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Recruiting: Lasch Bash Thread

RyanSnyder

BWI Recruiting Analyst
Silver Member
Nov 2, 2013
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Bellefonte
UPDATED: July 16 - 7 PM

I plan to post as many reactions as I can this evening. Every reaction I get from prospects following camp will be posted in this first message. For social media reaction, you'll have to sort through the thread. I have a ton of different tweets linked. But again, every reaction I personally get over the next few hours will be linked here.

- A few prospects that didn't make it: CB Donovan Johnson, CB Kalon Gervin, LB DeAndre Square, WR Darryle Simmons, Ath. Kwantel Raines.

- There's a lot of positive talk about LB Brelin Faison-Walden going around right now. I don't think he'll necessarily make a move tonight or anything like that, but he is planning to make a commitment in the near future. From what I've been told, PSU feels good about their chances.


Lasch Bash Reactions

CB Jornell Manns - FILM - Mansfield, Ohio - Mansfield - 2018 ***

"It was awesome man. I got to meet with wide receiver coach, Coach Gattis. He's great. Then, I got to see more of their facility. It was dope. I didn't meet too many new people, but I did talk to some of the athletes (recruits). It was good bonding with them. I loved the activities they had for us and also the food. The food was the bomb. I loved the environment up there."

- It'll be interesting to see how much PSU entertains the idea of him playing wide receiver down the road. He talked to Gattis today, but the staff still wants him to play cornerback. I literally think that's the only thing keeping Manns from committing. Now, that commitment would still probably be a bit premature (other schools will offer, visits will come, etc.) but he's very, very high on PSU. He blatantly told me a few times now that he doesn't even bother talking to most of the MAC schools and smaller Big Ten schools showing interest. Until a school of PSU's caliber offers, it'll be all PSU.

OL Emil Ekiyor - FILM - Indianapolis, Ind. - Cathedral - 2018 ***

"I had a lot of fun yesterday. I really enjoyed getting to work with Coach Limegrover. We've become real cool. We talk all the time. I also met with Sean Clifford, C.J. Thorpe and Mike Miranda today. We had a great time."

- Ekiyor is an elite prospect. He'll be a tough pull, but this was his second visit today, so that's a positive sign for PSU. He also visited Notre Dame and Stanford this summer and is now planning to visit Florida, Florida State and Georgia. That trip south is tentatively planned for next weekend. Ekiyor also told me that PSU didnt offer his teammate, Ath Ben Stewart.

DE Alex Reigelsperger - FILM - Huber Heights, Ohio - Wayne - 2018

"I met with Coach Spence and Coach Franklin. We toured the whole Lasch facility and everything, then went to the stadium to tour that. We then ate food at their facility and played some games. It was an amazing time."

- When it comes to picking up an offer from PSU

"They haven't offered yet. Coach Franklin and Spence want to sit down with my family and me before they do because they know if they do I'm likely to commit."

- Reigelsperger has made it no secret that he's very high on PSU. When he was thinking about making a commitment a month or two back, he named PSU and Kentucky, despite the fact that PSU hasn't offered yet. I think it's clear that the staff wants to see him play more this season before they make a move. He's definitely a solid player, so he'll be someone to watch this fall. Reigelsperger is supposed to attend Michigan's BBQ in a few weeks. He's also considering a visit to Rutgers and potentially a trip down south before the end of the summer.

DE Antonio Alfano - FILM - Oradell, N.J. - Bergen Catholic - 2019 ***

"I met a lot of people today. I met a kid that Penn State was recruiting from Belgium (clearly I need to dig on this - Snyder). That was crazy. I didn't know they recruited all the way out there. I also loved how everyone was so nice everywhere we went. The facilities are ridiculous. Their new academic facility is beyond words. As a side note, I'd also suggest the creamery to anyone if they have the chance." (laughs)

- I'll ask around about the Belgium recruit this evening. As for Alfano, he's very high on PSU. As I wrote about last week, this was his third trip to Penn State, so the staff is clearly off to a great start. He's definitely a four-star talent. He had a solid night last night after talking to contacts.

ADDED: 7:40 PM

DB D.J. Brown - FILM - Fairburn, Ga. - Creekside - 2017 PSU Commit

"It's been a great weekend. I got to spend time with the commits and the coaches. I got to also workout with the coaches, too. I actually spent a lot of time with Grant Haley last night (after camp). He's from Atlanta, too, so that was cool. He's a real cool guy."

