Scholarship Roster - doing the math

[m.knox]

Last update on the scholarship roster was February 2015. Not sure anything changed since then.

81 on scholarship less 10 seniors less Hack and AJ = 69. Current class has 19 for 88.

We all know some of the 69 won't come back. Any ideas? I would love to see AB back on the field again, but not sure about his knee.

 

[PSUfan98]

Count up all those with RS JR eligibility and start there. I have heard speculation of potential Geno Lewis transfer though I think he is good enough to keep paying time with the talented young WRs. I would think Akeel would transfer if he wants to play and possibly one of the other backs that did get time this year because Sanders and Robinson will both probably have them passed up on the depth chart. I've heard rumor of an OLine transfer, maybe one of the guards who thinks that they will get replaced as a starter. I also think that some Dbacks who are low on the depth chart may look at options with even more young talent coming off redshirt and coming in with the 2016 class.

Those are my guesses. I think we still take at least 2 to 4 more in the 2016 cycle.

 

[canuckhal]

Geno might not be coming back. Says he will make a decision in the next couple of days.

 

[Chris92]

Safety Anthony Smith was announced with the Seniors on Senior day. WR Jake Kiley has been injured and buried on the depth chart. Wilkerson, Wooten and Schwan are three that have played but might decide or be asked to bypass their 5th season.

 

[GregInPitt]

Safety Anthony Smith was announced with the Seniors on Senior day. WR Jake Kiley has been injured and buried on the depth chart. Wilkerson, Wooten and Schwan are three that have played but might decide or be asked to bypass their 5th season.

I believe Wilkerson and Schwan will probably come back. Wilkerson was atop the depth chart for the bowl game and is the only TE that played this year that could pretty consistently block. He also looked sure handed (as apposed to the Gesicki) although not near as athletic as Gesicki or Carter (who is graduating). Gesicki supposedly is a work-a-holic and I really look for his blocking to improve, but with Carter graduating and AB maybe done playing alot will depend on how Holland and Bowers have progressed. But Wiklerson could surely contribute in 2016.

Schwan was one of the 3 backup DE's that got playing time this year, along with Cothran and Brown, and looked somewhat bigger than he did in 2015. If the freshmen DE's that redshirted, Givens and Miller, are ready then maybe Schwan moves on.

I don't see Wooten coming back as he has never really played well enough to earn a spot or even a regular spot in the LB rotation even with all the sudden and disruptive injuries we have experienced the last 3 years....

 

[Ceasar]

Last update on the scholarship roster was February 2015. Not sure anything changed since then.

81 on scholarship less 10 seniors less Hack and AJ = 69. Current class has 19 for 88.

We all know some of the 69 won't come back. Any ideas? I would love to see AB back on the field again, but not sure about his knee.

Lets say todays number is 87 since Anthony Smith will not return. Let's further assume we get 3 more commits to end with 22 (4 more if Nordin flips). That takes us to 90 and means 5 kids with eligibility will not return. I would assume at least 3 underclassmen wither transfer or simply leave and that is probably an average figure over the years so nothing unusual about that number. I would then expect another 2-3 kids with one year remaining to graduate and move on.
If you look at the roster, IMO if you are a RB or DB who is buried deep on the depth chart, and if playing time is important to you, as opposed to just getting a world class degree, then you would have to at least consider a transfer.
By the way, without having any inside info I absolutely expect PSU to get 1-2 graduate transfers before next fall and that would mean more like 7 kids would not return. Just my .02.

 

[CDW3333]

A red-shirt JR or fourth-year senior who leaves before the 2016 season to make room for a 2016 recruit means one less scholarship for the class of 2017, which is already looking to be small.

 

[Alphabets]

I hope Geno comes back. He is definitely good enough to keep an active role at WR.

 

[Mudge1026]

Bottom line what is the number we sign 21, 22, 25?

 

[GregInPitt]

Bottom line what is the number we sign 21, 22, 25?

There is no bottom line now. The bottom line will be discovered on the first Wed of Feb.

CJF is not going to take marginal talent to fill the class, but he likely has a plan to get to the number that he wants in the class even if he does not get all of his top targets. But I doubt if CJF would tell us or anyone else at this point. All we can do is speculate.... With the number of kids he is still pursuing it looks like he wants at least 22 and possibly as many as 25. It's just hard for us to imaging enough kids leaving to get 25 openings. But CJF may already have a plan to get 25 openings. Anyone here ask CJF what he plans to do???

 

[blion72]

Last update on the scholarship roster was February 2015. Not sure anything changed since then.

81 on scholarship less 10 seniors less Hack and AJ = 69. Current class has 19 for 88.

We all know some of the 69 won't come back. Any ideas? I would love to see AB back on the field again, but not sure about his knee.

