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.

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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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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3. Penn State Countdown: 73

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!

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Burke is a 5′11, 160 pound guard from Columbus, Ohio (the hometown of former Lion Jamelle Cornley). Scout.com has not yet ranked Burke, but Rivals awards him 3 stars, and rates Burke the #105 player in his class, the #23 point guard.  ESPN, as always, goes above and beyond, grading Burke an 88, and offering the following scouting report:

Trey is a scoring point. He has really raised his game this spring and summer. Trey led his team to the 16 & Under National Championship. He is tough, scrappy and a great competitor. Offensively Burke has a lot of moves and tricks. He has a good floater in the lane and an excellent pull up mid range game. Trey is also a solid jump shooter with range to 20 feet. He is a solid defender that is an excellent ball hawk. He seems to pick unsuspecting ball handlers about once every game. Trey has a solid basketball IQ. His grit, tenacity and competitiveness separate him from others.

There’s really a lot more there, and it’s all good stuff.  I suggest you check it out.

Burke drew interest from some good schools.  Rivals lists 8 written offers, from Butler, Akron, and Stephen F. Austin among other MAC and Horizon League schools, but some big time programs had also shown interest in the guard, with Cincinnati, Notre Dame, West Virginia, and Ohio State, among others, taking a long, hard, look at the youngster, and with another year and a half to go before he shows up on campus, there would be plenty of time for one of those programs to offer him a full scholarship.

Here is a highlight video, and he certainly looks like a very smooth player. I, for one, can’t wait to see him in the blue and white.

Football gets a dancing monkey. For basketball: ninja turtles.

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This might have been considered one of the most open secrets of the recruiting trail, as Fortt has been to Penn State on numerous occasions (6 times, dating back to the 8th grade), and was rumored to have given his commitment last weekend, when he visited Penn State and stood on the sidelines for Penn State’s loss to Iowa.  Still, Fortt maintained that Georgia and North Carolina were still in the mix, until today, when he definitively chose Penn State.  The Stamford Advocate gives us the real reason why Fortt chose Penn State:

Fortt had a great visit when he went to Georgia during the summer. He made an instant connection with coach Mark Richt and his staff, loved the campus and program and the school vaulted Penn State at the time.

Fortt made his official visit to Georgia on the weekend of Sept. 12 and saw the Bulldogs’ 41-37 win over South Carolina. Fortt, who has family in the area, said his mind changed when, on two different occasions, the players who were put in charge of showing him around abandoned him. On one instance, Fortt was left to wander the campus by himself early in the morning.”Two guys left me,” Fortt said. “I was left at a dorm party with people I didn’t know. Once I was just walking alone in the streets. Georgia is a school in the south, in a top conference, the SEC, the weather is warm, I have a lot of family there and the academics are good. It was all how I connected with the players.” Fortt came home and had pretty much decided he would commit to the Nittany Lions.

Thank you very much, Georgia players!

SI.com also reports Fortt’s commitment, and provides us with a couple of choice quotes:

“I picked Penn State because I thought it was a great institution and program where I could mature as a man and role model,” Fortt said. “All of the other colleges had wonderful aspects but Penn State had the ‘IT’ factor and full package, which set them apart from any other school for me.”

Penn State beat out USC, Michigan, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Miami, Florida, Oregon, and, in total, 30 other schools for the services of Fortt, who will enroll in January, and should help stock the cabinets at Linebacker U, along with 5-star recruit Mike Hull (no relation to Josh).

“They say in Happy Valley that if God wasn’t a Penn State, why is the sky blue and white?” said Fortt. “Who am I to argue with God?”

Fortt is rated as a 4-star outside linebacker prospect by both Scout and Rivals, though Rivals ranks Fortt as the #30 overall prospect in the country and as the #2 player at his position, nationally, while Scout scout only ranks the linebacker as their #5 OLB recruit.

On the other hand, ESPN sees the 6′2, 225 pound Fortt as an inside linebacker, and grades him as a 4-star player, an 81 overall, and as their #2 inside linebacker prospect.  As always, Scouts, Inc. provides a detailed video and scouting report over at ESPN:

Fortt is a strong, physically stout linebacker prospect and maybe one of the better projected strong side ‘backers in this class. Has all the physical attributes you look for in the position. Tall, thickly-built with explosive power and functional strength. High-cut frame but still plays with good bend in his knees, flexibility and leverage.

We would like to see him make quicker reads on the football between the tackles, but he still shows the good downhill burst to beat blockers to the point of attack and blow up the inside run. Can mirror with good short-area change-of-direction skill between the tackles. One of the better linebackers we have seen in this class at stalemating the cutoff block when reached at the second level and shedding demonstrating his impressive hand strength.

Does tend to open up his whole body and will need to work slipping the blocks of bigger linemen at the next level. Flashes good lateral agility and hips pursuing outside of the tackles with direct angles to the ball. Long strider who covers a lot of ground quickly sideline-to-sideline. Closes on the ball carrier with good burst and velocity in space.

Very strong, explosive tackler. However, he does flash some stiffness opening to turn and run on pursuit and in coverage. May struggle if matched up in space. Has some original wasted motion and we have concerns about his ability to consistently make plays inside-out on faster ball carriers at the next level. Not real reactive or fast-twitched. While he certainly shows good range and lateral agility for his size, physical tools and skill-set may be better suited in the short-range as a strong or inside ‘backer. We question his competition at times but he physically dominates which is what you want to see happen.

Fortt, who is also close friends with fellow PSU commit Silas Redd, a running back, was named to the U.S. Army Player of the Year watchlist last week, listing him as one of the top 30 players in the nation.  His commitment, today, will officially be made at a ceremony officially naming him to the U.S. Army All-American Game.  While an ACL sprain has slowed Fortt down, he should be able to return to action as early as next week.  Last year, as a junior, Fortt compiled 118 tackles, forced 4 fumbles, and snagged two interceptions.

