But instead of choosing Ohio State or Rutgers or Pittsburgh, as so many top prospects have done this offseason, Mangiro chose the Blue and White, instantly becoming the most highly touted prospect to pick Penn State thus far for the class of 2011.  This means we don’t have to push the panic button just yet.

The 6-3, 295 guard already stands as an imposing figure, and one can only imagine the road-grader he’ll become after a few years in the college weight room. That impressive frame, when coupled with his superb strength and athleticism, made Mangiro one of the top prospects in the northeast. Able to bench press 330 pounds, squat 475, and earning all-conference, all-region, all-county and all-state honors, Mangiro still maintained a 3.5 GPA.

Scout ranks Mangiro as the #5 guard in the country, and grades him as a 4-star prospect, while ESPN lists Mangiro as the #2 player at his position, and offers a comprehensive scouting report. Excerpts:

Mangiro has the athleticism and playing strength to be a dominant run blocker…This player flashes the playing strength to knock defenders off the ball. When asked to reach on offset defenders will tend to raise his pad level however his good agility and balance allow him to maintain contact and gain leverage…This guy displays the ability to handle quick inside movement and can be a devastating down blocker…This is a tough, aggressive player with the finishing attitude that can dominate opponents. Mangiro could see early playing time if a red shirt year is not deemed necessary, regardless this player is capable of making a significant impact during his career.

But if the recruiting services don’t impress you, take a look at the offer sheet:  In addition to the aforementioned schools, Mangiro held scholarship offers from Florida, USC, Boston College, Notre Dame, and just about every other school in the region.

This is a big get for Penn State, even if the deck was stacked in our favor from the outset.  We can only hope that Mangiro’s commitment not only gets the ball rolling for the Nittany Lions, but also prompts Angelo to sing our praises to his fellow big-time prospects.

Oakman is rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals, and as the #20 defensive end in the country and #7 player in the state of Pennsylvania.  Scout ranks Oakman as a 3-star prospect, and lists scholarship offers from such other schools as Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, UConn, and South Carolina.  The 6’8, 240 pound prospect has a tremendous frame, and could develop into a special player.   He uses his size to play a standout tight end as well, but figures to slot in on the other side.

A highly-touted basketball prospect as well, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Oakman serving double duty, like Jordan Norwood did at the start of his Penn State career.  In fact, over the past year, Oakman drew interest from schools such as LaSalle and St. Joseph’s for a basketball scholarship, and Penn State reportedly offered him a chance to play both sports in Happy Valley.

But on the football side of things, Oakman is coming off an impressive junior season:

Shawn Oakman finished his junior season with 136 tackles, 17 sacks and four fumbles caused. Offensively, he had 20 catches for four touchdowns. He says he can bench 275-pounds.

Oakman is excited to come to Penn State, and he picked the right school to accomplish his goals.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Oakman, who plans on wearing No. 91 at State College. “It came down to what I thought what college should be and also what college coach was going to push from being good to being great. I think Coach Johnson and Coach Vanderlinden can do that. That’s why I choose Penn State.”

It’s almost getting old to say that Larry Johnson is the best position coach in the country, but that’s the fact.  In the past few years alone, Oakman has seen players like Jared Odrick, Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans, Jay Alford, and Tamba Hali go from Penn State to the NFL and those represent just a fraction of those LJ has coached to greatness.  Hopefully Oakman’s 91 will be reminiscent of the one who preceded him at that number.

Levi’s departure marked the end of a puzzling recruitment that began when he became the 11th verbal for the Nittany Lions Class of 2010 last July. Levi was a relatively under-the-radar player, just a 3-star prospect rated by Scout and Rivals. It took a strong showing at Penn State’s senior camp to earn him a scholarship offer which he jumped on when he committed to Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions without taking any other visits. But with blue chip receivers Adrian Coxson, Kenny Stills and local sensation Alex Kenney still on Penn State’s recruiting radar, the scholarship offer and acceptance by the 3-star son and brother of a Penn State player and ex-coach with just 8 spots left in the recruiting class raised a few eyebrows.

Although he played locally at State College High School during his sophomore year, he moved to Waco, Texas with his father who accepted the defensive coordinator position at Baylor. He did not play football initially in Texas only returning to the gridiron at Midway a year later as a senior.

