Well, if the Miles Dieffenbach commitment to Penn State indicated that Wanny’s Wall had sprung a leak, then today’s news indicates that it’s been all but torn down.  Tom Ricketts, an offensive lineman from North Allegheny High School just outside of Pittsburgh announced Wednesday that he would play for the Nittany Lions.  The dominos continue to fall Penn State’s way early in this recruiting season, as Ricketts completes the trifecta of top WPIAL offensive lineman to commit to Penn State.  In doing so, he joins Dieffenbach and Luke Graham, who Ricketts calls, not for nothing, close friends.  He had visited State College at the Nike camp last month, and joins a growing number of invitees who have chosen to go blue.

In addition to holding offers from both Penn State and Pittsburgh, Ricketts had also received written scholarship offers from Florida State, Maryland, West Virginia, and BC, among others.  He was a first team WPIAL Quad-North player at guard as a junior last season for North Allegheny, joining the aforementioned linemen as all-conference selections.  Ricketts, who is ranked as the 10th best player from Pennsylvania by Scout, is rated as a 4-star prospect by the recruiting service, and as the #24 OT in the country.  The 6’6, 265 pound lineman is not yet ranked by Rivals, but ESPN, who sees Ricketts more as a guard, grades Ricketts a 77, saying:

Ricketts is a very good athletic player at the guard position…his technique and explosion are what we look for in a major college competitor…This is a tough, aggressive player with a mean streak and a willingness to finish blocks…Has the athletic ability for the tackle position. Ricketts should benefit from a red shirt year, after which he should begin to see playing time and become a solid starter.

ESPN also knocks Ricketts a little bit, citing weight and strength questions.  They also have a higlight video on the site.

One thing you can’t knock is Rickett’s pedigree.  His father, of the same name, was a first-round NFL draft pick, and, just like Dieffenbach’s father, went to Pitt.  One great facet of the Paterno legacy has been the number of family connections in the Penn State program.  We’ve seen countless Wisniewskis, Zordiches, Mautis, Suheys, and Shulers come through this program, and if they have sons, it’s pretty likely that they’ll come to Happy Valley.

You see, once you’re a Nittany Lion you’re Penn State Proud for the rest of your life.  A Panther, well, I guess that stays with you for four years.  If Wannstedt can’t even recruit the sons of former Pitt players who practically live in his own backyard, who will he get? It’s great to see Penn State cleaning up throughout the state of Pennsylvania, something they’ve failed to do lately.

Now that they’ve locked up some of Pennsylvania’s top recruits, if they can expand their national footprint–snagging players like RB Eric Lattimore of South Carolina and California WR Kenny Stills, this might be the best recruiting class Joe Paterno’s ever had.   The only sad thing is it’s almost halfway done.  If we had used this kind of strategy–recruit only really, really good players–in a year with 25 recruits, we’d be looking like USC.  Still, this is an absolutely phenomenal start to the Class of 2010.  Also, his commitment and Dieffenbach’s yesterday means that Larry Johnson has some competition this season for top recruiter–Tom Bradley is off to a hot start.

Releated Posts:

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3. Counting Down the Lions: #6
4. Commit #4: Mangiro Picks Penn State
5. Shawn Oakman Commits to Penn State

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