I think you need to look at the seniors by year in school, not who is eligible next year. anyone that is graduating this year, and not absolutely a key starter will move on. I cannot see any of the OL guys who are graduating coming back as 5th year SRs. I think there are 3-4 in that category, who will be replaced by younger players. I actually thought we might see some of that turnover start this year, but next year for sure. Geno Lewis, Wilkerson, and Wartman are the only 5th year SRs who would make sense to still be on the team. once you take all the RS SR players out next year, there is plenty of room. as the team upgrades there is not much room for 5th year players who are not elite contributors. we actually may need to bring in a PG transfer to play DT and contribute immediately. at the moment we have not recruited a player who can come here and play DT next year.

 

[harjeff]

Here are some possibilities to add to our 16 for sure openings - 10 seniors+4 under 85 this year+Hack and AJ

RB - Lynch, Scott, Allen, Thomas - Look for 2 out of this group 2 transfer..maybe 3
OL - Gaia, Dowry - IMO Both go, but 1 may come back
WR - Kiley, Lewis, Thompkins - Lewis would be worthy of coming back for the 5th yr if he wants, Kiley won't see the field and I think Thomkins has been passed by Polk and with Charles and Johnson coming next yr he won't see the field. I say we open 2 of these spots
DL - Schwann - Don't see him coming back, he will have been passed by the youngsters for sure after spring practice.
LB - Walker and Wooten Both Open up, IMO, 1 for sure
DB - A Smith, J Smith, Golden I think will not return


the new math assuming most of the above happens that gives us 8-10 more spots for next yr

In 2017 we will have s very small class with only about 12 players with some further attrition from the current sophs. Ghis number will prob. increase as some see they won't play and transfer for that possibility.

 

[masterbaker65]

We won't sign more than 22 in 2016. We likely will take 25 in 2017. PSU should have top 5 recruiting classes 2017 and 2018.

 

[GregInPitt]

I think you need to look at the seniors by year in school, not who is eligible next year. anyone that is graduating this year, and not absolutely a key starter will move on. I cannot see any of the OL guys who are graduating coming back as 5th year SRs. I think there are 3-4 in that category, who will be replaced by younger players. I actually thought we might see some of that turnover start this year, but next year for sure. Geno Lewis, Wilkerson, and Wartman are the only 5th year SRs who would make sense to still be on the team. once you take all the RS SR players out next year, there is plenty of room. as the team upgrades there is not much room for 5th year players who are not elite contributors. we actually may need to bring in a PG transfer to play DT and contribute immediately. at the moment we have not recruited a player who can come here and play DT next year.

I don't agree what so ever. What is a "key starter"??? A good backup in one play away from being a starter. The goal is to have at least 2 deep with quality players. Some examples:

1. Dowrey, Gaia, and Laurent don't seem to be the answer to get us a a top OL. But if as expected some of the redshirt sophs and freshmen take over the starting OL spots on the interior, who will be the backups. If all these 3 leave we would be relying on a true frosh (McGovern) as the backup Center. I don't think this will happen as CJF has redshirted EVERY OL recruit he has brought in. Maybe Menet plays this year, or maybe McGovern. But I don't think he will make that his primary plan and I believe at least one of the 3 comes back.
2. As for Wilkerson, he is now our starting TE. At this point we don't know if Gesicki will ever be a reliable receiver and he has not been a great blocker so far either. If Wilkerson leaves we will only have Gesicki, Breneman (for all we know his career may be over due to injuries), the two redshirt freshmen (Holland and Bowers). Wilkerson was hurt over two years and could petition the NCAA for a 6th year of eligibility, 2017. Since we play 2 TE's in some plays we really need 3 or 4 ready to play.
3. At WR we have tons of depth but I don't think CJF would kick Lewis out the door. Lewis is a pretty talented guy.
4. Positions such as RB, DE and CB, we have more depth and can get a quality 2 deep without playing true freshmen so it will be interesting to see how many, if any, of the kids that have not played much return.
5. Safety is another position with marginal experience. Golden will be a 5th year guy but right now is a starter. I think we really need Golden, who is a very good athlete having moved from WR to S after his freshman year. With Golden we also have Allen and Apke and will need a redshirt frosh to make a good 2 deep, likely Monroe. We redshirted Miller and Petrishen who were recruited as Safety's, but could grow into LB's. I'm hoping Golden returns as well.
6. As for Wooten, I don't see him returning as he has been given every opportunity to play and has never seemed to play well when filling in during all the injuries...

 

[GregInPitt]

Here are some possibilities to add to our 16 for sure openings - 10 seniors+4 under 85 this year+Hack and AJ

RB - Lynch, Scott, Allen, Thomas - Look for 2 out of this group 2 transfer..maybe 3
OL - Gaia, Dowry - IMO Both go, but 1 may come back
WR - Kiley, Lewis, Thompkins - Lewis would be worthy of coming back for the 5th yr if he wants, Kiley won't see the field and I think Thomkins has been passed by Polk and with Charles and Johnson coming next yr he won't see the field. I say we open 2 of these spots
DL - Schwann - Don't see him coming back, he will have been passed by the youngsters for sure after spring practice.
LB - Walker and Wooten Both Open up, IMO, 1 for sure
DB - A Smith, J Smith, Golden I think will not return


the new math assuming most of the above happens that gives us 8-10 more spots for next yr

In 2017 we will have s very small class with only about 12 players with some further attrition from the current sophs. Ghis number will prob. increase as some see they won't play and transfer for that possibility.

