Army Visitors
As was the case last week, Penn State is expected to host another small crowd for Saturday's game against Army. The top prospect that I'm expecting to be in attendance is Class of 2018 DE/LB Micah Parsons. As most of you already know, the Harrisburg, Pa., native has been on campus quite a few times over the past year and is expected to be Pennsylvania's top prospect in 2018. In fact, he'll likely be one of the top prospects in the entire Mid-Atlantic region for his class. Penn State sits in an excellent position currently, but there's obvious a long way to go here. The only other schools that have offered so far are N.C. State and Rutgers, but I expect that list to grow substantially in the coming months.
Penn State is also expecting to host two additional prospects from the Harrisburg area in Class of 2017 DE Damion Barber and 2018 Ath. Shaquon Anderson-Butts. Both Barber and Anderson-Butts already hold offers from the staff and have been on campus a few times. I feel confident that Penn State currently leads for Barber, but I also want to see what other programs offer after reviewing his film this fall. That said, no matter who else offers, I expect PSU to be near the top of his list throughout his recruitment. Some of the top schools that have offered him so far include Pitt, Rutgers and Virginia Tech
As for Anderson-Butts, he just picked up an offer from Rutgers earlier this week. Temple is the only other program that has offered so far, but he's off to a great start this season and is a great kid, so I could see his offer sheet growing in the coming weeks and months.
Two other notable Class of 2017 prospects are DE Mike Tverdov, from Union, N.J., and DT Kurt Hinish from Pittsburgh Central Catholic. I wrote an update on Tverdov earlier this week. Click Here to read that. As for Hinish, he's been on campus before, but I'm still trying to learn more on where he stands on the staff's board. As of now, his only offer is from Toledo.
UPDATED: 10:50 AM - Mike Tverdov can no longer make the trip. His game was moved to Saturday.
Outside of those prospects, the only other confirmed players that I'm currently aware of are all committed. That lists includes QB Jake Zembiec, OL Connor McGovern and Punter Blake Gillikin.
I do plan to speak with contacts later this afternoon, so if I learn of any additional prospects, I'll make a post in this thread.
Coaches hit the road
As of now, I've only confirmed two games that the coaches plan to attend this evening. Again, I will speak with contacts later today, so I should learn of one or two other stops this afternoon. If I do, I'll make a post in this thread.
- Both James Franklin and Terry Smith are expected to be at Woodland Hills this evening, as the Wolverines host Upper St. Clair. Two main two prospects they'll be watching are Class of 2016 RB Miles Sanders and Class of 2017 OL Gabe Houy. I posted an update on Houy earlier in the week. He doesn't really open up much, but you can read what he had to say HERE. I believe that Penn State has already identified its top offensive line targets for 2017, but depending on who makes a commitment and when, I wouldn't be surprised if Houy got an offer down the road. He had a good showing at camp this summer and has a great frame.
- Quarterback coach Ricky Rahne is expected to head up to Rochester, N.Y., this evening to watch Aquinas Institute take on Bishop Timon-St. Jude. He'll be there to watch future Nittany Lion QB Jake Zembiec.
