Friday Recruitin' - Penn State Recruiting Update 4/1

Future Nittany Lion? Maybe.
PHOTO: Scout.com

Well the unofficial Junior Day has come and gone, and Penn State picked up one...two...three new commits to join Anthony Stanko in the class of 2012. By our count, Penn State still has 57 offers outstanding, so this class is far from over. They still haven't picked up the coveted defensive backs that should be the target of this class, but that isn't for lack of offering; there are still eight highly rated defensive backs on the board.

This week's cast of visitors isn't nearly as numerous as last week, primarily due to the fact that the annual Coaches Clinic is taking place in Happy Valley over the weekend (which includes the first of three planned scrimmages for the current players). However, stay tuned to Linebacker-U for any news out of State College over the next week. There's no telling when the next commit could happen.

MI 'backer James Ross part of latest round of Penn State offers

Check out the new LBU 2012 Offers Board!

Michigan linebacker James Ross
(pictured here at the 2010 Blue-
White Game) was reportedly
offered a scholarship by Penn State.
(Photo: LBU/Mike)

Since our first/last 2012 scholarship offer rundown, we can now tally plenty more offers to add to the list. Penn State is really hitting the Commonwealth hard this year, and it's no surprise why: it's loaded with talent. But in a refreshing (for many recruiting followers) move, the staff has been branching way out from its traditional stomping grounds. The Pac 10, SEC, and ACC will all have to defend some of its territory this recruiting season.

Here are the most recent offers I've come across. Some of them are just confirmations by other recruiting sites of offers already reported. But most of them are new offers, including which sites have confirmed.

Added:

Unofficial 2012 PSU Offers List, as of right now

Noah Spence: PSU target No. 1? (Photo: PennLive.com)

It really is too early to start predicting or analyzing much of anything about Penn State's 2012 recruiting class, or the effort the staff is putting into this upcoming haul. But if there is one thought to describe what we're seeing so far, it's "That's more like it!"

Penn State is coming off a recruiting class that was restricted more than any we can remember. Low scholarship numbers. A terrible recruiting pool in Pennsylvania. You name it, it was working against Penn State in 2011.

But that's not the case in 2012. Penn State will probably have more than 23 scholarships coming open for next year's class. The state of Pennsylvania is the strongest it's been in years. And to top it off, the coaching staff is going after the biggest names in the nation, and doing it with some actual confidence they can land the kids.

The list of scholarship offers for 2012 is growing by the hour/day (literally, I had to update the list as I wrote up this post). So, by the time you read this, it may be already due for an update. But for now this is what I've gathered from around the internets. Each prospect is listed with only his projected position, hometown, and which places have Penn State on the offers list on that player's profile. If there are any corrections that need to be made to this list, please just leave it in the comments and I'll tackle it ASAP.

Updated: 3/2/11