Nittany Lions Land Verbal #10

by BSD on Nov 11, 2007 10:16 PM EST in Penn State Recruiting Comment 15 comments

It's been a long quiet period in recruiting since Jack Crawford committed to Penn State back at the end of August, but the silence was broken this weekend when Celina, Texas defensive back D'Anton Lynn made a verbal pledge to play college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Scout ranks the 6'1" 177 lb defensive back as a four star prospect and the #17 safety in the country. Rivals ranks him a three star prospect and the #25 safety in the country. Rankings are cool and all, but I put more emphasis on the offer list when I try to gauge a high school recruit, and Lynn has a very impressive one. Southern Cal, Florida, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma all went after Lynn, but in the end the Nittany Lions defensive backs coach Brian Norwood was able to use his Texas connections to seal the deal.

I project this class will have two defensive backs, one corner and one safety. This fills the safety spot, though some people project Lynn may play cornerback. He's a highly versatile player that plays corner, safety, and linebacker on defense as well as wide receiver and running back on offense.

This small class is rounding out very nicely. We have two good offensive linemen, two defensive ends, two good running backs, and more stud linebackers than most schools see in a decade. We have nine spots filled out of a class I project to have 14-15 scholarships available. Our pressing needs include a quarterback, two wide receivers, one more offensive tackle, a tight end, and another defensive back.

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Hmm

It's somewhat suspect to me that none of the Texas programs offered him

by stonewall435 on Nov 11, 2007 11:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Actually

Texas Tech went after him really hard.

The whole state of Texas is full of recruits, and Texas and Texas A&M really wrapped up their recruiting classes very early this year. They were basically done recruiting when everyone else was getting started, so maybe they just missed him or they're not looking for defensive backs this year. Who knows.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Nov 11, 2007 11:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good points

Didn't know that about Tech, which is a good sign that at least some local school went after him.

I think who's around him on his HS team plays into it too, it's entirely possible that some other player is getting all the HS coach's attention.

by stonewall435 on Nov 12, 2007 5:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Looking to be a nice class

If JoePa leaves after next year, the new coach will have a ton of talent to work with. The majority of top recruits on the team now are freshmen and sophomores. The senior class that is graduating had a couple of big studs (Connor, Morelli, Scott) but not the depth that these recent classes have had.

I'd like to see us land Deion Walker, AJ Alexander, DJ Woods, and hopefully an OT or two. Terrele Pryor would be nice but I don't think that's happening.

Get up State.

by speedomike02 on Nov 12, 2007 8:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Studs?

Morelli and Scott studs? Yeah, I guess 5 years ago we all had high hopes....

by Jen on Nov 12, 2007 10:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Oops

I should have clarified. When I studs I meant highly rated out of high school. I realize that doesn't always translate to success (Morelli and Scott are perfect examples), but the more talent and depth of that talent you have, the better you will be. My point was that this graduating class isn't deep on that talent, but that the younger classes are.

Get up State.

by speedomike02 on Nov 12, 2007 11:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pryor

I dont know how much of this is true. But my brother told me Pryor is leaning towards PSU because of the chance of playing earlier at QB. I asked him his source and he told me a former teammate of TPs who graduated last year from jeanette.. so take it for what that is worth I won't be suprised if he is a buckeye though.

by carolinaeasy on Nov 12, 2007 10:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pryor

I think it will go a long way with him if our basketball team proves to be competitive this year. He has to realize he could be an instant star on our team. He may go deep into the playoffs if he goes to Ohio State, but he'll be riding the bench. He'll get a lot of playing time at PSU. If we show him we can get him to the tournament I think we can land him.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Nov 12, 2007 11:10 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Texas Connections

coach Brian Norwood was able to use his Texas connections to seal the deal.

I thought I saw or heard the other day that PSU had no football players on scholarship from California, Florida or Texas ... just how good could Norwood's Texas connections be?

by PSUinTN on Nov 12, 2007 10:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Norwood

I believe he was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for a while. I think I also read that he and Lynn's dad were teammates in college or something.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Nov 13, 2007 8:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was correct

Norwood did coach at Texas Tech. He also coached at Arizona, Richmond, and Navy.

http://www.broadsideonline.com/02-26-2007/Sports/NorwoodPreparesforFinalTournament.htm

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Nov 13, 2007 8:59 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Recruiting

It appears that Penn State is in a transition period in recruiting. Instead of just focusing on PA, OH, NJ, and MD they are taking a more national approach. They're not just going after the best running back in PA or the best linebacker in NJ. They're now going after the best recruits in the country. This is really the second year in that transition. You can imagine it takes a few years to build relationships with high school coaches outside of our normal recruiting ground. So hopefully we'll start seeing more recruits from those areas in the coming years. Lynn may be just the beginning.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Nov 13, 2007 9:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Recruiting

Do you think that might be because Pitt, VT, WVU, BC and Rutgers seem to be doing so much better around here?

I like the national idea, but is this strategy related to the fact that PSU suddenly has a lot more competition?

by CDRS on Nov 13, 2007 12:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No

I think the level of local competition is rising because PSU is passing on the local three star kid to go after the four star kid in Texas or the five star kid in North Carolina. Those three star kids are going to the Rutgers and West Virginia's now, but thankfully not the Pitt's. (Insert Nelson Ha-Ha! here).

I think Penn State just realizes if they are going to be competitive with teams like Ohio State and Michigan they have to recruit like them. The population of Pennsylvania is declining as are the populations in Ohio and Michigan as people move south and west to warmer climate. This means fewer local prospects. Michigan and Ohio State realized their talent pool was shrinking and adjusted their tactics accordingly. Penn State was a little slow in adjusting, but they're getting it now.

It's a risky strategy. You can land some monster recruiting classes. Once you get one or two kids the rest seem to follow. But if you whiff on a few early the others may follow suite and pretty soon you find yourself scrambling to get into the game late with those local three star kids to salvage your class.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Nov 13, 2007 6:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs