Playing Ketchup

I've been really lazy busy the past week or so, which is why I haven't been posting as often. But here's just a quick catch up session before Monday's First Look:

1. The Nittany Line has been doing a very good, very smart retrospective of Penn State's 2007 squad. The best part about it is that he's doing it unit-by-unit. This week's focus is on my personal favorite, the defensive line. Is there any other unit that has so much of an impact on a team? I mean, really, if you can't stop the other team from running the ball, you're screwed (see: Penn State 2003). I highly recommend reading TNL's work on this.

2. Bob Flounders had to pump out something this week. The offensive line will be a strength? Really? Damn people.

3. Dennis Dodd is pissing off Big Ten fans, again. And everyone else, for that matter.

4. 2theLion pointed out this week that Kansas sued (and won) a small T-shirt shop for violating copyrights on the COLOR BLUE. Yeah, it's interesting, and a bit scary that no one gives a rats ass about the First Amendment anymore.

5. And finally, Penn State's recruiting class for 2009 is looking really good. Ok, so it's not USC, Ohio State or Miami good, but you can't say these guys won't be able to win some championships in the near future. Lineman Nate Cadogan (yes, he's Gerald's brother), and wide receiver Christian Kuntz both committed to Penn State this week*. That brings the class total to 16, and it's not even August!

*I linked to BSD on these stories because there's no point in linking to the big two (Scout and Rivals) since it's old news now.

**I'd also like to remind everyone to cast your vote in the poll below the posts. And check out last week's results, too!

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Dukes and Gress make a two-fer

Just when we thought Penn State's early recruiting bonanza was over, two more pretty good high-schoolers said they're coming to the land of Paterno. Another mammoth lineman, Adam Gress, and (shock!) running back Curtis Dukes committed to Penn State just hours apart yesterday. I don't know about you, but this class isn't looking all that bad.

The thirteenth and fourteenth commits in the class of 2009 were rated somewhere in the upper-middle area for next year. Gress is rated by the "Big Two" (Rivals and Scout) with three stars, and Dukes was given three stars by Scout. Rivals hasn't rated him yet. (Ed. note-I said earlier how I hate the star-ratings, but for practical purposes, I'll still refer to them when discussing recruits.)

We can see that this is the kind of class which sets groundwork for a few years down the road. When was the last time Penn State has gone after so many offensive linemen? Sure, every class has a couple, but this one is very deep at the position. Combine that with the Lions' philosophical switch over to the spread offense (more often than before, at least), and it looks like the coaching staff is placing more emphasis on scoring points, rather than having to shut out opponents every week. I'm not trying to put the cart before the horse here, but these recruiting classes of late are head and shoulders above those from the turn of the century.

I still don't quite understand why many fans are freaking out about Penn State's lack of skill recruits. Not that long ago, we were blaming everything on the offensive line. EVERYTHING was the line's fault. Now that the guys up front are performing above retard level, all anyone can complain about is the (mythical) lack of skill players on Penn State's roster. As I said before, outside of a few recruiting classes like 1999 and 2000, Penn State's image as a recruiting failure is purely psychological. Coaching, bad breaks and a few bad apples all seem to converge at the wrong time for Penn State. Winning nine games shouldn't be acceptable for Penn State fans, but it's nothing we haven't seen before.

-Rivals list of PSU commitments.

-Scout list of PSU commitments.

By the way, Temple and CCU games will kickoff at noon on the BTN. I hate noon kicks. Oh well.

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Scout.com Releases Top 1k Ratings

Super Prep has revamped its top-1000 recruits for 2009. Penn State doesn't exactly light up the board, but it has some nice top-100 pickups in tackle Eric Shrive (No. 18 overall) and defensive back Darrell Givens (No. 71 overall). Other Penn State verbals in the top-300 were tackle Mark Arcidiacono (No. 285 overall) and defensive tackle Sean Stanley (No. 296 overall). Considering the old man "can't recruit" anymore, the 2009 recruiting class is in real good shape. Check out the link below.

Scout.com's Top-1000.