My comments:
RB - Lynch, Scott, Allen, Thomas - Look for 2 out of this group 2 transfer..maybe 3 We may lose 1 or more but then again the RS frosh RB's may come back for their RS soph years before moving on. Scott is a candidate to play DB, as he was a good H.S. DB and has the size and speed to play Safety.
OL - Gaia, Dowry - IMO Both go, but 1 may come back Laurent also, but to field a 2 deep in the interior line and redshirt the true freshmen we need 1 or 2 of the 3 to play next year.
WR - Kiley, Lewis, Thompkins - Lewis would be worthy of coming back for the 5th yr if he wants, Kiley won't see the field and I think Thomkins has been passed by Polk and with Charles and Johnson coming next yr he won't see the field. I say we open 2 of these spots. Lewis may leave, but Thomkins has only played 1 year and will surely be back at WR and as a returner. I agree with Kiley as he has never played.
DL - Schwann - Don't see him coming back, he will have been passed by the youngsters for sure after spring practice. Schwann has looked good at times but if the redshirt freshmen (Givens and Miller) are ready he may get passed up....
LB - Walker and Wooten Both Open up, IMO, 1 for sure I don't see Wooten coming back, but Walker was a walk on and may choose to come back for grad school to play at his own expense. He is one of our better special teams players.
DB - A Smith, J Smith, Golden I think will not return Golden is a starter so why would he not come back? The Smiths have never played and we are loaded with young talent at CB and Smith that plays Safety has never been in the rotation.

But attrition will be a normal course, more so than what JoePa oversaw, so yes we'll be having this same discussion ahead of the 2017 class signing day....

 

[Art]

Lets say todays number is 87 since Anthony Smith will not return. Let's further assume we get 3 more commits to end with 22 (4 more if Nordin flips). That takes us to 90 and means 5 kids with eligibility will not return. I would assume at least 3 underclassmen wither transfer or simply leave and that is probably an average figure over the years so nothing unusual about that number. I would then expect another 2-3 kids with one year remaining to graduate and move on.
If you look at the roster, IMO if you are a RB or DB who is buried deep on the depth chart, and if playing time is important to you, as opposed to just getting a world class degree, then you would have to at least consider a transfer.
By the way, without having any inside info I absolutely expect PSU to get 1-2 graduate transfers before next fall and that would mean more like 7 kids would not return. Just my .02.

If PSU gets any graduate transfers, let's hope they are worth the scholarship(s).

 

[PSU_1991]

Do any of the January enrollees count toward last year's numbers? Didn't we find out late in the process last year that we had extra scholarships but it was too late to fill them?

 

[bdgan]

Do any of the January enrollees count toward last year's numbers? Didn't we find out late in the process last year that we had extra scholarships but it was too late to fill them?

Doesn't matter. We can only have 85 scholarship players on the roster regardless of the year they are counted against.

 

[bdgan]

If PSU gets any graduate transfers, let's hope they are worth the scholarship(s).

I wouldn't worry about that if it's a position of need. It's only a 1 year deal so wouldn't cost us one of our limited scholarships next year. But I'm not sure what graduate transfers we're looking at. Reihner certainly didn't contribute much this year.

 

[21Guns]

If PSU gets any graduate transfers, let's hope they are worth the scholarship(s).

We wasted one this year, that's for certain.

 

[21Guns]

I wouldn't worry about that if it's a position of need. It's only a 1 year deal so wouldn't cost us one of our limited scholarships next year. But I'm not sure what graduate transfers we're looking at. Reihner certainly didn't contribute much this year.

Did not play one single down of meaningful football. If that's going to be the case, then stop taking grad transfers and give a scholie to a walk on.

 

[GregInPitt]

I wouldn't worry about that if it's a position of need. It's only a 1 year deal so wouldn't cost us one of our limited scholarships next year. But I'm not sure what graduate transfers we're looking at. Reihner certainly didn't contribute much this year.

DT is about the only position that I believe CJF would consider a grad transfer, and it would be a strange situation where a DT would be good enough to be in our 4 man DT rotation and yet not want to stay at his original school......

 

[Ceasar]

DT is about the only position that I believe CJF would consider a grad transfer, and it would be a strange situation where a DT would be good enough to be in our 4 man DT rotation and yet not want to stay at his original school......

A kid from Cal transferred to Stanford and was in their 2 deep this year at DT. Several months ago there was a rumor here in central PA that a DT at Missouri had interest in transferring to PSU. He is from Hershey and went to HS with Andrew Nelson. Started as a SO and was a stud; missed this year with injuries from an auto accident. Whether or not there was any substance to the rumor, I have no idea. But it would probably be a unique case like that, or like Rheiner wanting to come home to play for PSU.