BlueWhiteIllustrated.com - Keystone state fruitful for Lions in '10

September 28, 2009

Sean Fitz
BlueWhiteIllustrated.com Recruiting Analyst

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By Sean Fitz
Blue White Illustrated Recruiting Analyst

As signing day came and went in February, there was certainly cause for concern in the Keystone State surround the Nittany Lions' newest class. Penn State signed just five prospects from the state in a class of 27, as other schools feasted on the Commonwealth's top talent.

Ohio State came in and plucked the top two players in Pennsylvania, Pitt landed four of the state's top 10 and even Rutgers nabbed three of the top 20.

Certainly there were worries about whether the Nittany Lions could still get it done in the Keystone State.

That has all changed with the Nittany Lions' Class of 2010.

Penn State sent out scholarship offers to 11 prospects in Pennsylvania and the numbers have worked out nicely. The Nittany Lions have verbal commitments from eight of those players, all of which are ranked in the top 20 in the state. Just two, Cardinal O'Hara athlete Corey Brown (Ohio State) and Liberty quarterback Anthony Gonzalez (Pittsburgh) have chosen to play elsewhere. Even Gonzalez's ship sailed when the Nittany Lions landed two other quarterbacks.

The only in-state prospect remaining on the board is five-star defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd from George Washington High School in Philadelphia, and the Nittany Lions are right in the thick of things for the state's top player.

Last year, the Nittany Lions only landed two of the state's top 20 players.

So what has caused the abrupt turnaround?

National TV exposure and coaching stability certainly don't hurt, but the Nittany Lions' recent success on the field has brought the Penn State pride back to the Pennsylvania high school scene.

"It's really cool because everyone is a fan of Penn State," said defensive end recruit Dakota Royer, a lifelong Penn State fan who committed to the Lions in July. "Everyone loves them, everyone pays attention to them and when you have that much backing and support from the people in your hometown, no matter where you're from in Pennsylvania, it's just this sense of pride to go out there every week."

The Nittany Lions targeted western Pennsylvania early, adding verbal commitments from five players from District 7, otherwise known as the WPIAL. Quarterback Paul Jones, linebacker Mike Hull and linemen Luke Graham, Miles Dieffenbach and Thomas Ricketts all made up their mind before July.

"I think it's great to be a Pennsylvania player playing for your state college," said Hull, son of former Penn State linebacker Tom Hull. "Not too many guys have that opportunity because it's such a prestigious school. I think there's a lot more prestige with playing at Penn State than a few other schools around here."

"There's definitely a sense of pride - it's something that you have to be proud of," said Graham, who is particularly tight with both Dieffenbach and Ricketts. "Not just the three linemen in the WPIAL, but the other guys around that you're getting to know and you're going to play with. It doesn't really matter where you're from, but to have all this talent from the home state, it's definitely special."

The recent success of other hard-nosed WPIAL athletes in Happy Valley didn't hurt, either.

"We definitely take some pride in being from the WPIAL, and being tough hard-nosed players from out here," said Hull. "It's a whole different league of football from other places in the country, and we take it real seriously.
"Whenever you grow up around here and see guys like Sean Lee and Paul Posluszny from the area going to Penn State, you just want to follow in their footsteps and go to a school like that where they're known for their tough linebackers and the competition that they have. That's what really attracted me."

While pulling in players with a lifelong connection to the program like Hull and Royer was a relatively easy task, turning players from lifelong connections to other schools hasn't been so easy. Dieffenbach, the No. 8 player in the state, was pegged for Pittsburgh, where his father has coached tennis for over 30 years for the Panthers.

"The first place for me was Pitt all the way, it was all I really thought of from about seventh grade on. I was in contact with coach Bradley, I met him in ninth grade when he came by Fox Chapel, but I was never really too interested in Penn State. Then I got out to visit, and I had a completely different view in my mind of what Penn State would be like. But I just went up there and fell in love with the place. I fell in love with the campus, the people are great, the town is great, I just fell in love with it."

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Phil's Corner

In this week's edition of Phil's Corner, Blue White Illustrated publisher Phil Grosz examines the top reasons why this might be head coach Joe Paterno's best recruiting class of his storied career.

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Iowa coverage

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Illinois preview

BWI contributor Eric Thomas provides a complete game preview and key matchups from the game. Don't miss this must-read before the game on Saturday afternoon.

Family, Football and Faith

BWI special contributor Tricia Lafferty goes inside the family with Leo, Steve and Stefen of the Wisniewski family. Coming from a top pedigree, find out what has made Stefen the key cog in the Lions' offensive line this season.

Stupar shines early

In a family stocked with NFL talent, Penn State linebacker Nate Stupar has managed to keep his own identity.

Get to know Stupar in this special profile.

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