Penn State Recruiting the Trenches in 2011 Will Pay Off Down the Road

Recruiting depth along the lines is critical to any team's success.
Penn State knows this all too well.
(Pictured: Stefen Wisniewski. Photo: LBU/Mike)

Forget those god-awful star ratings. Ignore the class rankings. Never mind how many "skill" players Penn State brings in with its 2011 recruiting class.

Why?

Because everything depends, and will depend, on how well Penn State can recruit and develop the offensive and defensive lines in the next 2, 3, and 4 years.

Shawn Oakman verbals to Penn State

You can relax now, folks. Lansdowne, PA defensive end Shawn Oakman gave his verbal commitment to play for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions in 2011. From the Philly.com report, the 6-foot-8, 250-pound Oakman is excited:

"I couldn't be happier," said Oakman, who plans on wearing No. 91 at State College. "It came down to what I thought what college should be and also what college coach was going to push from being good to being great. I think Coach Johnson and Coach Vanderlinden can do that. That's why I choose Penn State."

The rising senior visited Penn State on June 27, two days after a visit to Pitt. His final list included Penn State, Pitt and Temple. So this could go a bit towards quelling the hysteria about the Nittany Lions' weak recruiting returns so far.

Oakman finished his junior season with 136 tackles, 17 sacks, and four fumbles forced.

CHECK OUT OUR UPDATED RECRUITING BOARD!

[Via Tim]: How can you NOT have such long-awaited good recruiting news without a little Goo Punch? What is this, a BYU tailgate?


Now THAT's more like it!

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Tuesday Recruitin': Mangiro down to four; So long Shuler?

Tuesday Recruitin' took a break for a few weeks, but is now back with the latest Penn State football recruiting news.

The fans have been grumbling of late about the lack of solid verbal commits for Penn State's 2011 class. That's justified, when you consider that Penn State had EIGHT commits by this time last year. Many of those guys were very highly touted recruits, too. So it's not like Penn State piled up two- and three-star (I HATE star ratings, by the way) recruits for the first half of its 2010 class.

But we could see some very positive movement by the end of June, from some of Penn State's most highly recruited prospects.

Alex Mangiro

Mangiro's list is down to four, after he dropped Boston College last week. The problem is that one of the other three competing for Mangiro is Ohio State. It looks like he wants to keep things relatively local, except for the Buckeyes. Mangiro's list is now down to four, with OSU, Penn State, Rutgers, and Pitt making the cut.

There was a bit of negative recruiting going on, and could still be going on, with at least one of Mangiro's suitors. Apparently Joe Paterno's retirement has been brought up enough times for Mangiro to mention it in an interview with Scout.com's Matt Alkire. Even though Mangiro doesn't seemed phased by any of it, it is still interesting that coaches are still trying to use that against Penn State.

Even though Ohio State is always a tough nut to crack in a head-to-head recruiting battle, it would seem Penn State's immediate threats are Pitt and Rutgers, if only for the location issues with Mangiro. He does want to visit all four schools before he makes his decision prior to the football season, which would bode well for Penn State. Mangiro has already been to University Park a few times, but hasn't yet done much with the other three.

I won't go into calling him a sure thing, but Mangiro could make Penn State recruitniks very pleased by the end of the summer.

Visits Set/Coming

• Shawn Oakman is looking to visit on June 27. Oakman has looked like a solid Penn State guy from the beginning, and still does. But if you wanted some extra drama sprinkled on top of this news, Oakman is visiting Pitt two days before his trip to Happy Valley. His leaders right now are PSU, Pitt and Temple (obviously staying local), which should signal a decent road for the Fightin' Paternos.

• Miles Shuler could be Rutgers-bound, but Penn State is still hoping for a strong push this summer. He's apparently trying to set up a visit sometime soon, but no word yet on when. His dad has been very high on the Scarlet Knights, and is supposedly very active on the Rutgers message boards.

• Roanoke (VA) Cave Spring safety Michael Cole was up for the Blue-White Game, but wants to come back to Penn State for another round. He's a rising prospect in the Virginia region, which Penn State loves to dive into for recruits. Cole is looking at local schools like UVA right now, but his enthusiasm for another visit to Happy Valley is encouraging.

• Fairview (PA) defensive end Jordan Kerner is hoping to get an offer from Penn State during his visit this weekend. Boston College, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Rutgers and West Virginia have all offered Kerner, and he'll head to Happy Valley next weekend. He visited for the Blue-White Game, and has been in contact Mike McQueary.

