Counting Down the Lions: #48
joining Charlie’s Top PSU moments, we’ve added another daily countdown feature here at NittanyWhiteOut. We’ll be measuring up the 50 most important players to Penn State’s success in the 2009 season.
Checking in at #48 is a young wide receiver with incredible potential, A.J. Price.
Number: 14
Position: Wide Receiver
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Height: 6′4
Weight: 173
Hometown: Reston, VA
How’d He Get Here: Penn State beat out a slew of suitors for Price’s services, earning his commitment despite the best efforts of Virginia, UNC, Rutgers, and Michigan, among others. Price wasn’t highly rated by the recruiting services, earning just 3 stars on Scout, but he was certainly an intriguing prospect, given his 6’4 stature and reported 4.5-second speed in the 40 yard dash.
2008 Results: Price took a redshirt season in 2008, as a very talented group of senior and upperclassman wide receivers prevented him from seeing any playing time. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like he used that time to put on much weight. He is really, really skinny.
What to Expect in 2009: Frankly, Price probably won’t be asked to play much of a defined role in Penn State’s offense this year. Though the current group of wide receivers is certainly untested and unspectacular, especially when compared with the starting wideouts of the past four seasons, it seems that the Nittany Lions will rely most heavily on certain players other than Price. However, his unique combination of size and speed give Price a potentially important role, if he can earn it: that of deep-ball threat.
Random Facts: I couldn’t find anything too interesting about Price, really. He played basketball and ran track in high school in addition to playing football. Does that count?
The Final Word: Penn State doesn’t necessarily need A.J. Price to have a big season next year, but it would sure help. I’ve said it over and over again, this team can do a better job of replacing Jordan Norwood’s hands and dependibility (with guys like Graham Zug and Brett Brackett) and Derrick Williams’ speed and versatility (with Chaz Powell and even Kevin Newsome), but will need someone to step up so that they can replace the big play-threat that was Deon Butler. Price is certainly too small to be an every down wide receiver at this point, and he desperately needs to put on weight so that he can battle for the ball at the point of attack. But until then, his responsibility is to simply go deep. He’s got great size and better speed. It’s not impossible that the threat of putting A.J. Price on the field would be enough to keep the defense honest.
Releated Posts:
