Olaniyan makes a decision

After a late-summer lull in their recruiting, the Nittany Lions are back at it again.

Just days after picking up a verbal commitment from four-star fullback Zach Zwinak, the Nittany Lions secured another verbal commitment on Wednesday evening, as four-star defensive end C.J. Olaniyan gave his oral pledge to the Penn State staff.

"He called up coach Ron Vanderlinden last night and committed to them, so hopefully that's that," said Warren Mott head coach Tom Milanov. "He visited a lot of places in the late winter and the spring, and Penn State was one of the places he felt most comfortable with. He really liked the coaching staff, the environment there, the graduation rates, the academic offerings, and the whole big picture. It really fit what he wanted, he said. He weighed all of his options and thought it through for a while, and came to that conclusion."

Olaniyan is a standout both ways for Warren Mott, but will play on the defensive side of the ball for the Nittany Lions.

"I think he's going to be a pass-rushing type of defensive end, the rush end type of position, away from the tight end, and be able to initially defend the pass and then grow into a run stopper as well," said Milanov.

He is ranked as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com, and is the No. 7 player in the preseason Michigan state rankings. He joins quarterback Robert Bolden as future Nittany Lions from the Wolverine State.

He is also rated as the No. 16 weakside defensive end nationally.

Olaniyan chose the Nittany Lions over scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Milanov also confirmed that Michigan State withdrew their scholarship offer recently.

As a junior, Olaniyan racked up 85 tackles, 14 of which were behind the line of scrimmage, and got to the quarterback nine times. He also caught 33 passes for 536 yards and three touchdowns.

He last visited Penn State in March.