• Conner Crowell should get to visit Happy Valley next week. The trip should include UConn, North Carolina, Ohio State, Rutgers and West Virginia among other programs.

Offers

Devon Cajuste
(Rivals/Scout/ESPN)
Flushing, NY/Holy Cross High
6-4, 215 lbs
Receiver

I missed this one a few weeks ago, so shame on me. But Penn State apparently offered Cajuste in early June. He's a decent wide receiver prospect, with fantastic academics. His offers list stands at Boston College, UConn, Harvard, Penn State, Rutgers, Stanford, and Syracuse. As a junior, Cajuste caught 40 passes for 921 yards and seven touchdowns. He also competes in track and field where he runs the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes and participates in the high jump and javelin. His personal best in the high jump is 6-foot-2.

Etc... Quarterback Cardale Jones got an offer from Purdue last week, but he's still very high on Penn State. It's supposedly just a verbal offer, but that depends on where you hear it... cornerback Kyshowen Jarrett had been offered a while back, but Scout just confirmed it for themselves... 2012 defensive end Noah Spence from Bishop McDevitt HS was on campus this past weekend. He spent most of his time with Larry Johnson, Sr. so we know the big guns are already being brought up for him... I promise I'll finally update the recruiting board tomorrow. Pinky swear!

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Big-Ass 2011 Recruiting Update, Part 3 of 4

Maryland all-purpose star Darius Jennings could be one of Penn State's finest pickups in this recruiting class.

Here's the third of four big recruiting updates coming the rest of this week... Part two was a bit scrawny in terms of juicy recruiting goodness (I know, can't believe I just said that. What was that? Oh, there's a Mr. Hansen here to see me?), but this one has a bit more to gnaw on.

Donovan Smith
OT/DT
Owings Mills, MD

Smith is a two-way lineman out of Penn State's prime recruiting territory--Maryland. The rising senior is projected to play on the offensive line in college, filling the tackle role at the high school level. Smith is an All-America candidate going into his senior season, after having been invited to the U.S. Army All-American Combine in January, just one of many honors he has been raking in.

Smith is now up to about 12 scholarship offers, with Wisconsin being the latest BCS program to formally court him. Besides the Badgers, there are plenty of other high-profile BCS automatic qualifiers jockeying for Smith's verbal. West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, UCLA, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Maryland have all extended offers. Alabama, Ohio State, and Notre Dame are also rumored to have taken an interest in Smith the last few weeks.

When it comes to Penn State... The Nittany Lions are in excellent shape. Smith has taken two visits to Happy Valley since early April, including a Blue-White Game trip with his entire family in tow. He came away raving about almost everything to do with Penn State. Although teams like Rutgers have been pushing hard the past month or so, I would dare to say that if Penn State signs just one player in May--which would be the first in PSU's 2011 class--it would not at all shock me if that player was Smith.

Darius Jennings
Athlete
Baltimore, MD

Scout.com's No. 4 quarterback for 2011, Jennings had blown past the 20-offer threshold all the way back in February. Every school from the eastern seaboard to the Mississippi River has sent a scholarship offer Jennings' way. Including Penn State, five Big Ten teams have offered Jennings, nine of the 12 ACC programs, and even three Pac 10 schools have gotten into the mix. Throw in about a half-dozen more offers from the Big East and Big XII, and you've got yourself a hot ticket for Jennings' services.

However, all that early attention has been doused a bit the past few weeks, as Jennings has not been taking many visits, or making much news otherwise. On April 1, he told Josh Helmholdt of TheWolverine.com, "My family and I are really just putting this [recruiting] thing on the backburner until the school year is over so I can finish out the school year strong and stay focused on my books. Once the summer hits, we'll sit down and try to knock a few schools off my list early ... just schools I don't connect with and don't have that feeling with..."

When it comes to Penn State... Michigan appears to be a serious contender, but only because that's the only school he has visited. So, take that for what it's worth. Jennings did come up for the Blue-White Game on April 24, which is always a good sign from a kid that just said he wasn't taking any visits. Penn State has been mentioned as a leader in this race, due in no small part to the complete recruiting awesomeness that is Larry Johnson, Sr. He has single-handedly pillaged Maryland on a nearly annual basis since 2006, and doesn't appear to be interested in offering mercy anytime soon. Jennings would definitely become Penn State's newest favorite position--the "D-Wheelz" (not an official term, FYI)--using the complete football skill set of throwing, running, and catching.

