, naturally. We read the stories, what is said in the articles, and you try to text another recruit and see if they're really serious about what they're saying or juicing up the article or something like that. But we follow it.
saw120489: Because you're enrolling early, are you going to play in any post season all-star games?
Kevin Haplea: I would say no. I'm not really sure if I want to anyway.
philafan:
First off congrats on your selection of PSU!
What do you wish to study at PSU?
What part of your game do you do best?
Any idea on your number ?
Was PSU always your team as a kid?
When did you decide on PSU?
Thank you and good luck!!!!!!
Kevin Haplea:
1) I don't know. There are some classes that I don't like that are prerequisites for Kinesiology, that is the main thing I've been focusing on. I haven't picked a major, yet.
2) I just think that I can keep my composure and play like I know how to play. I think my technique is good, the little things that make a big impact.
3) I've been 10 my whole life, if it's available I would like to get that.
4) No. Ohio State was.
5) I think I knew probably a little earlier this month, but obviously I didn't announce it until today.
Seltz: What do you think of Joe Pa? What other experiences did you think were cool, as far as meeting big name coaches or players you may like from college football?
Kevin Haplea: First off, he's the best coach in the history of college football. He's a great guy to talk to, he's a funny, upbeat guy. He offered to fix my sister up with one of the players, even though she goes to West Virginia. He was joking, of course.
I definitely think that he was the one I was most excited to meet and the most exciting to meet. I think that meeting Joe Paterno, sitting in his office next to him is something that not too many people can say they have done.
I'm really excited to play for him.
This post was edited on 7/28 11:01 AM by Sean Fitz/BWI