But who can really argue with Joe Paterno’s track record of assessing and developing players. Jordan Norwood himself was merely a 2-star prospect before emerging as one of Penn State’s most consistent receiver. In a household of athletes, you can’t really go wrong. Even his other brother Gabe played for the underdog George Mason team that thrilled the nation with a Final Four run.

But with the depth that exists at the wideout position (projected to be at least 9 deep not including Levi Norwood ) playing time would be extremely scare or practically non-existent for the younger Norwood even with a red shirt.

Brian and Jordan Norwood will always remain an important part of the Penn State family and though it is disappointing we will not see another Norwood play for the Blue and White, we do wish Levi the best as he moves on from Penn State. Levi Norwood’s departure opens up a scholarship for Penn State’s Class of 2011.

[Update April 12/2010]: Tre Bowman signed and sent his LOI to Ed DeChellis on the first day of the Spring Signing period today.

The 6’4″ (or 6’2″ according to Scout), 185 lb guard from St Thomas More gave his commitment to Ed DeChellis and the Nittany Lions. Tre Bowman originally played for Central York High School before he transferred to St Thomas More, a prep institution in Oakdale, CT. The same preparatory institution where current NCAA tournament stars Edwin Ubiles of Siena (Class of 06),  Antonio Pena of Villanova (Class of 06), Devin Ebanks (Class of 08) and Dan Jennings (Class of 09) of West Virginia once matriculated at.

Tre Bowman is a 1-star recruit according to Scout and awarded a score of 86 by ESPN. At the time of his commitment, he held offers from Coastal Carolina, La Salle, Niagara, and UCF. Not exactly perennially title contenders on that list, but Tre Bowman’s commitment should help DeChellis fill the perimeter void left by Babb’s departure. In fact, that’s what sold Tre on Penn State. DeChellis showed Tre Bowman a depth chart for next season during his recruitment. With Cammeron Woodyard the only SG on the roster and Taran Buie set to enroll in the summer, the coaches claimed that they “would be disappointed in me if I wasn’t getting playing time right away.”

Now if only we get ourselves a legitimate post presence.

ESPN scouts had this to say about the raw athlete:

Bowman is a versatile player who does a number of things well but isn’t great in any particular area. He’s a good shooter with his feet set, shows good athleticism slashing to the basket and finishing, and is solid defensively.

Clearly hinting at some major room for development for Tre Bowman which isn’t particularly good news for Lion fans based simply on the lack of development and improvement from the current roster of raw athletes on the team.

Tre Bowman averaged 22 points a game this season, shooting 57% from the field. He recorded 26 assists, 8 blocks and 28 steals but turned the ball over on 50 occasions.

2006 – 2007 Season Stats:
Points/Game	FG %	FT %	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Turnovers	Blocks
18	48	78	65	54	23	44	12
2007 – 2008 Season Stats:
Points/Game	FG %	FT %	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Turnovers	Blocks
15	43	72	96	45	38	24	15
2008 – 2009 Season Stats: (CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR)
Points/Game	FG %	FT %	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Turnovers	Blocks
22	57	80	123	26	28	50	8

Hat tip: Battle Does it Again

As today is National Signing Day for college football I figured we should start an open-thread type for the day that is already unfolding. I’ll try to keep this commitment board up to date as the letters of intent come in for the Nittany Lions.

Players highlighted in green are already enrolled and therefore do not need to submit a letter of intent. Players in blue have submitted their LOI, fulfilling their commitment to the Penn State program.

UPDATE (3:45 PM) – All verbal commitments to Penn State are now officially signed, with Vinh Vuong coming to the Nittany Lions as a preferred walk-on. Stay tuned for continuing coverage of the Class of 2010.

Awarded 3 stars by recruiting service Rivals and 2 by Scout, Shyquawn Pullium won District 10 player of the year honors during his campaign in leading his team to the District Title.

Scout and Rivals have Shyquawn Pullium listed as an ATH and DB respectively, but Mike McQueary recruited the Erie athlete solely for the cornerback position.

Pullium had this to say about the Nittany Lions:

“It’s a great school academically, and the people there are great,” he said in a text message. “I think it’s just the best place for me.”

