2010 Recruiting - Running Backs - Black Shoe Diaries

2010 Recruiting - Running Backs

by BSD on Feb 20, 2009 8:00 AM EST in Recruiting Comment 37 comments

Earlier this week we looked at 2010 recruiting as it pertains to quarterbacks. So today we'll look at the running back situation. As before, let's take a look at the roster.

2009 Running Backs
Seniors	Larry Federoff (FB) *
Juniors	Evan Royster Brent Carter
Sophomores	Stephfon Green Brandon Beachum Joe Suhey
Redshirt Freshmen	Mike Zordich (FB)
True Freshmen	Curtis Dukes

* - Denotes walk on

Unlike recent years, running backs are not a huge need for us this year. Royster and Carter have two years left while Green and Beachum each have three. Mike Zordich will most likely take over the fullback duties for the departed Dan Lawlor. I suspect that the coaches would like to redshirt Dukes if they can. But Carter is recovering from a torn ACL. Green broke his ankle in the Rose Bowl. Royster tweaked his knee and has suffered from minor bumps and bruises his entire career. If the bodies continue to hit the floor, Dukes may be forced to play.

The rule of thumb for recruiting is you usually want to look two years down the road. Basically, you want to look at your projected depth chart two years from now and plan accordingly. In two years Royster will be gone, and if Carter's knee doesn't force him to take a redshirt he'll be gone too. But we should still have Green, Beachum, and Duke with the first two running out of eligibility. Given the limited number of scholarships I think Penn State will probably only take one running back in this class and one in the next class.

Top Targets

The talk of the message boards is Stamford Connecticut running back Silas Redd. He's a highly sought after recruit that is seeing early interest from Boston College, Connecticut, Rutgers, Virginia, and Texas. That's right, Texas. When Mack Brown is willing to leave the borders of the Lone Star State, you know a kid is special. But Redd will be visiting Penn State in March and there is speculation that we can expect an early verbal from him. According to this site, Penn State is his dream school. (Left sidebar down on the page)

Corey Brown from Springfield, PA is rumored to be another top target. He attends the same high school as Mark Wedderburn and Tom Savage. Penn State is rumored to have offered him, but so far he seems to be giving the Nittany Lions the cold shoulder. He seems set on going to school out of state somewhere. I'm not optimistic about our chances with him.

2010 Scholarship Allocation
Estimated Total	18-20
Quarterbacks	1-2

View links for previous summaries

0 recs | Comment 37 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Why Zordich at FB

He is a stud LB from most accounts, why not move Colesanti over there for 2 years.

CC didn’t sniff the field at LB

by SweepTheLeg on Feb 20, 2009 8:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'll trust Vandy & Galen on this one

Having excess depth at LB sets us up to be able to shift some of them around to other positions depending on their size and skills (go ahead and call me Captain Obvious); and it allows the coaches to cherry pick the best of the bunch to stay at LB. If Vanderlinden and Hall agree that a particular kid would make a better fullback then I say, by all means, shift him over. Of course there’s also the possibility that we don’t have any potential fullbacks among our LBs, but we do have one or more who can play SS- in that case I would think we’ll want to recruit for size rather than speed this year. This is why I like the philosophy of recruiting based on athleticism and flexibility rather than some recruiting guru’s idea of ‘greatness’ at a particular position- it keeps you from getting in a pinch a year or two down the road.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Feb 20, 2009 8:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Zordich at FB

Probably because he has experience there. Zordich was an excellent fullback in high school. Colasanti has been playing linebacker for the past two years now. We may be past the point of return to teach him a new position.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Feb 20, 2009 8:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Trust me

He probably played O for most of his life, 2 years at LB will not erase that experience.

by SweepTheLeg on Feb 20, 2009 9:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

To be fair, though-

Don’t most athletically gifted high school kids end up playing both ways at some point?

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Feb 20, 2009 9:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

From what I hear, Mike has been going both ways for years...

by SweepTheLeg on Feb 20, 2009 10:34 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Easy now...

Mike gives us a (usually) fine product.

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and all that.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Feb 20, 2009 10:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

maybe he likes biting, too, though

ever thought of that?

by The JuggerNitt on Feb 20, 2009 1:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

insert Marv Albert joke here

by The JuggerNitt on Feb 20, 2009 1:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hey now!

--
Mr. Bob Dobalina

by Run Up The Score on Feb 20, 2009 11:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

31

needs to come off Zordich if he is playing FB. 31 is for great LBs. Just like 44 at Cuse, 3 at Notre Dame, and 1 at Michigan.

PSU Softball

by QBsneak12 on Feb 20, 2009 12:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That is a little confusing

he was recruited as an LB – but it makes sense – there is quite a lot of talent at LB – especially from his class.

and, of course, he and Beachum went to high school together – if the youngsters see playing time due to injuries – it’s always nice to have some continuity -

still love his dad.

by PSUgirl on Feb 20, 2009 11:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Forget about Corey Brown

Everything I’ve read says he’s SEC bound — kids like that are a waste of time.

Silas Redd on the other hand, he seems to adore PSU to a degree I haven’t seen. He even made a user name and left some messages on some recruiting message boards in a PSU forum. Very good sign if you ask me…

"We hugged as grown men do. It was a great moment. Then, it was business as usual." -- LJ Sr.

by millzners on Feb 20, 2009 9:06 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I love seeing when a kid lists Penn State as a "dream school"

KInda feels like we’re joining the USCs, UFs, NDs, etc

"The sea was angry that day, my friends." G. Costanza

by NJ lion on Feb 20, 2009 9:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

and the question still remains

Kerry Collins poster on bedroom wall? [yes/no]

by The JuggerNitt on Feb 20, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Though I guess it'd more than likely be a Ki-Jana Carter poster

by The JuggerNitt on Feb 20, 2009 1:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My one roomate was friends with Shelly Hammond's

girlfriend. Every once and awhile she would bring him over for dinner (living on Pugh St above Gumby’s at the time). Not knowing he was going to be over, another roommate had the weekly Blue White (?) hanging on the wall in the living room – the one with him on the cover – he was stiff arming a defender (ala Heisman) on the way to a TD.

