I was able to catch up with both offensive lineman Connor McGovern and tight end Danny Dalton late this evening.
The official visits ended around 6 PM and then all four of the families, plus their sons, went out to dinner before going their separate ways. I thought that was pretty cool for them to all get together one last time before leaving town, especially since it wasn't planned by the staff or anything like that. With all the driving they still had to do, to get together for another hour or two kind of speaks for how the weekend went.
But anyway, they didn't wrap that final dinner up until closer to 8:30 - 9 PM, so I wasn't going to press Alex Gellerstedt and Jake Zembiec. Danny and Connor didn't mind talking for a few minutes, but I'm never going to bug these guys at that hour if they'd rather talk tomorrow. I'll reach out to both Zembiec and Gellerstedt then.
However, I got a lot of great stuff from Connor and Danny, especially Danny. His family actually has a relationship with the new offensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead, so I included that info below. I decided to just put this notebook together quick instead of doing separate updates over the next few days. That way I would get it to you all by the morning.
OL Connor McGovern
- On which player hosted him and how the weekend went with that player:
"I was hosted by Ryan Bates. Basically, we hung out all weekend. I was introduced to most of the players that I didn't know already, which was good. I felt like the bond between all of us, the recruits and the players, it just grew even more.
"I definitely feel even better now about my decision to enroll early. I know that all four of us have each other's back. It's good to know that you have a few guys you can go hang out with or whatever."
- On how he learned about the decision to hire new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead:
"Coach Franklin sat us all down together yesterday to talk about the new offensive coordinator. He told us right before he went into a meeting. He wanted to make sure that we were some of the first people to know about it.
"He told us a little bit about him then. Coach Moorhead sounds like a great guy and I'm excited to learn more about his new style of offense."
- On attending Friday night's hockey game and Sunday's wrestling match:
"I've been to a hockey game before, but I've never been to a wrestling match. That was unbelievable. The support they got was incredible. It was the same at the hockey game. Just another example of how great the fans are at Penn State. It's not just like that for football."
TE Danny Dalton
- On which player hosted him and how the weekend went with that player:
"I was hosted by Nick Bowers. I didn't know Nick that well before this weekend, but I ended up bonding with him well. I really like Nick a lot. He's another really good tight end and he definitely took me under his wing this weekend. I really appreciated that.
"I actually saw him at practice, too," Dalton said, referring to Bowers. "They had a scrimmage for the guys that didn't travel, so it was basically all the young guys, all the redshirts. He lit it up. Nick did really well. But yeah, it was good spending time with him. He's a real funny guy and just a good guy. I enjoyed my time."
- On which other players he got to spend time with this weekend:
"I got to also hang out with Mike Gesicki and Jonathan Holland. I knew Mike. I met him a few times on visits, but I didn't know Holland that well. They're all really good guys and really good players. They have a great group. I'm excited to be a part of it."
- On how he learned about the decision to hire new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead:
"I talked to Coach Franklin about it on Saturday. Coach Franklin sat us all down to talk about it. I guess it was getting out there on social media, so he told all of us and our families that Coach Moorhead was now coming to coach us."
- On his family's relationship with Joe Moorhead:
"Coach Moorhead actually coached my cousin at Fordham. Our family knows Coach Moorhead really well. Every time we go up there, my dad always ends up talking to Coach Moorhead for awhile. Actually, it's a good story. My cousin, Tim, he got hurt and couldn't play football anymore, but Coach Moorhead honored his scholarship and kept him around. He stuck around with the team and became the assistant strength coach, so we have a real good relationship with him.
"What he did for my cousin and my family was really cool, so now that he's going to be my coach, I couldn't be happier. I know what he stands for. He's going to fit in great."
- On what he knows about Moorhead's offense:
"I've watched Fordham play a few times and they really killed it on offense. One year, I know they had multiple 1,000-yard receivers, their quarterback threw for over 3,000 and their running back rushed for a 1,000, and that was just in one season. I know it's going to be exciting. I'm not sure exactly what he's planning to do. I know he ran the spread at Fordham, but it wasn't like an Oregon spread. They still use the tight end a lot, so I'm curious to see what it's like."
- On his relationship with the three other early enrollees:
"I couldn't have asked for three other guys to start this next journey of our lives with. I know there's a ton of guys on the team already that we're going to get to know, but with us going in early, those are going to be the guys I'm with the most and that's great because they're all really good people.
"Alex, Jake and Connor all come from great families with great backgrounds. I know they're going to work hard and embody everything that Coach Franklin and his staff are striving for up at Penn State. I guess I could say that they're a lot like myself. I know we're all really looking forward to helping the team out however we can."
A few other notes
- I'm still trying to confirm who hosted Jake Zembiec. I'll speak with his father sometime tomorrow, but I know QB Tommy Stevens hosted Alex Gellerstedt. I also confirmed that Danny Dalton will be rooming with Alex Gellerstedt when they enroll. Connor McGovern will room with Jake Zembiec.
- The only other prospect that came to town this weekend was OL Will Fries. As most of you saw last week, Fries hosted Michigan at his home for an in-home visit, but I was able to speak with him tonight. I'll post a full recap on that tomorrow, but there's nothing to worry about.
Michigan originally planned to just visit him at his school, but it got changed to an in-home and Fries didn't want to be disrespectful. His family met with the Director of Player Personnel, Chris Partridge, who was added to the travel list following DJ Durkin's departure to Maryland. As I posted last week, Fries has no plans to visit Michigan and he even came to PSU this weekend to reiterate that to the staff, despite the fact that PSU visited with him at his home Thursday.
The only other school that reached out during the contact period was Rutgers. They came to his school, he was respectful and met them for a brief period of time, and that was that. From everything I've gathered, there's nothing to worry about with Fries. He'll be back at Penn State Jan. 22 for his official visit.