At 6-1, 178 lbs Shyquawn Pullium has a bit of work in terms of weight before he could see the starting spot. To put that in perspective, Justin King who was also relatively undersized for the position was 6-0 181 pounds. Justin King was able to overcome most of the wideouts he covered with his blazing 4.3 speed. Shyquan Pullium might fit a similar mold as he clocked in at a 4.31 in his 40 yard dash.

Pullium might have a year to get that weight up, as grade issues may have prevented Penn State from offering Pullium earlier.  Word is that he might have to spend a year at prep school before coming to Penn State, to get his grades up to the Penn State standard (hopefully, he’s more willing than Darrell Givens to do that).

Watch his ability to get to the corner as the QB at Cathedral Prep. On the offensive side of the ball Pullium accounted for 1,107 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air in addition to running for 1,507 yards and 22 TDs.

The #31 player overall in the Keystone State, he is joined by 8 other Pennsylvania recruits in committing to the Lions for the Class of 2011 further highlighting the porous hole the Wannystache has in that Pennsylvania wall he is allegedly building. And would you also know it, Pullium picked Joe Paterno and the Lions over a scholarship offer from Pittsburgh in addition to ones from Maryland, Cincinnati and Toledo. Welcome to the Penn State family Pullium!

For further coverage check out:

Linebacker-U Shyquawn Pullium Commits to PSU, The Goo Punch is flowing once again

Post-Gazette Penn State locks up DB recruit

Last night Musselman, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, posted a blurb about how Penn state lost a recruit, Adrian Coxson [link];

Adrian Coxson

Penn State lost a prospective football recruit today when wide receiver Adrian Coxson from Maryland decommitted from the school.

That reduces the Nittany Lions’ 2010 recruiting class to 18, but seven of those already are enrolled in spring semester classes.

“He is leaning toward Georgia or Florida,” Baltimore City College High School coach George Petrides told the Baltimore Sun.

Rated a five-star player and the No. 9 receiver in the country by Scout.com, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Coxson had given the Lions a verbal commitment in April.

He also tweeted the link to this story on Twitter;

If it's on Twitter it must be true!

Reporting that Coxson has de-committed from Penn State is fine and dandy, but please try to supply the reader with all of the information. In Musselman’s article from yesterday about the early enrollees already on campus, he closes with this blurb about Coxson [link];

Meanwhile, wide receiver Adrian Coxson from Maryland (Baltimore City College) initially made a verbal commitment to Penn State and is listed among their 2010 recruits. But he has been waffling on his choice since visiting Florida and Georgia and might not end up signing with the Lions next month.

Now, if he had dug a litttle deeper, or checked out Nittany White Out, he may have learned a couple things. The most important piece of information would be that Penn State is the one who lost interest in Coxson, not the other way around.

It is usually the mainstream media who will rip on bloggers, forum members, Twitter users and the like for spreading bad, inaccurate, false, exaggerated or misleading information. But this time it seems that it is Musselman who has not completed his homework. To make matters worse, The Sporting News picked up the Musselman report and added their own photo to pair with their version of the story.

But there is one question I would like to see answered definiteively. Who lost interest first, Coxson or Penn State? Right now it seems like a classic example of the chicken or egg debate.

Which came first?

The lack of interest didn’t seem to be coming from Coxson, who, throughout the recruiting process, continued to assert his commitment to Penn State. However, and information is admittedly second-and-third hand here, it was members of the recruiting staff, especially Mike McQueary, who were not enamored with Coxson.  While I’m not a connected source to either side of the story, Coxson’s grades seem to have never been an issue, and though a high schooler’s character is notoriously difficult to ascertain from a handful of articles, it doesn’t seem as though there are any glaring issues.

I will repeat once again that I’m not sure what exactly happened, or why, the premium services of both Scout and Rivals today reported that Adrian Coxson was told by Penn State staff that there is no longer room in this recruiting class for him.  The best (free) information source dates back a couple months, though it comes from FightOnState’s Cory James, and is emblematic of the curious nature of this recruitment:

1.  Coxson has not mentioned one word to his friends that are committed to Penn State about going elsewhere. (Not surprising, how do you tell your friends that you aren’t coming to PSU with them anymore because of these circumstances?)  2. Penn State has told Coxson that there is no room for him and they are still hoping he goes elsewhere.  My take on that is that Penn State will not pull his scholarship offer, but the chances of them holding onto a 5 star WR who they told they don’t have a need for is pretty slim.  Hence the “looking for a school” information that has been floating around.  Right or wrong, that is what is happening right now and it has been that way since August…..I can’t imagine things change by February.

