When 2017 OLB Shaka Toney [6-2 1/2, 210] from Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia, Pa. announced his verbal commitment to Penn State in the late afternoon this past Saturday at the "Lasch Bash" barbecue, many recruitniks here in the Lions Den were caught by surprise.
However, that wasn't the case with James Franklin and his staff because Toney had actually given a silent verbal commitment to Penn State seven to ten days before the "Lasch Bash", but for whatever reason Toney decided to wait until the barbecue to announce his decision publicly.
Part of the reason why so many Lions Den members were surprised when Toney announced for Penn State is the fact Rivals has Toney rated as a 5.5 three-star prospect and doesn't have a national position rating from Rivals for the class of 2016.
Personally, I disagree with Rivals ranking of Toney. For a number of reasons it is my firm belief that Toney is one of the more underrated members of Pennsylvania's class of 2016. Don't get me wrong I'm not promoting Toney as a four-star prospect, but I definitely believe he is better than the 30th ranked player in Pennsylvania's class of 2016.
Following the 2014 season Toney was named an all-SE Pennsylvania selection by the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Toney was also an Honorable-Mention [H-M] 3A all-state selection. Playing his first year at both DE and OLB for Imhotep Charter last fall Toney totaled 90 tackles, 20-plus TFL and 17 sacks.
I think part of the reason for some skepticism on several Internet services evaluations of Toney related to his widely reported differences in size and weight. One Internet recruiting website listed Toney at 6-3 1/2, 219 and Rivals had Toney listed at 6-3, 193. Imhotep Charter head football coach, Albie Crosby, addressed that issue when he was interviewed by several Internet sites. Crosby said Toney checked in at the beginning of July at 6-2 1/2, 210, but surprisingly he projected Toney will end up playing at the rush DE position at Penn State.
Personally, when Toney arrives on Penn State's campus next June I expect him to begin his Penn State career at the Sam OLB position. His sophomore season at Inhotep Charter Toney played the strong safety [SS] position in the secondary, totaling close to 50 tackles with a couple of interceptions. The 2014 season was his first at DE and OLB and was a learning process for Toney. In spite of that Toney was able to post 90 tackles with 17 sacks in 2014.
Coach Crosby believes Toney is ready for a breakout season at OLB this fall as well as playing some weakside DE. Analyzing Toney's 2014 hudl highlight video I get a clear understanding why Coach Crosby believes Toney will fill the role of a DE/hybrid OLB at Penn State down the road.
What is most impressive on Toney's 2014 hudl highlight video is his amazing explosive first step that helped him post 17 sacks last fall. He is an outstanding edge rusher and on a consistent basis he puts a high level of pressure on the opponent's QB. Toney also, most likely because of the fact he played at SS his sophomore year at Imhotep Charter, plays extremely well against the pass from his OLB position and is fully capable of playing man-to-man coverage against TEs and backs coming out of the backfield.
What Toney needs to work on the most is his lower-body strength and the physical aspect of the game from both the DE and OLB positions on defense. He shows solid tackling form on his highlight video, plays better than expected in traffic and uses his hands fairly well shedding blocks. With last year being his first year at DE and OLB, it still is a learning experience for Toney.
That being said Toney has exceptional athletic skills and the frame to add 20 to 30 pounds without losing any of his athletic skills in my opinion. Toney's frame is far from being complete. He stands 6-2 1/2, 210. He has reported 4.6 40-yard speed.
When Toney verbaled to Penn State at the "Lasch Bash" he had close to 15 scholarship offers. North Carolina, Pitt, Rutgers Syracuse, Temple, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and West Virginia were included on his list in addition to Penn State. One other school that had a serious interest in Toney was Stanford. Toney is a solid student/athlete with a reported 3.25 GPA.
Click on the link below to watch Toney's 2014 hudl football highlight video.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2721073/highlights/192449379/v2
However, that wasn't the case with James Franklin and his staff because Toney had actually given a silent verbal commitment to Penn State seven to ten days before the "Lasch Bash", but for whatever reason Toney decided to wait until the barbecue to announce his decision publicly.
Part of the reason why so many Lions Den members were surprised when Toney announced for Penn State is the fact Rivals has Toney rated as a 5.5 three-star prospect and doesn't have a national position rating from Rivals for the class of 2016.
Personally, I disagree with Rivals ranking of Toney. For a number of reasons it is my firm belief that Toney is one of the more underrated members of Pennsylvania's class of 2016. Don't get me wrong I'm not promoting Toney as a four-star prospect, but I definitely believe he is better than the 30th ranked player in Pennsylvania's class of 2016.
Following the 2014 season Toney was named an all-SE Pennsylvania selection by the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Toney was also an Honorable-Mention [H-M] 3A all-state selection. Playing his first year at both DE and OLB for Imhotep Charter last fall Toney totaled 90 tackles, 20-plus TFL and 17 sacks.
I think part of the reason for some skepticism on several Internet services evaluations of Toney related to his widely reported differences in size and weight. One Internet recruiting website listed Toney at 6-3 1/2, 219 and Rivals had Toney listed at 6-3, 193. Imhotep Charter head football coach, Albie Crosby, addressed that issue when he was interviewed by several Internet sites. Crosby said Toney checked in at the beginning of July at 6-2 1/2, 210, but surprisingly he projected Toney will end up playing at the rush DE position at Penn State.
Personally, when Toney arrives on Penn State's campus next June I expect him to begin his Penn State career at the Sam OLB position. His sophomore season at Inhotep Charter Toney played the strong safety [SS] position in the secondary, totaling close to 50 tackles with a couple of interceptions. The 2014 season was his first at DE and OLB and was a learning process for Toney. In spite of that Toney was able to post 90 tackles with 17 sacks in 2014.
Coach Crosby believes Toney is ready for a breakout season at OLB this fall as well as playing some weakside DE. Analyzing Toney's 2014 hudl highlight video I get a clear understanding why Coach Crosby believes Toney will fill the role of a DE/hybrid OLB at Penn State down the road.
What is most impressive on Toney's 2014 hudl highlight video is his amazing explosive first step that helped him post 17 sacks last fall. He is an outstanding edge rusher and on a consistent basis he puts a high level of pressure on the opponent's QB. Toney also, most likely because of the fact he played at SS his sophomore year at Imhotep Charter, plays extremely well against the pass from his OLB position and is fully capable of playing man-to-man coverage against TEs and backs coming out of the backfield.
What Toney needs to work on the most is his lower-body strength and the physical aspect of the game from both the DE and OLB positions on defense. He shows solid tackling form on his highlight video, plays better than expected in traffic and uses his hands fairly well shedding blocks. With last year being his first year at DE and OLB, it still is a learning experience for Toney.
That being said Toney has exceptional athletic skills and the frame to add 20 to 30 pounds without losing any of his athletic skills in my opinion. Toney's frame is far from being complete. He stands 6-2 1/2, 210. He has reported 4.6 40-yard speed.
When Toney verbaled to Penn State at the "Lasch Bash" he had close to 15 scholarship offers. North Carolina, Pitt, Rutgers Syracuse, Temple, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and West Virginia were included on his list in addition to Penn State. One other school that had a serious interest in Toney was Stanford. Toney is a solid student/athlete with a reported 3.25 GPA.
Click on the link below to watch Toney's 2014 hudl football highlight video.
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2721073/highlights/192449379/v2