Aundrey Walker
OT
Cleveland, OH

To the Buckeye State we go. Walker started out with only a handful of scholarship offers, but as word spread of his incredible size (6-5, 335 lbs) and skill on the offensive line, he gained a national profile among the top programs. Walker sits on about 12 offers right now, with six Big Ten teams--Ohio State and Michigan State are supposedly in the lead--Notre Dame, and a few Big East teams calling his number. USC offered Walker back in March, and can be considered in the top three with MSU and OSU.

When it comes to Penn State... Walker admitted to Brian Snow of BuckeyeGrove.com that he "doesn't know anything about them (Penn State)." That's not the kind of image you want inside a recruit's head, especially one as highly touted as Walker. But that was in mid-March, and things could change as long as Walker's recruitment remains open. However, the Nittany Lions might be going up against the clock on this one. With Ohio State and USC already gaining so much traction with Walker, it'll be an uphill, but not impossible battle for Penn State.

Shaun Underwood
DT
Fuquay-Varina, NC

One player other than Donovan Smith that I really think could end up committing to a college very soon is Underwood. The junior tackle has received offers from mostly regional powers, like North Carolina and South Carolina. Underwood has reportedly narrowed his top choices to three schools: North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Penn State. I'm not sure if Underwood thinks that he has reached his recruiting ceiling, but it would seem about right if you said there's no reason for him to wait until after the football season to commit somewhere.

When it comes to Penn State... You have to think the Nittany Lions are the top pick for Underwood at this point. He has chosen two defense-heavy programs--PSU and UNC--with outstanding defensive line coaches. The big bonus for the Nittany Lions is that Larry Johnson, Sr. uses defensive linemen in a rotation, meaning that the younger players can get time early in their careers. Underwood's got to like that. But there is a question in my mind about this quote by Underwood, told to Phil Grosz of BWI, "I also like the overall stature of the program, even though Joe Paterno might not be there all four years I'd be there." Is there a bit of negative recruiting going on here? That kind of quote doesn't just pop out without hearing it from a coach first. Regardless of all that, Underwood is a very good possibility for Penn State in 2011.


Marquise Wright
DT
Paramus, NJ

My dad won a state track championship for Paramus Catholic, and many of my family friends have strong connections to the school, so this recruit is particularly interesting for me. Wright was only hovering around seven offers or so back in the winter, but that number has risen to more than a dozen. These are no ho-hum offers, either. Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, and West Virginia are just some of the offers extended to Wright. He did say last week, however, that Rutgers hasn't offered, and that he's pretty much lost all interest in the Knights.

Earlier this week, Wright was also nominated for the 2011 U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio, Texas. With the nomination, Wright joins several Penn State recruits from New Jersey, including Savon Huggins, Gary Nova and Angelo Mangiro.

When it comes to Penn State... Even though Wright has Penn State as his leader, he appears to want to wait until the end of the summer before pulling the trigger. But that doesn't take away from his interest in the Penn State, which Wright previously referred to as his "dream school." Wright has been to University Park twice since opening up his recruitment. One of those trips was to the Blue-White Game. Wright could be the headliner in a fantastic crop of defensive linemen for Penn State's 2011 class.

Deion Barnes
DE
Philadelphia, PA

Barnes recently said that he wants to take his recruitment slow. With so many offers coming in, he can afford to do just that. About eight BCS programs have offered Barnes over the last few months. Michigan was the most recent school to offer Barnes, joining Louisville, Maryland, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. More offers are expected this summer.

The Philly defensive end just came back from the NIKE Camp in State College, where he finished the day as one of the most impressive recruits on the field. With size (6-5, 220 lbs) and speed like his, Barnes will only gain more attention as the recruiting season goes on.

When it comes to Penn State... With a frame like Barnes, you have to think Penn State will experiment with him at both defensive end and tight end. Following the NIKE Camp, he said that Penn State is definitely in his top schools right now, and that it was very impressive to him how the Nittany Lions focus on their players' families. Ron Vanderlinden is handling Barnes' recruitment, but Larry Johnson, Sr. has been involved here and there, since the recruit is a defensive line prospect.

Shawn Oakman
DE
Lansdowne, PA

Despite his huge frame at 6-foot-8, 250 pounds, Oakman hasn't gained quite the attention as I had expected by this point in the spring. But I'm not reading any further into it, because he's still a fantastic prospect, and I fully believe that he will get plenty more offers before the summer is done. Oakman now holds about eight scholarship offers, including UConn, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Rice.