I have no idea why the staff would suddenly cool on such a can’t miss prospect as Coxson, even with plenty of depth at the wide receiver position, and I somehow doubt I ever will. If and when the full story comes out, we’ll be on it like white on rice, but until then, I’m passing along what I know, and what you should.  Is there something that the staff knows about Coxson that we don’t? Quite possibly.  I have trouble believing that it’s a simple as “not enough room.”  Maybe they don’t think he’s that good, and not deserving of a scholarship.  But everyone who’s seen him play has been impressed by Coxson, and it’s generally not the Penn State way to retract an offer based on something like that.

After Dominique Easley left for Florida, Sharrif Floyd went elsewhere (also Florida) and with the destinations of Marcus Lattimore and Mike Thornton very much up in the air, I can’t imagine that we suddenly didn’t have room for a player of Coxson’s caliber, even if wide receivers Alex Kenney and Levi Norwood are also committed to Penn State.  I just really hope Coxson doesn’t go to Florida, even if this one wouldn’t qualify as poaching a commit.  They’re just starting to annoy me.

Update: I just got off the phone with a source highly connected to Penn State athletics, and he told me that he had spoken with an individual on the Penn State football staff–who is involved with scouting high school talent–in the past month regarding some of our prospects for this recruiting class.  On Coxson, my source tells me that the staff member said, and I quote “He’s just not good enough,” and that this staff member hopes another school will offer him a scholarship.  Though Coxson committed last spring, by last summer, the staff advised him to start looking elsewhere, and not-so-secretly hoped he’d decommit without them having to give him the boot.  Apparently, the Penn State coaching staff sees something different in Coxson than do other staffs and the recruiting services. This was not about grades or character or anything of that nature, but simply about his skill and projected performance at the next level.

My source also told me that Penn State feels that they are right in the thick of things for both Marcus Lattimore and Mike Thornton–the staff had actually hoped that Thornton would’ve committed already based on some comments he had made during his official visit, but the staff feels they have as good a chance as any other school for Thornton.  As for Lattimore, I’m told that Marcus is a Penn State kind of kid, and personally loves Penn State, and while all the other schools have their benefits as well, that Joe Paterno’s home visit later this month may well seal things.

As for Floyd, my source tells me what we’ve all suspected for a long time–that Sharrif Floyd was “all about Sharrif Floyd.”  He was looking to go to a school that would him get to the NFL, education be damned, and that there were plenty of outside influences that pushed him to Florida as opposed to Ohio State.  According to my source, the coaching staff wasn’t losing any sleep about Floyd, because they felt the bad might outweigh the positives.

I was told that Dominique Easley was something of a free spirit, and when he came to Penn State on his visit, he figured out that he wouldn’t have the run of the place, that the tight ship that Joe Paterno runs would’ve held him back from living it up.  According to my source, Oregon would’ve been a good place for Easley to go, and Dominique was ready to go to Oregon, but when Florida entered the mix late and he’d always had his heart set on Florida, it was an easy decision.

But then I realized: most schools have this problem, right?  We’re talking about 4 big time programs here, right?  And I would assume that though our cupboards might be a little more stocked with the halfbacks, I doubt those of Oregon, Auburn, and South Carolina are completely bare.  So let’s take a look at the running backs on the rosters of each team, starting with Penn State.

Penn State: Last year, the Lions ran the ball 467 times for 2207 yards (good for a 4.7 average), and just 84 of those rushes belong to a player who won’t be with the Lions next year: all keepers by Daryll Clark.  Royster will be a senior next year, and ran the ball 205 times.  Stephfon Green, the next highest ball carrier, only had 71 carries.  Brandon Beachum had 24 carries, but missed the last few games with a torn ACL that should keep him out of the 2010 season.  Curtis Dukes took a redshirt season but could figure into offensive gameplans, and Silas Redd, the #5 running back in the country as rated by Rivals, is also a member of this incoming class.  The playing time wouldn’t be immediate, but Stephfon Green is clearly not an every-down back, and Curtis Dukes is an unknown, and so if Lattimore’s willing to wait a season, the carries could be copious by his sophomore year.

