Joe STILL knows football

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Submitted by Charlie on May 10, 2008 – Comments

Who said Joe’s uncertain status at Penn State is hurting our recruiting?

4-star Defensive Back Darrell Givens switched his committment to the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Nittany Lions early this morning at the 11th annual State College NIKE camp.

Darrell Givens is a current teammate of Malcolm Willis who committed to the Lions earlier this year.

And if you thought that was great…

Stephen Obeng-Agyapong, another defensive back also made a verbal to the Lions to become the 5th verbal for 2009. It looks like we’re already rolling to hit our scholarship mark for next year.

So to all those jumping all over Joe’s contract situation referring to his inability to recruit as their main argument. Shut it. Joe can recruit from his deathbed. Penn State will milk the cash cow that is Joe Paterno even long after he is gone from Penn State so what’s to think he can’t lure big name recruits when hes still head coach?

Sure he might not be able to hop into a car or a plane to visit recruits, but with assistants like Bradley being able to compete evenly with head coaches like Tressel, Rich Rod and Weis, there is really no pressing need for Joe to do so. We would LIKE for him to visit a recruit or two, but if he is still able to get the job done, why are we hollering for him to reinvent the wheel?

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Jason

Damn! I'm glad my day job has nothing at all to due with convincing or re-convincing fickle teenagers over and over again.

I have a feeling Givens may just end up somewhere entirely different with the speed in which he just changed his school.

Charlie

I do too, recruits that pull stunts like that and without hesitation or real consideration are high risk recruits. I would not be surprised if he signs his LOI with someone else when this is all said and done.

But I would imagine the drama involving recruits is why we follow it so intensely.

Anonymous

"being able to compete evenly with head coaches like Tressel, Rich Rod and Weis"

According to Scout
Right now we have 1 4 star, and 5 3 star recruits (estimating Howle a 3 star)

Charlie has 1 5 star, 2 4 stars & a 3 star
Rich Rod 2 5 stars, 3 4 stars, and a 3 star
Tressel has 2 5 stars, 8 4 stars & 2 3 stars

Charlie took 5 star Walker this year, no Joe visit
Rich Rod stole 4 star Shaw this year, JayPa screws up initial visit, Joe fails to visit when decommit warning signs are apparent. We lose #1 recruit in country, in our own backyard, Joe gives poor answer to question of "what happens when you retire"

Point is we are still VERY far off from those 3 and we have a lot of scholarships available

This is a good start, but we have A LOT of holes to fill. We still desperately need QB, WR, & RB. QB is basically at an emergency status, yet we have all our eggs in the Tate Forcier basket

Charlie

Good point, but you have to consider as much as quarterback is the ribbon on every school's recruiting class, Penn State is very much set on the quarterback position for the next foreseeable future.

Mind you, if Daryll Clark does start, and indications are that he shall. He still has 2 more years of eligibility left. That would mean 2008 and 2009. Pat Devlin is still available still has 3 seasons including next year so that extends our quarterback position till at LEAST 2010. So when you see quarterbacks bolt to Rutgers, Michigan and Tennessee, you have to consider that any quarterback commit this year would most likely have to wait 3 years until he has a legitimate shot at the starting position.

But while we might not be hauling in the numbers and star-studded recruits at the rate Rich Rod, Tressel and Weis at the moment. My point is even without our head coach, our assistant coaches are capable of recruiting at that level even without Joe Paterno. What does that say about Weis jet setting across the country trying to fight Tom Bradley for a recruit then? Not that we're dominating recruiting, but we're not as incompetent in that field as most people would assume due to Joe's unwillingness to travel.

Then there are those who point out the Pryor defection to Ohio State as the peak of our demise in recruiting. Lets all face it, Pryor liked Ohio State to begin with. He never truly enjoyed the atmosphere at Penn State. And by atmosphere I don't mean stadium, fans base, etc. But the area it's in. You're talking about a kid from the suburbs of Pittsburgh being asked to move to country like State College. That's a sell. I would know growing up in LA and attending Penn State in State College. Columbus was much more his style and I believe that is ultimately why he never really wanted to head to Ann Arbor as well despite the position being tailor made for him.