When it comes to Penn State... Oakman has repeatedly said Penn State is either his leader, or at least in the top two or three college choices. For all this talk about how Penn State doesn't have any verbals yet, one must remember that within the traditional recruiting calendar, this is still just the end of the first stage, with summer beginning the next. But Oakman has all the signs that Penn State will be his school. Unless some other juggernaut program out there, like a Florida or Ohio State or Alabama, offers him, it looks like the Nittany Lions are leading the way.

Al Page
DT
Bronx, NY

Page committed to Rutgers on April 14. This looks pretty concrete, so it's a slim chance of anything changing. Page had been offered from Kansas, Maryland, and Syracuse, but Rutgers sent in the big guns for him. Two coaches were in charge of courting Page. It worked.

Next up: Part 4

Part 1
Part 2

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Tuesday Recruitin': Big Names, Big Visits

Cyrus Kouandjio could be one of only two or three offensive linemen Penn State signs this class. If his reaction to the March 27 visit is any indication of how the Nittany Lions stand in his favor, Penn State is still very much in the mix for his services next season. (photo: VolNation.com)

Spring practice is a time for teams to get a first look at their players. But it's also a time for recruits to get a first look at the programs recruiting them. Penn State's slate of prospects is no different, as several big names arrived on campus in the waning days of March, to watch practices, talk with coaches, and see the Happy Valley landscape.

But first, a big thanks to Tim for covering last week. The recruiting gods must like him, because a there was actual basketball recruiting news, somehow perfectly timed for his post.

On to this week's update...

Visits

March 27: Four recruits were on campus--offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio, defensive tackles Darian Cooper and Marquise Wright, and athlete Brandon Phelps. At such an early stage of the recruiting process, most recruits are just happy to be on campus. This wasn't any different, with all four prospects saying they thoroughly enjoyed their visits.

Kouandjio's next scheduled trip is to the University of Virginia. Since the Cavaliers are a regional destination, they would normally be a decent threat to steal a guy like Kouandjio. But with the arrival of head coach Mike London from Richmond, where he led the Spiders to the 2008 FCS (I-AA) National Championship, things could get tricky in the mid-Atlantic region. I'm not saying at all that London's arrival in Charlottesville will be a seismic shift, but don't be surprised if you hear his Cavaliers come up big once or twice this recruiting season.

Cooper has listed Penn State in his top-two college choices, along side the Maryland Terrapins. With Ralph Fridgen getting one more shot to turn the Terps around, you can bet any recruit in the DC-metro area will be getting a ton of attention from College Park. That includes Cooper and Kouandjio.

Wright's and Phelps' visits on the 27^th went just as well. Phelps said that he plans to come back to Penn State for the Blue-White Game, so I'll be on the look out for him on the sidelines in three weeks. Phelps also falls into the "look out for Virginia" category, as his dad played there, and the Cavaliers just made a scholarship offer. Wright has referred to Penn State as his "dream school."

The day before those four recruits took their visits to Penn State, defensive end Shawn Oakman toured campus on March 26. The Nittany Lions are supposedly in the lead right now for the 6-foot-8 prospect out of Lansdowne, PA.

Last week saw two more visits. Brooklyn defensive end Ishaq Williams stopped by on March 29, while Philly defensive end Deion Barnes was in on March 31. Besides picking up a written offer from Penn State, there hasn't been a ton of news around Barnes. Williams, though, has been steadily rising up the scouting reports for weeks. He now boasts more than 20 offers, including Penn State.

Coming Up

All-American offensive guard Angelo Mangiro, defensive tackle Al Page, and offensive tackle Donovan Smith all attended practice yesterday. Smith reportedly has Penn State in the lead. He plans to attend the Blue-White Game, making him another face to look for on the sidelines.

Defensive tackle Shaun Underwood hasn't set a visit date, but it's been confirmed that Larry Johnson, Sr. made a scholarship offer sometime in March. He previously said that Penn State was at or near the top of his list.

New Offers

Visit the Linebacker-U.com recruiting board for the latest tally of recruits claiming offers from Penn State for 2011.

Just a few names that I've added to the offers board this week. I'll gather more information as the week goes on, and report back to you in next week's recruiting post.

