February 8, 2011

Three quality non-Big Ten 2011 recruiting classes Penn State will face on the field

Running back Savon Huggins, a recently-minted
Scarlet Knight, has the chance to make Penn State fans cringe
at the thought of missing out on his services. (Photo: nj.com)
This year's recruiting classes will become the "Class of 2015"--the season their five years of eligibility collectively expire. And though Penn State's fellow Big Ten teams are easy enough to follow, with a built-in incentive (league affiliation) to do so, I would bet most Nittany Lions fans felt there was no reason to pay attention to much else outside the league. After all, those are the teams Penn State will have to compete against for a title. So, it's probably safe to say that the majority of casual Penn State fans--who make up the majority of all fans--probably don't know, or don't care, about the recruiting classes that Virginia, Rutgers and Syracuse pulled in this week.

But what do all those classes have in common? Each signed really good players (UVA, RU) or a really solid class (SU). But more importantly, Penn State will play each of them at some point before 2015. Two of those series are home-and-home agreements (UVA, RU) or exclusively at a neutral location (SU).

So pay attention. You will be hearing these names a lot starting in September 2012.


Syracuse '15
vs Penn State: 2013 @NJ Meadowlands

The Orange signed the 4th-best class in the Big East this year, with 26 letters of intent faxed on Wednesday. It is the kind of class you bring in when you need bodies on the team. Syracuse does need depth (desperately), but can also start to pick which players it signs, rather than just filling the roster. While this class does not have the star power of the top-25 classes, it has really quality players that will only make the program better over the next four and five seasons.

Class Breakdown: 26 Letters of Intent Signed
2 Quarterbacks
2 Running Backs
6 Wide Receivers
1 Tight End
5 Offensive Linemen
3 Defensive Linemen
3 Linebackers
3 Defensive Backs
1 Kicker

Players with scholarship offers from Penn State (1):
WR Brandon Reddish

Players to Watch:

Running back Adonis Ameen-Moore (Denver, CO/Mullen HS) is generally the highest-rated player in the class. Ameen-Moore had offers from Utah, Northwestern, Kansas State, Colorado and Colorado State. His senior year at Mullen, Ameen-Moore ran for 1,763 yards and 26 touchdowns. Ameen-Moore will have a chance to immediately get carries at Syracuse. Delone Carter is graduating, and former prized recruit Averin Collier was dismissed from the team in December. Syracuse really grabbed itself a kid who could turn out to be a special running back.

Linebacker Cameron Lynch (Snellville, GA/Brookwood HS) fell down the SEC and ACC recruiting boards because of his size (5-11/220), but could turn out to be a major get for the Orange defense. Lynch had offers from Air Force, Vanderbilt, and Harvard, meaning the kid's got a brain. But his coach wondered aloud "I can’t believe that Georgia Tech wasn’t all over him," when talking about his lack of interest from bigger programs. Lynch had 188 tackles, 17.5 sacks, and five interceptions last year.

Rutgers '15
vs Penn State: 2014 @RU, 2015 @PSU

The Scarlet Knights are coming off their worst season (4-8) since 2004 (4-7), but somehow Greg Schiano pulled in arguably his best ever recruiting class, doing in New Jersey what Dave Wannstedt tried and failed to do in western Pennsylvania--build a wall and seal off all recruits from escaping. For instance, three of the state's top four players--No. 1 Savon Huggins, No. 2 Miles Shuler, and No. 4 Marquise Wright--were top targets for Penn State, Notre Dame and Pitt. But they all signed letters of intent to Rutgers. Mike Farrell of Rivals.com told Tom Luicci of the Star-Ledger:
“If I’m Penn State or Syracuse or UConn or Boston College, I’m looking around and saying ‘how did they do this?’ because they’re ranked ahead of all of those programs.”
This year's haul is super-heavy on defensive linemen, and the offensive backfield.

Class Breakdown - 24 Letters of Intent Signed:
2 Quarterbacks
3 Running Backs
2 Wide Receivers
1 Tight End
3 Offensive Linemen
7 Defensive Linemen
3 Linebackers
2 Defensive Backs
1 Kicker

Players with scholarship offers from Penn State (3):
WR Miles Shuler, RB Savon Huggins, DT Marquise Wright

Players to Watch:

Running back Savon Huggins (Jersey City, NJ/St. Peter's Prep) was at one point Penn State's top running back target for this class. But the Gatorade Player of the Year for New Jersey cooled on the Nittany Lions over the summer, for a number of reasons, but most likely it only took one look at a deep running back pool. Huggins will probably start right away for the Scarlet Knights, something he wouldn't have done at Penn State. Not only did Huggins run for more than 1,900 yards and 35 touchdowns last season, he boasts a 3.8 GPA and scored a 1400 on his SATs. If he doesn't jump early to the NFL, Penn State will see him either as a true senior in 2014 at Rutgers, or a redshirt senior in 2015 in Beaver Stadium.