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Commit No. 12 :: Curtis Drake

This kid sounds like a real team player. I like that. Penn State should like that. He'll fit in well. And even though RUTS still doesn't have ZN on his blog roll, I'll shoot you over to him, since he was the first to have this story posted.

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Another "Rape of Maryland" in the works?

For all those who complain that Penn State has lost its recruiting edge in PA, NJ and OH, I have one for you. What about the constant flow of top-notch football players being sucked out of Maryland on a yearly basis? Yes, Penn State landed another great prospect in 6-foot-3, 164-lbs wide receiver Brandon Felder, out of Oxon Hill.

Check out coverage of Penn State's eleventh--yes, ELEVENTH--commit for the 2009 recruiting class:

BWI

FOS

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Penn State's recuiting rampage continues with No. 10

Defense continues to be Penn State's lucky star right now, as one of Maryland's top ends, Sean Stanley gave his word to play for the Lions next fall. Get BWI and FOS coverage on the newest addition to the program.

I'm too tired to write anything on this now. I'll have something tomorrow. G'night.

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LJ Sr. is a recruiting phenom

If there is one non-head coach recruiter who's proven his worth, it's Larry Johnson Sr. Saturday (I know, I'm a little late on this) Stephon Morris, a cornerback from Greenbelt, MD, committed to Penn State. As long as LJ Sr. is on the PSU staff, there's nothing to worry about.

Check out the stories here:

Rivals/BWI

Scout/FOS

Looks like the "we need defensive backs" argument is quickly fading into a former-argument.

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Penn State's busy recruiting day

All of the major recruiting Web sites are buzzing today with the rumor that one of the nation's top offensive linemen will commit to the Nittany Lions in the near future. That, coupled with the verbal from another highly regarded lineman, is cause for celebration among Penn State fans. Frankly, it's been a pretty damn good two weeks for Penn State recruiting.

Eric Shrive (West Scranton HS) is rated by Scout.com as a five-star recruit and the third best tackle for 2009. He's a four-star according to Rivals.com. (Not that the stars matter anyway, as previously discussed) Towering around 6'7", Shrive has the physical build to play early. He also fits Joe Paterno's preference for lean agility over mass. Shrive weighs between 285 and 300.

Since I hate the star rankings, I'll give you my opinion on how to correctly judge Shrive's potential on the collegiate level. Look at which schools offered him a scholarship: Pitt, Rutgers, Tennessee, Virginia, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, NC State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma. Most of those schools know how to recruit. A few more know how to get to BCS games. If they think Shrive can play, then he must have at least some talent.

Adding to the good news was Edison HS (Alexandria, VA) lineman Frank Figueroa. His good size (6'4" 275) indicates that Penn State is shifting its focus for lineman. More emphasis is being placed on size. Although he's not ranked very high, Figueroa will add precious depth to the offensive front. As of today, Penn State has seven verbal committments, most of which are top-50 position prospects. Not bad for late spring.

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A "defensive" weekend in Penn State recruiting

In one weekend, PSU lands 3 DBs, stealing one from Buckeyes

Updated 5/12/08

T o all those who are saying Penn State's lost its edge in recruiting: And what?! Darrell Givens, a highly-rated defensive back from Maryland, has backed out of his commitment to Ohio State. Where's his new home to be? Why, Penn State of course. But Givens wasn't the only one to commit Saturday to the Nittany Lions. This only proves my point that Penn State's recruiting is just fine.

Stephen Obeng-Agyapong also gave the nod to Happy Valley. The 5'11", 185-lb cornerback from NYC had other offers from Iowa, UConn and Buffalo before committing to Penn State.

Adding to this weekend's joy, Derrick Thomas committed Sunday night to play at Penn State. Thomas is a 6-foot, 177-lb defensive back/wide receiver prospect with good speed to go along with his size. He said Penn State was looking to get him in on both sides of the ball. We'll see how that turns out, but it's still a great pick up for the Nittany Lions. It seems that the defensive backfield will be just fine. After coming under a lot of pressure to sure up the depth on defense, Larry Johnson, Sr. has done a great job, again.

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