Penn State picks up junior college commitment
Penn State picked up a junior college commitment Tuesday evening from Iowa Western Community College defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg.
Listed at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, Van Den Berg visited Penn State for the first time on Tuesday. He earned offers 10 verbal scholarship offers from mainly Football Bowl Championship programs following his spring season, only to recently add offers from Iowa and Nebraska over the past week.
He was believed to be leaning towards the Hawkeyes leading in today's visit.
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Originally from South Africa, van den Berg played high school football at Providence Christian in Lilburn, Ga. Originally a walk-on, he earned a scholarship after one semester. He played just five games at Iowa Western Community College this season due to an injury, totaling 20 tackles and one sack.
"I love the kid," Iowa Western head coach Scott Strohmeier told HuskerOnline.com earlier this week. "We saw his highlight film from high school and he played linebacker. He led the area in tackles in that part of Georgia. He's added weight since then. He's relentless. I told everybody, if you get the opportunity, take this kid. He's a great kid, a good student, he's going to work his tail off, and wherever he goes he will buy-in and be one of the best players on the team as far as attitude and culture and buying in.
"He's not going to complain. I'm happy for him. Shoot, I'd love to have him back. He was going to come back, but after Nebraska, Iowa and Penn State I don't think that's going to happen. I knew once he went to those camps, he wasn't coming back here. He was going to get offers and be a Power Five guy."
van den Berg is set join the Nittany Lions immediately, meaning he has four years of eligibility remaining since last year didn't count. Penn State's other junior college commitment, safety Tyrece Mills, will have three years of eligibility remaining, along with a redshirt year, as he'll have to play one more season at Lackawanna.
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