- Not getting more film of Brown last night was a big regret of mine. Was bummed this morning when I went through the film. I focused on Clifford and lost track of Brown and others. I heard he had a good night though. He's a very good athlete, very competitive. It's good to see that he continues to make trips to PSU, too. Bigger schools down south will likely come calling at some point, but I feel like it'll take a lot for a school to steal him away from PSU. He's one of those guys that the staff has built an extreme strong relationship with. The same is true about Brown's family. They like the staff a lot.

ADDED: 7:47 PM

OL Mike Miranda - FILM - Stow, Ohio - Stow-Munroe Falls - 2017 PSU Commit

"The weekend went great. Camp was a blast and I got to go get a feel for the campus after with Michal Menet and a few other guys. I definitely enjoyed meeting all of the other commits and some of the other targets. I got a much better feel for my future family."

- Miranda was having a great showing last night until he basically got punched in the face. He was bleeding pretty bad, but still sucked it up and kept working. He didn't go quite as hard after that (understandably), but you gotta love seeing that in your lineman. Not much to add here. A solid future interior offensive lineman for PSU. No concerns at all here about Miranda looking around.

ADDED: 8:18 PM

LB Dylan Rivers - FILM - Stephens City, Va. - Sherando - 2017 PSU Commit

"We loved the coaches and the campus, as always. I hung out with a couple of the commits and 2016 guys. Also, I was with Brailyn Frankling, who I think really likes PSU. The Lasch Bash went great and I really do believe it up'd our stock today."

- Enough said there by Rivers. He got straight to the point. haha. BTW: I met Mr. and Mrs. Rivers last night. Had a 20 minute talk with both. Very, very nice people. Very classy family. Easy to see why Dylan is as mature as he is.

ADDED: 9:37 PM

LB John Morgan - FILM - Hyattsville, Md. - DeMatha - 2018

"I met with Coach Franklin's family today and they are probably the nicest family in college football. I also met other top recruits from other states and got to bond with them. I really liked how Coach Franklin set up the Lasch Bash so all the recruits could branch out and meet different people and different families."

- On where PSU stands

"I feel the same way about Penn State as I always felt. They're a great institution. Definitely a school I am seriously considering."

- It's early, but PSU is probably the early favorite now that they offered. I spoke with him earlier in the week and Morgan made it very clear that this was an offer he really wanted. It sounds as if PSU exceeded his expectations.

ADDED: 10:02 PM

CB Tariq Castro-Fields - FILM - Upper Marlboro, Md. - Riverdale Baptist - 2018

- I was able to catch up with Castro-Fields for a good 10 minutes this evening. I'll type a full update tomorrow. Today was all about showing his mother campus. He said that she loved everything, reiterating that PSU is firmly in the mix. He's going to visit Va. Tech next week, then will probably take official visits to PSU, Maryland and possibly Va. Tech, maybe one or two others. Maryland and Penn State still stand out. I'll have more for you all in the morning.

ADDED: 10:!6 PM

TE Kyle Pitts - FILM - Warminster, Pa. - Archbishop Wood - 2018

"I met with coach Rahne today. I liked it a lot today. The campus was beautiful, the coaches made me feel like I was at home. Coach Franklin would be another father from home and can't wait to get closer with him."

- Great start for the staff, but there's still a long way to go. It'll be interesting to see who all offers in the coming months.

ADDED: Sunday - 10:15 AM

Ath.Tariq Castro-Fields - FILM - Upper Marlboro, Md. - Riverdale Baptist

I caught up with Tariq Castro-Fields late Saturday night. I posted a full update on him.

Click Here to read more on Castro-Fields.

ADDED: Sunday - 11:05 AM

Penn State hosted a defensive tackle from Belgium this weekend. His name is Tibo Debaille. As of now, it's been tough for me to find info on him, but I'll continue to chip away at that.

UPDATED: Found some film on our Belgian DT. His name is Tibo Debaille.



ADDED: Sunday - 11:25 AM

I just got a note from my best source saying watch safety Jonathan Sutherland closely. PSU believes they're the favorite now. Whether he pops today, I'm not 100 percent sure, but I'll be watching closely.

Ath. Jesse Luketa came down to PSU with Sutherland to camp today, so Sutherland is definitely still on campus and meeting with the coaching staff. I think he could commit today, but I don't know for sure. Also, it's possible that he could commit today but not announce publicly until next week. That last scenario is realistic.

