Aaaaand here's.... the Freshmen

Signing day has come and gone. And it was uneventful for the Lions...which may have been a good thing in the end!!

On Tuesday night Penn State had 24 recruits.

After Wednesday's signing day we still have the same 24. Follow this link if you want more information on them:
http://bwi.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?year=2006&school=61

Recruiting is more opinionated than team rankings during the season, regardless I am more than happy to throw my nickel into the pot (inflation has taken the cost above 2 cents)
Let's explore:

1. Who did we miss
2. Who did we get
3. What does it mean

Missed:
I believe the Lions really only felt the sting of a couple of non signs

• Vidal Hazelton: Followed through on his verbal to USC, which was rare in this crazy year. The Penn State offense designed by Galen Hall and to be run by Morelli (an one day Devlin) is all about spreading the field horizontally and passing vertically. Hazelton would have been another huge target, but we landed a big man with Bell
• LeSean McCoy: Passes on the Lions in favor of Miami. Probably the right move for him, given his lack of academic focus. Unless he has a dramatic turnaround he would have just ended up in Joepa's doghouse. But we really need to get a go to guy for next year. Of course, we all thought Scott would be the next big thing...when in reality the less acclaimed Tony Hunt became the man. So, you never know how Carter or Royster will pan out..

Received:

Our Lions got exactly what we needed. A class that fill the holes in the roster with Top quality talent. Here are some insights:

• The #6 or #7 rated class in the country.
• The #1 rated class in the Big 11
• 9 players rated in the Top 10 at their position in the country!! Amazing talent! The positions are : QB, WR, 2 OL, 2 DEs, 2 DTs and a DB
• 9 Defensive Lineman and 4 Offensive Lineman..over 50% of the class works the trenches
• 5 kids who changed their initial commitment to join Penn State: Maryland, Virginia, LSU, Miami and Virginia Tech all lost players to the Lions
• Penn State got 7 of the top 9 players in Maryland. A major coup for the Lions. I believe Penn State needs to be THE dominate program on the East Coast...making it easier to secure local talent....the team's success this past year made this recruiting haul possible.
• Speed: 7 players run the 40 in under 4.6 seconds...and that is 7 of the remaining 11 who are not on the O or D lines
• East Coast Boys: Everyone is from New York, south the Virginia and the states in between
• Players who want to be a part of the Penn State family....11 joined together to sign their Letter of Intent...in Maryland

Meaning?:

• No one knows?? Big name High School players go bust as often as small names make it big. There is not exact science. But if a kid is willing to forget his High School accolades and work hard..they have a chance to excel on the bigger stage
• This type of talent is hard to ignore. Penn State can reload vs rebuilding with these players
• Who plays as a true freshman? My money is on; AJ Wallace at DB, Chris Bell at WR and Maurice Evans at DE
• Who are the players that become part of Penn State lore in the future? I'll go with; Pat Devlin at QB, Andrew Quarless at TE, Maurice Evans and Aaron Maybin at DE
• Who has the name that TV announcers will never say or spell correctly? Bani Gbadyu or Doug Klopacz

Penn State friends, we are now about to enter the quiet season in Penn State football. The next big thing is the Blue-White game on April 22.

However, I will continue to provide information regarding other Penn State sports...primarily the continued growth of the Mens Basketball team.