Defensive tackle Marquise Wright (Englewood, NJ/Paramus Catholic) initially verbaled to Pitt, until Wannstedt was fired, before pulling his commitment in favor of Rutgers. Penn State had been recruiting Wright early, but for some reason became distant until losing him entirely. It was a move that fed the flames of hysteria among Penn State recruitniks during the late-summer and fall meltdown on the message boards. The 6-4, 290-pound Wright was an All-Bergen County selection in 2010. In 10 games, Wright had 52 tackles, including 19 for losses, 8.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Like Huggins, if Wright doesn't jump early to the NFL, Penn State will see him either as a true senior in 2014 at Rutgers, or a redshirt senior in 2015 in Beaver Stadium.

Virginia '15
vs Penn State: 2012 @UVA, 2013 @PSU

I saved Virginia for last because I think it will have the biggest impact on Penn State over the next few seasons. Rookie head coach Mike London inherited a team that was not exactly championship-caliber. So a 4-8 record wasn't a shock in 2010. But I've been saying for months now, pretty much since London was hired, that he will become a force to be reckoned with in the Mid-Atlantic recruiting scene. Not only did Virginia pull down a top-25 class for 2011--No. 20 on 247Sports.com, No. 25 on Rivals.com and Scout.com--but London signed a whole bunch of players Penn State was going after. The Nittany Lions weren't the only victim, as rival teams like Maryland, North Carolina and even Virginia Tech suffered the wrath of London's recruiting abilities this season.

Virginia went really, really heavy on defense, with 15 signatures from defensive linemen or backs. London has said publicly about this class that it won't be like his first recruiting haul, where many of the freshmen redshirted in 2010. This year's crop has plenty of guys who will play right away, meaning a few of them will be experienced sophomores when they host Penn State, and juniors when coming to Beaver Stadium.

Class Breakdown: 26 Letters of Intent Signed
2 Quarterbacks
5 Wide Receivers
3 Offensive Linemen
7 Defensive Linemen
3 Linebackers
8 Defensive Backs
1 Kicker

Players with scholarship offers from Penn State (7):
WR Darius Jennings, OL Jay Whitmire, DE Marco Jones, DE Rob Burns, DB Brandon Phelps, DB Demetrious Nicholson

Players to Watch: (I did one offensive and one defensive player so far, but with such a big defensive class, we'll do two defenders and one on offense.)

Receiver/Athlete Darius Jennings (Baltimore, MD/Gilman School) was one of the first receiver/athlete prospects Penn State went after this recruiting season. Despite a traditionally strong relationship with the Baltimore-Washington corridor, Jennings picked the Cavaliers. To give you some context, Jennings had offers from about 30 schools, including Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford, and Virginia Tech. Jennings should play right away on an offense that needs playmakers. He has the ability to line up in the backfield and out wide, and has thrown a few touchdown passes in the past. This is Virginia's equivalent of Bill Belton.

Defensive back Demetrious Nicholson (Virginia Beach, VA/Bayside) is one of two in the defensive secondary that Penn State was really hoping to sway towards Happy Valley. Nicholson was assumed to be on his way to North Carolina, but things started to shift towards Virginia during the football season. Penn State hung around for a while, mostly during the summer months. Even though Nicholson didn't commit until December, the Nittany Lions were eliminated well before then. He's a real rail of a kid, coming in at only 168 lbs. on a 5-11 frame. But he's also one heckuva cornerback, and was one of the players that made London's first full class a head-turner.

Defensive back Brandon Phelps (Damascus, MD/Damascus) committed to Virginia all the way back on June 25. Penn State should have been stronger, much stronger, in recruiting Phelps. He took three visits to University Park during his junior year, including the Blue-White Game. Phelps was impressed by Penn State, which makes it all the more disappointing that the Nittany Lions couldn't even keep his recruitment open through the end of the summer. Phelps, like Nicholson, had offers from almost ever major power program east of the Mississippi, including several SEC and Big Ten teams.

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2 comments:

  1. Regarding:

    Syracuse '15
    vs Penn State: 2013, 2014, 2015 -- all three games at the NJ Meadowlands

    Only the 2013 game will be played at the Meadowlands, the other two will be home & home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Huh, I must have incorrectly read the original release last year. I had it down on our future schedules here that the "three game series" would be from 2013-15, THEN the two-game home-and-home in 2020-21. Thanks for the catch. I've fixed it here, and on our future schedules page.

    ReplyDelete

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