ADDED: Sunday - 12:10 PM

DE Olalere Oladipo - FILM - Huntley, Ill. - Huntley - 2017 ***

I caught up with defensive lineman Olalere Oladipo this morning. From everything I've gathered, he's still a take for the staff, despite having two solid defensive ends already committed. Also, with preseason just three weeks away, it looks unlikely that Oladipo will visit any other school before preseason. He was considering a visit to Duke today, July 18, but went home to Illinois after Penn State. He should return to Penn State for an official visit this season, so we'll just have to see where he stands come then. As of now, he's a take.

- On what stood out

“Definitely how family oriented they were. Coach Rahne, who recruits my area, Coach Franklin is the godfather for his son, so they’re such a close coaching staff. I don’t think I’ve ever met a staff that’s that close. I also didn’t realize how good their academics are at Penn State. The (academic) presentation that Coach Franklin gave the recruits really impressed me and my mother. Also, their facilities were incredible. I could just imagine myself being in front of all of those fans for games. I never realized how strong the Penn State fan base is.”

- On meeting Sean Spencer for the first time.

“We interacted a lot at the camp. Unfortunately, it was a long drive for us, so I showed up a little late, but he took me through the camp then and showed me some new moves. He worked with me a lot then. I got a few tips from him. During the Lash Bash, he took all of the defensive lineman to the room then to do some chalk talk and things like that. He’s definitely what I look for in a coach.”

- On the possibility of him playing defensive tackle at Penn State

“They haven’t said anything to me about defensive tackle, but I know I’ll only get bigger and I’m open to playing wherever the coaches think I fit best. I have no problem with that. If you look at my film, most of my film is of me playing defensive tackle, so I’m used to that spot. I just want to find the best place for me.”

ADDED: Sunday - 2:43 PM

Sounds like Sutherland is going to publicly. announce July 24, which is what he always planned to do. With that said, Im pretty confident in saying that he's already on board. Theres a lot of smoke there. We'll see.

ADDED: Sunday - 4:25 PM

Notable Prospects at camp today

QB Shelton Applewhite
QB Seth Agwunobi
QB Devin Leary
TE Reese Leitao
TE Hunter Long
TE Jayk Slager
OL Jaylen Duncan
DE Yetur Matos
LB Matt McElroy
Ath. Brandon Madison

ADDED: Sunday - 4:43 PM

I updated the visit thread earlier today for Friday Night's camp and the Lasch Bash. I'll add today's campers later tonight.

Remember, Jaylen Harris and Justin Shorter are both looking to visit PSU in the coming 7-10 days. I'll be reaching out to both this week to see where they both stand.

Click Here for the full list.

ADDED - Sunday - 5:15 PM

Tim Owen:
Just caught up with WR Sean Savoy to talk about his visit to PSU this weekend...

Before the trip his favorites were Miami, Virginia Tech and Penn State. He'd recently visited Miami for camp, enjoyed it, but it sounds like now that this is coming down to just VT and PSU. He'll take one more visit to VT next week before turning attention to his senior season. A decision could come shortly after that visit or not until this fall or later. He said he has no timeline, at the same time saying he'd like to get the decision out of the way. So I don't have anything definite there.

The big thing here for Savoy is his personal connections to the team. One of his best friends, Duwayne Johnson, is a redshirt freshman at VT, so that plays a role. At PSU he's also familiar with Mark Allen, Marcus Allen and Shane Simmons. He was able to hang with them more this weekend and got to meet some of the other players. He seemed to really enjoy that part of the trip along with his discussions with Joe Moorhead and Josh Gattis. More on that at the link below.

PSU, VT pushing for WR Savoy

ADDED - Sunday - 6:50 PM

LB Brelin Faison-Walden has moves his commitment date from August 16 to this Wednesday, July 20. This is obviously an excellent sign for Penn State. Penn State is the favorite to earn commitments from Faison-Walden and Jonathan Sutherland, who's expected to commit publicly next Saturday, July 24

ADDED: Sunday - 8:05 PM

I caught up with Brailyn Franklin a little bit ago, but I'm not going to bug him for a full update. He's on his way to Old Dominion with his team for a team camp, so Im going to let him enjoy that and not press him.

I already know his situation from sources. Penn State was the team to beat before this past visit and nothing has really changed. He's still going to commit around the beginning of August and I expect it to be PSU.
 
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