Fortt becomes the 19th commitment for Penn State’s class of 2010, which keeps getting more and more impressive.  Though there have already been some highly touted players to commit for Penn State in this class, Fortt might just be the best yet.  The news of his commitment comes as no surprise to those who follow the recruiting trail, but it’s nonetheless a great moment for Penn State.  With only more a few more sports left in this class, and just a handful of blue-chippers left considering the Nittany Lions, Fortt’s commitment might be the last one for a while for Penn State.  Still, that doesn’t diminish the awesome efforts of the coaching staff in recruiting top high school talent this year, and hopefully strides are taken to ensure such great recruiting classes year after year.  Clearly, the most talented players in the nation want to come to Penn State.  Hopefully, soon, we can become a program that “reloads” and doesn’t have to “rebuild.”

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Ranked as the #1 prospect in my home state of New York, which has typically been very fertile recruiting grounds for Penn State, it seemed Easley was poised to go elsewhere, as rumors swirled that Easley was going to commit to Florida last month.  However, Urban Meyer apparently had second thoughts, and rebuffed Easley’s commitment.  Well, Florida’s loss is Penn State’s gain, as Easley is a major prospect on the national scene.

Both Scout and Rivals rate Easley as a 4-star prospect, with Rivals listing Easley as the #11 defensive end prospect in the nation.  The 6′3, 258-pounder’s offer sheet would reflect that status, as Easley holds scholarship offers from virtually every big time power from coast to coast, with schools like Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Miami, Texas Tech, Boston College, Tennessee, and UCLA losing out to Penn State in the Easley sweepstakes.

ESPN’s Scout’s Inc. lists Easley among their ESPNU150, as a 4-star prospect–scoring an 83 overall, and Penn State’s top commitment in their eyes–and has a nice scouting report, along with a video, on their site.

Easley is one of the quickest players off the ball in this class and at times it seems like he has the offensive huddle wired and knows the snap count. He possesses good size and can be disruptive because he can get going so quickly and explode through the gap to cause disruption in the backfield. Even operating from a two-point stance, he can get moving very quickly. While he has the ability to beat an offensive lineman off the ball, he is also physical. Does a good job of coming off the ball low and because he can generate so much power from his lower body, he can engage a blocker and knock him back.

He is good with his hands, but needs to be more consistent with his weapons. He displays the ability to come across the ball and breakdown. He displays good lateral movement to be able to side-step a block. He is a solid and, at times, physical tackler though he will miss some tackles because he is moving so fast and not totally under control. He has a good motor and solid straight-line speed. He can seem a little rigid in his overall body movement.

As a pass-rusher, he has the power to knock a blocker back and his get-off makes him dangerous. He needs to work to develop and incorporate some moves using his hands to help defeat blockers as competition will stiffen. It can be jaw-dropping at times how explosive Easley is. Still, a bit raw in some areas and often looks to be a notch better than his competition, but this kid has promise because it is tough to teach quickness off the ball like that.

It’s hard not to be impressed with a report like that, and with his offer sheet, well, it certainly seemed like Penn State secured a big commitment.  Just like the Nittany Lions loaded up on wide receivers and defensive backs in last year’s class, it seems that the defensive line has been a focus of emphasis in the 2010 class.  Easley joins Olaniyan, Dakota Royer, Kyle Baublitz, Evan Hailes, and DaQuan Jones as Penn State commitments along the line, and Shariff Floyd, a big time defensive tackle, still has Penn State in the mix.  With the war of attrition being what it is, Penn State is going to manage to squeeze even a couple more players into what was originally thought to be a 15 or 16 man recruiting class.  No matter who those last few players are, this could go down as Penn State’s best recruiting class in their illustrious history.

Related Posts:

1. Dominique Easley Decommits from Penn State, Needs Geography Lesson
2. Kevin Haplea Commits!
3. The Commits Keep Rolling In: Kyle Baublitz Makes 8

As if the commitment from the nation’s top fullback wasn’t enough for the coaching staff, CJ Olaniyan from Warren Mott in Michigan verbaled to Ron Vanderlinden and Penn State today. A four-star prospect by Rivals and Scout,  CJ Olaniyan is ranked the #16 weakside DE nationally (#18 on Scout) and #7 player overall from Michigan. He joins quarterback Robert Bolden as the second player to commit to the Lions from Michigan.

Olaniyan also held scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa, Miami (Fl), Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA and Virginia Tech.

This is what his high school coach, Tom Milanov had to say about the athlete:

“He visited a lot of places in the late winter and the spring, and Penn State was one of the places he felt most comfortable with. He really liked the coaching staff, the environment there, the graduation rates, the academic offerings, and the whole big picture. It really fit what he wanted, he said. He weighed all of his options and thought it through for a while, and came to that conclusion.”

“I think he’s going to be a pass-rushing type of defensive end, the rush end type of position, away from the tight end, and be able to initially defend the pass and then grow into a run stopper as well.”

In his junior season at Warren Mott, he racked up 85 tackles, including 14 for losses, and 9 sacks. He also played on the offensive side of the ball hauling in 33 passes for 536 yards and 33 touchdowns as a tight end. Olaniyan plans on majoring in either criminal law or communications during his time here at Penn State.

Youtube goodness, watch this kid in action on the defensive end. Absolutely a beast!

Cue the dancing monkey, welcome to the fold CJ!

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1. Penn State picks up uninspiring win against Syracuse
2. When it Rains it Pours (but in a good way): Dominique Easley Commits to Penn State
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