The official visits ended around 6 PM and then all four of the families, plus their sons, went out to dinner before going their separate ways. I thought that was pretty cool for them to all get together one last time before leaving town, especially since it wasn't planned by the staff or anything like that. With all the driving they still had to do, to get together for another hour or two kind of speaks for how the weekend went.
But anyway, they didn't wrap that final dinner up until closer to 8:30 - 9 PM, so I wasn't going to press Alex Gellerstedt and Jake Zembiec. Danny and Connor didn't mind talking for a few minutes, but I'm never going to bug these guys at that hour if they'd rather talk tomorrow. I'll reach out to both Zembiec and Gellerstedt then.
However, I got a lot of great stuff from Connor and Danny, especially Danny. His family actually has a relationship with the new offensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead, so I included that info below. I decided to just put this notebook together quick instead of doing separate updates over the next few days. That way I would get it to you all by the morning.
OL Connor McGovern
- On which player hosted him and how the weekend went with that player:
"I was hosted by Ryan Bates. Basically, we hung out all weekend. I was introduced to most of the players that I didn't know already, which was good. I felt like the bond between all of us, the recruits and the players, it just grew even more.
"I definitely feel even better now about my decision to enroll early. I know that all four of us have each other's back. It's good to know that you have a few guys you can go hang out with or whatever."
- On how he learned about the decision to hire new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead:
"Coach Franklin sat us all down together yesterday to talk about the new offensive coordinator. He told us right before he went into a meeting. He wanted to make sure that we were some of the first people to know about it.
"He told us a little bit about him then. Coach Moorhead sounds like a great guy and I'm excited to learn more about his new style of offense."
- On attending Friday night's hockey game and Sunday's wrestling match:
"I've been to a hockey game before, but I've never been to a wrestling match. That was unbelievable. The support they got was incredible. It was the same at the hockey game. Just another example of how great the fans are at Penn State. It's not just like that for football."
TE Danny Dalton
- On which player hosted him and how the weekend went with that player:
"I was hosted by Nick Bowers. I didn't know Nick that well before this weekend, but I ended up bonding with him well. I really like Nick a lot. He's another really good tight end and he definitely took me under his wing this weekend. I really appreciated that.
"I actually saw him at practice, too," Dalton said, referring to Bowers. "They had a scrimmage for the guys that didn't travel, so it was basically all the young guys, all the redshirts. He lit it up. Nick did really well. But yeah, it was good spending time with him. He's a real funny guy and just a good guy. I enjoyed my time."
- On which other players he got to spend time with this weekend:
"I got to also hang out with Mike Gesicki and Jonathan Holland. I knew Mike. I met him a few times on visits, but I didn't know Holland that well. They're all really good guys and really good players. They have a great group. I'm excited to be a part of it."
- On how he learned about the decision to hire new offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead:
"I talked to Coach Franklin about it on Saturday. Coach Franklin sat us all down to talk about it. I guess it was getting out there on social media, so he told all of us and our families that Coach Moorhead was now coming to coach us."
- On his family's relationship with Joe Moorhead:
"Coach Moorhead actually coached my cousin at Fordham. Our family knows Coach Moorhead really well. Every time we go up there, my dad always ends up talking to Coach Moorhead for awhile. Actually, it's a good story. My cousin, Tim, he got hurt and couldn't play football anymore, but Coach Moorhead honored his scholarship and kept him around. He stuck around with the team and became the assistant strength coach, so we have a real good relationship with him.
"What he did for my cousin and my family was really cool, so now that he's going to be my coach, I couldn't be happier. I know what he stands for. He's going to fit in great."
- On what he knows about Moorhead's offense:
"I've watched Fordham play a few times and they really killed it on offense. One year, I know they had multiple 1,000-yard receivers, their quarterback threw for over 3,000 and their running back rushed for a 1,000, and that was just in one season. I know it's going to be exciting. I'm not sure exactly what he's planning to do. I know he ran the spread at Fordham, but it wasn't like an Oregon spread. They still use the tight end a lot, so I'm curious to see what it's like."
- On his relationship with the three other early enrollees:
"I couldn't have asked for three other guys to start this next journey of our lives with. I know there's a ton of guys on the team already that we're going to get to know, but with us going in early, those are going to be the guys I'm with the most and that's great because they're all really good people.
"Alex, Jake and Connor all come from great families with great backgrounds. I know they're going to work hard and embody everything that Coach Franklin and his staff are striving for up at Penn State. I guess I could say that they're a lot like myself. I know we're all really looking forward to helping the team out however we can."
A few other notes
- I'm still trying to confirm who hosted Jake Zembiec. I'll speak with his father sometime tomorrow, but I know QB Tommy Stevens hosted Alex Gellerstedt. I also confirmed that Danny Dalton will be rooming with Alex Gellerstedt when they enroll. Connor McGovern will room with Jake Zembiec.
- The only other prospect that came to town this weekend was OL Will Fries. As most of you saw last week, Fries hosted Michigan at his home for an in-home visit, but I was able to speak with him tonight. I'll post a full recap on that tomorrow, but there's nothing to worry about.
Michigan originally planned to just visit him at his school, but it got changed to an in-home and Fries didn't want to be disrespectful. His family met with the Director of Player Personnel, Chris Partridge, who was added to the travel list following DJ Durkin's departure to Maryland. As I posted last week, Fries has no plans to visit Michigan and he even came to PSU this weekend to reiterate that to the staff, despite the fact that PSU visited with him at his home Thursday.
The only other school that reached out during the contact period was Rutgers. They came to his school, he was respectful and met them for a brief period of time, and that was that. From everything I've gathered, there's nothing to worry about with Fries. He'll be back at Penn State Jan. 22 for his official visit.