Oregon: The Ducks were among the NCAA’s leaders with 547 carries, with their zone-read offense, but even though there are more carries to go around, there are even more players slotted in ahead of Lattimore.  First, there’s freshman LaMichael James, a 2nd-team All-Conference and 3rd-team All-American who became the feature back after LeGarrette Blount’s suspension and ran for over 1500 yards.  Masoli tallied the next most rushes, but then Kenjah Barner, another freshman, amassed 61.  Only 72 carries leave the program from a year ago, and Dontae Williams, a 4-star back, verbally committed to Oregon.  At Oregon, Lattimore would have to really stand out to gain carries in that crowded backfield for the length of his career.

Auburn: Auburn would offer immediate playing time for Marcus Lattimore, it would seem.  Auburn backs ran the ball 550 times in 2009, but Ben Tate graduates this year, and takes 263 carries with him.  The #2 running back, Onterio McCalebb, was a freshman last year, though, and took 105 carries for 565 yards.  A 4-star running back from a year ago, Dontae Aycock, took a redshirt season last year, and Auburn also already has a commitment from another one of the elite running backs in this class, Michael Dyer.  Though there will be plenty of carries up for grabs in 2010, Lattimore will be vying among other highly regarded players.  This is basically the Penn State prospectus had Royster chosen to leave.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks had a pretty bad rushing offense in 2009, running the ball 435 times for under 1600 yards–good for a 3.5 yards per carry average.  No South Carolina running back amassed more than 117 carries, and the offense clearly lacked a feature back.  However, two of the top three backs in that offense, Kenny Miles and Jarvis Giles, both freshmen, acquitted themselves well, with Miles rushing for 626 yards and a 5.4 average, and Giles had 277 yards on just 52 carries.  Brian Maddox, a junior was pretty bad and seems to have gotten more carries than he deserved, rushing the ball 100 times for less than 3 yards per carry.  Though South Carolina has no committed running backs this year, a 4-star back signed from last year’s class, Ben Axon, took a redshirt year.

Verdict: If Lattimore wants immediate playing time, South Carolina would be the best choice.  Being that he’s from South Carolina, it seems another check towards the hometown school.  However, Evan Royster’s decision shouldn’t make that much of an impact, considering how stacked the backfields of Oregon and Auburn are as well.

High School junior center, Peter Alexis of Holy Redeemer High School out of Wilkes-Barre has decided to join the Blue and White class of 2011. He becomes the 2nd player to commit to Penn State following point guard Trey Burke of Ohio. At 6’11″. ESPN’s recruiting service gives Peter a 91 rating.

[Update 12/15/09: ESPN has since dropped his rating to a 87 since this was first submitted. Thanks to Happy Hour Valley for pointing this out]

Prior to this season, Peter last saw action in the PIAA Class AAA basketball tournament where he led his team with 18 points in a losing effort against Susquehanna Twp in the first round.

A couple quotes from his fellow local sport writers:

Dave Konopki

PETER ALEXIS. The 6-foot-11 junior from Holy Redeemer will most likely become the most-highly recruited player from the WVC since Bishop O’Reilly center Dave Popson in the mid-1980s. And before anymore brings up Bob Sura — who played at Florida State — remember, the former GAR great wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school. You won’t be able to say the same thing about Alexis.

Times Leader

Alexis is already garnering interest from Division I college programs and that attention should continue to grow. He made huge strides in his game, becoming more aggressive and dominant inside. He led the Royals in scoring with an 18.6 average, nearly doubling his average as a freshman.

In his last game against Scranton, Peter Alexis led his team once again with 22 points. And like in Penn State fashion only converted 2 of 8 free throws.

He has expressed interest in pursuing a track in Penn State’s famed Engineering program and feels he will be able to contribute immediately following the graduation on our front court players when he arrives. Finally, Ed DeChellis reels in a big man. Welcome to the Penn State family Peter!