Bronx (NY) defensive tackle Al Page
Richmond (VA) linebacker Curtis Grant
Fuquay-Varina (NC) defensive tackle Shaun Underwood
Fayetteville (NC) tight end Eric MacLain

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Wednesday Recruitin': 'Spacey,' the Terrelle Pryor repellent

Visit the Linebacker-U.com recruiting board for the latest tally of recruits claiming offers from Penn State for 2011.Nittany Lions recruiting coordinator has been running non-stop to ensure Penn State's 2011 recruiting class packs enough punch

Well, it's finally posted, so here's what normally would have been your Tuesday Recruitin' fix.

I simply could not fathom how many contacts Mike McQueary must have on his cell phone. I realize that he does not contact every recruit Penn State is going after; that's up to the regional recruiters, like LJS and Scrap. But the guy has to be ready to talk with any one of those recruits, at any time. Think about it.

Anyway, on with the update...

(Rivals/Scout/ESPN)

New Offers

• Defensive lineman Shawn Oakman (Rivals/Scout/ESPN) out of Lansdowne (PA) picked up a written scholarship offer from Penn State. He currently has the Nittany Lions as a heavy favorite, citing the tradition in Happy Valley. Oakman is also a stud on the basketball court, as you would expect from a guy who stands 6-foot-8, but a lean 240 pounds. Ron Vanderlinden is apparently on his trail.

• All-purpose athlete prospect Darius Jennings (Rivals/Scout/ESPN) was sent his written scholarship offer last week. So, we can officially mark him down.

Recruiting Zuggets

• Terrell Chestnut took a big visit to Rutgers last Thursday. The trip included the full deck of pitches, from facilities to academics. Chestnut told ScarletReport.com:

“It’s definitely a school I was interested in, and we’d been in contact with the coaches for a while,” Chestnut said. “I wanted to give my family a feel where I could possibly stay the next four years, and to meet the coaches I would be around.”

Rutgers is an interesting situation to watch this year, not only because of their possible invitation to the Big Ten, but how that might influence recruits along the eastern seaboard. That's pure speculation, sorry. But it's an interesting point to follow over the next 10 months or so.

• Marquise Wright was supposed to visit Penn State this past weekend, but plans fell through for no apparent reason. He said that contact with the Nittany Lions' coaching staff has tapered off, but Wright's own coaches were still in touch often with Penn State. This doesn't look like anything serious, especially since he said just two weeks ago that Penn State was his “dream school.”

• Running back Savon Huggins swung south this week, visiting Georgia, Alabama and the rest of the SEC. He does plan to visit Penn State for a practice this spring, but probably won't be at the Blue-White Game on April 24.

• Small planet Cyrus Kouandjio told BWI that he liked Happy Valley because, "I really like the campus, it's nice and big, spacey*, that's what I like about it." But that was only from his Nike Camp workout last year. Kouandjio hasn't been back to Penn State, but all is not lost. His race is still wide open.

*Spacey - adj. "too country"

• Tight end Ben Koyack just received a scholarship offer from LSU. He has been putting together quite a list of suitors. But Penn State is still up top for the Oil City prospect. Right now, Koyack likes Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State the most, even though Pitt and Florida are closing the gap.

• Red Bank Catholic tight end Jack Tabb (Rivals/Scout/ESPN) revealed last week that Penn State was his No. 1 team, even though the Nittany Lions haven't extended an offer. There was a rumor floating around that Penn State was verbally hinting at an offer, but that turned out to be false.

2012. Already?

This is what you get with recruiting. There's never a prospect too young to scout. Of course, this isn't nearly like USC's 13-year-old commit, but not exactly what we're used to from Penn State.

• James Ross, Jr. (Rivals/Scout/ESPN) is already being heavily recruited by in-state rivals Michigan and Michigan State. He told the Detroit News:

“There is another school, Penn State, that we're looking at,” Ross Jr. said. “They recruited (quarterback) Rob Bolden from our school and he committed to them. So (Penn State assistant) Coach (Ron) Vanderlinden has been talking to me. I actually sent him my highlight tape and he said he really liked it.”

Ross is a 6-foot-0, 200-pound linebacker who's raised eyebrows early in his career, led his Eaglets' defense with 103 tackles, five sacks, five forced fumbles, seven fumbles recovered and an interception.

• Eddie Goldman (Rivals/Scout/ESPN) from Edison-Friendship Public Charter in Washington, DC, was told by Larry Johnson, Sr., that a scholarship offer will be extended to him when the time comes. For now, it's just a verbal offer. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound rising junior made more than 40 tackles and three sacks last season, and already runs a sub-five-second forty. Goldman is very, very high on the local team, Maryland, having visited the campus four times.

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