Of course Shelly saw it kinda did a shrug eye roll, and had dinner, hung out and left without mentioning it. Of course we all felt kinda creepy with hero worship.

pinkertonpark.com - you owe yerself a laugh.

by rahpsu92 on Feb 20, 2009 1:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Cool

I used to live in those apartments above Gumby’s too. Good times.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

by BSD on Feb 20, 2009 1:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

is it weird that I have a BSD Mike poster hanging in my living room?

I just can’t get enough of those jorts!

by The JuggerNitt on Feb 20, 2009 1:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not weird at all,

as far as you know. ;-)

Besides, I’m under the impression that Jorts are de rigeur for most sartorially conscious Texans – especially this time of year.

'People are about as happy as they decide they want to be'

by Pete the Streak on Feb 20, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Silas Redd

The article mentions that Penn State is his dream college but BC is his “rooting for” college. Go figure. But the good thing is that Redd likes to “chill wit my crew aka roc boys stand up!” So we’ve got that going for us…

by PSUJunny05 on Feb 20, 2009 9:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Funny thing there

Being that he’s from Connecticut, I can understand the affection toward BC, but it reminds me of being in the Boston area several years ago when there was some heavy consideration for moving the Patriots to Connecticut. I was listening to people call into a radio show and wail about how ‘Connecticut is not part of New England’ and such. I’ve also heard the stories about how BC is kind of the bastard child of Boston sports, and I really have to wonder how much enthusiasm there is in the community for any kid who is considering playing there- definitely not a concern among PSU fans.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Feb 20, 2009 9:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

NE

Having lived in Boston for a 1 1/2 now I can say this, nobody up here cares about BC unless they went to B.C. this is a Red Sox town first and foremost. Everybody else takes a back seat even when they are winning. College football is non existant. I wear a PSU hat way more than I see BC stuff. They just dont care. We should have our pick of kids from up here.

"I've gotto go with PSU. Ill make that pick every year till I die, and eventually it's gonna happen. Hear me now."- LL Cool J

by psuaar on Feb 20, 2009 11:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Bill Simmons

Back in ‘07, Simmons got flak from some of his readers for refusing to congratulate BC on their good season they were having. I can’t remember why, but he wouldn’t even state the name of the school, just “a certain Catholic university in New England having their best season in decades”.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

by ReadingRambler on Feb 20, 2009 11:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, that's it...

those stories.

There is a tractor in the parking lot, West Virginia license EIEIO. Your lights are on.

by leeharvey418 on Feb 20, 2009 11:26 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Simmons

went to Holy Cross…maybe it is a rival thing.

PSU Softball

by QBsneak12 on Feb 20, 2009 12:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that’s part of it, at least.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

by ReadingRambler on Feb 20, 2009 12:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think

I think a big part of it is that Simmons is simply a douche.

Luring recruits with my new "Posting HD" scheme since '08.

by 06Lion on Feb 20, 2009 12:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You think so?

I rather enjoy some of his (non-nba) writing, and find him entertaining, but respect some others might not agree. Could you elaborate on your estimation of doucheyness?

In fact, could be a similar situation to one mr. david jones, in that some like, some don’t. I think a poll is in order here!

pax et amor

by jtothep on Feb 20, 2009 12:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Zug

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

by ReadingRambler on Feb 20, 2009 1:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He's boring

I initially liked reading his stuff. But then after awhile, you can only take so many “Belichick is a genius-the Red Sox are legendary-the Celtics are a new dynasty-Boston is the best city in the history of the world-hey, here is my wife, throwing her opinion out there whether you care to read it or not” pieces. He’s a hack that recycles the same column over and over, and sprinkles in some pop culture references at random times, like Family Guy does.

And I hate whiners. When the Spygate story broke, he cried and complained that the Patriots were getting a raw deal because they were too successful. Then when the Giants stopped their historic 19-0 season, he was suicidal. The guy is a sore winner and a sore loser.

Luring recruits with my new "Posting HD" scheme since '08.

by 06Lion on Feb 20, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I enjoy reading him

I just filter out any of his homerism stuff (I’m a Yankee fan, so I sometimes get a kick out of his fellating of the Red Sox…but man 2004 and 2007 wieren’t fun years to read him :-p).

I’ve never been a pro-bball fan, but reading his accounts of the Celtics over the years (and how crappy they were), and then when they had the huge spark with the addition of KG and Allen, I actually found myself rooting for them.

He is a douche, though, but that’s some of the fun in reading him. You are right that he recycles a lot of his content. Also, ever since he started doing his podcasts, he doesn’t write nearly as often (probably because he uses up most of his content in those podcasts). I don’t really have time to listen to podcasts straight through (I like reading articles/blogs/message boards in lots of little chunks here and there), so I’ve mostly stopped following him.

As for having his wife write sections, you don’t have to read those little sidebars. I actually found it kinda amusing, since it started with him trying to see if his wife (who doesn’t follow football at all, and makes picks based on random stuff) could outpick him (someone with self-professed “knowledge” and "systems") over a season. Her only requirement was that she got to write a blurb about whatever she wanted, for every week’s set of picks. I found it quite amusing that she beat him soundly the first year, beat him the second year, but I think he just barely beat her out this third year.

by The JuggerNitt on Feb 20, 2009 1:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs