I've been working on a few recruiting tidbits throughout the week, so I put all of that info together in one recruiting notebook. I have a few updates on specific players, plus an updated Michigan visitor list.
OL Micah Clark - FILM - Holmdel, N.J. - St John Vianney - 2017
I've been chipping away at Holmdel, N.J., St. John Vianney offensive tackle Micah Clark over the past few weeks and I was finally able to have a conversation with him Thursday evening. I'm happy I did.
To provide some background info, Clark has made it clear that he doesn't want to do interviews regularly - which I completely understand - so this was actually the first time I've spoken with him. I came away very impressed. Like many others that PSU pursues, Clark is very bright young man. He actually reminded me of OL Grant Newsome, who ended up at Michigan. He's a smart guy.
Anyway, here's some of the basic info he relayed to me in relation to Penn State:
"I've been talking with Coach Hand, or at least, that's who I talk with the most. I've had a few coaches reach out to me, but it's mainly Coach Hand. Honestly, I really feel the love at Penn State. I really do. It's been great getting to know him (Hand) and the other coaches. I really like those guys."
I went on to ask how many times he's visited Penn State:
"I've been to one game, which was the San Diego State game, but I'm also coming back next weekend for the Michigan game. The trip I took earlier in the season was really good. I hung out with the staff a few times that day. I met them in the lounge before the game. After the game, I got the chance to actually sit down with them and discuss football and academics and basically the whole package at Penn State. I want to major in business and they have a great school for that at Penn Sate. That was a big trip for me. I really learned that Penn State has my best interests that day."
Clark has only taken one other visit this season, which was to Virginia Tech about two weeks ago for the game against Duke, but he's now set to visit North Carolina tomorrow, Nov. 14, for the game against Miami.
We need to see how this trip to North Carolina goes, but there are actually two other schools that will likely prove to be Penn State's top competition.
"My top three is Penn State, Ohio State and Clemson," said Clark. "I'll be honest, I have been thinking about making a commitment, but I really want to visit Ohio State and Clemson first. That's important. I want to see those two schools."
I then tried to get a few more specifics for when he could potentially make a commitment, but he really hasn't thought it all out yet. So, what I'll do is monitor him the best that I can between now and the start of dead period, which begins Dec. 14 and runs to Jan. 13.
On one hand, I did get the impression that he has enough interest in both Clemson and Ohio State to hold off until he's able to visit both. On the other hand, I also got the impression that Penn State is definitely the school that he's favoring, so this could be interesting.
I always knew that Penn State was a school he was very, very high on, but I didn't realize he could be making a commitment in the next few months. Hopefully, now that we've talked and he's gotten to know me, I'll be able to stay in touch with Clark casually. I definitely believe Penn State should be considered the favorite.
QB Andrew Ford - FILM - Scranton, Pa - Lackawanna C.C. - JUCO
I've been monitoring this for about two weeks and I figured now would be a good time to discuss it publicly.
TE Adam Breneman's former high school teammate, quarterback Andrew Ford, transferred from Virginia Tech to Lackawanna C.C. in Scranton this past offseason and he just wrapped up a pretty solid year, completing 110 of 195 attempts (56.4%) for 1,764 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Because of that, plus the fact that Christian Hackenberg will likely be leaving early, the staff has began to show interest in Ford over the past few weeks.
I'm still trying to learn more about the situation, but I know Ford has genuine interest in coming to Penn State. However, I also get the sense that Penn State would hope to potentially take Ford as a walk-on, depending on what offers he gets or doesn't get.
That changed this past week when Iowa State offered. Ford and his father are now headed to Ames this weekend for an official visit - Iowa State hosts No. 8 Oklahoma State - but I still think there's a chance he could end up at Penn State. Ford has a lot of friends in State College and I know he'd prefer to stay on the east coast. It'll kind of just depend on A) how this ISU visit goes and B) what other schools offer over the next few weeks.
I think Ford's chances of picking up a scholarship from the staff are slim, but I won't 100 percent rule it out just yet, especially if there were to be transfers or something like that. I'll check in with coaches at Lackawanna next week to see how the ISU visit went. I know that Ricky Rahne is expected to be back at Lackawanna to check up on both Ford and DB Kyzir White the week after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30 - Dec. 4.
OL Micah Clark - FILM - Holmdel, N.J. - St John Vianney - 2017
I've been chipping away at Holmdel, N.J., St. John Vianney offensive tackle Micah Clark over the past few weeks and I was finally able to have a conversation with him Thursday evening. I'm happy I did.
To provide some background info, Clark has made it clear that he doesn't want to do interviews regularly - which I completely understand - so this was actually the first time I've spoken with him. I came away very impressed. Like many others that PSU pursues, Clark is very bright young man. He actually reminded me of OL Grant Newsome, who ended up at Michigan. He's a smart guy.
Anyway, here's some of the basic info he relayed to me in relation to Penn State:
"I've been talking with Coach Hand, or at least, that's who I talk with the most. I've had a few coaches reach out to me, but it's mainly Coach Hand. Honestly, I really feel the love at Penn State. I really do. It's been great getting to know him (Hand) and the other coaches. I really like those guys."
I went on to ask how many times he's visited Penn State:
"I've been to one game, which was the San Diego State game, but I'm also coming back next weekend for the Michigan game. The trip I took earlier in the season was really good. I hung out with the staff a few times that day. I met them in the lounge before the game. After the game, I got the chance to actually sit down with them and discuss football and academics and basically the whole package at Penn State. I want to major in business and they have a great school for that at Penn Sate. That was a big trip for me. I really learned that Penn State has my best interests that day."
Clark has only taken one other visit this season, which was to Virginia Tech about two weeks ago for the game against Duke, but he's now set to visit North Carolina tomorrow, Nov. 14, for the game against Miami.
We need to see how this trip to North Carolina goes, but there are actually two other schools that will likely prove to be Penn State's top competition.
"My top three is Penn State, Ohio State and Clemson," said Clark. "I'll be honest, I have been thinking about making a commitment, but I really want to visit Ohio State and Clemson first. That's important. I want to see those two schools."
I then tried to get a few more specifics for when he could potentially make a commitment, but he really hasn't thought it all out yet. So, what I'll do is monitor him the best that I can between now and the start of dead period, which begins Dec. 14 and runs to Jan. 13.
On one hand, I did get the impression that he has enough interest in both Clemson and Ohio State to hold off until he's able to visit both. On the other hand, I also got the impression that Penn State is definitely the school that he's favoring, so this could be interesting.
I always knew that Penn State was a school he was very, very high on, but I didn't realize he could be making a commitment in the next few months. Hopefully, now that we've talked and he's gotten to know me, I'll be able to stay in touch with Clark casually. I definitely believe Penn State should be considered the favorite.
QB Andrew Ford - FILM - Scranton, Pa - Lackawanna C.C. - JUCO
I've been monitoring this for about two weeks and I figured now would be a good time to discuss it publicly.
TE Adam Breneman's former high school teammate, quarterback Andrew Ford, transferred from Virginia Tech to Lackawanna C.C. in Scranton this past offseason and he just wrapped up a pretty solid year, completing 110 of 195 attempts (56.4%) for 1,764 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Because of that, plus the fact that Christian Hackenberg will likely be leaving early, the staff has began to show interest in Ford over the past few weeks.
I'm still trying to learn more about the situation, but I know Ford has genuine interest in coming to Penn State. However, I also get the sense that Penn State would hope to potentially take Ford as a walk-on, depending on what offers he gets or doesn't get.
That changed this past week when Iowa State offered. Ford and his father are now headed to Ames this weekend for an official visit - Iowa State hosts No. 8 Oklahoma State - but I still think there's a chance he could end up at Penn State. Ford has a lot of friends in State College and I know he'd prefer to stay on the east coast. It'll kind of just depend on A) how this ISU visit goes and B) what other schools offer over the next few weeks.
I think Ford's chances of picking up a scholarship from the staff are slim, but I won't 100 percent rule it out just yet, especially if there were to be transfers or something like that. I'll check in with coaches at Lackawanna next week to see how the ISU visit went. I know that Ricky Rahne is expected to be back at Lackawanna to check up on both Ford and DB Kyzir White the week after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30 - Dec. 4.
