Another look at PSU's recruiting class

by RNF18 on Feb 5, 2009 1:35 PM EST

Speed kills! It separates the haves and the have nots more often than not. Having said that, PSU brought in the most speed in the Big Ten and that's a great sign for Penn Staters. I know that football isn't track but in recruiting it's probably the best tool for judging talent without first hand knowledge. Looking at the 3 national contending programs in the Big Ten, here's what I see according to Rivals:

PSU

Avg 40 = 4.62
# of recruits under 4.6 = 14
% of players at skill positions = 60%

OSU

Avg 40 = 4.66
# of recruits under 4.6 = 8
% of players at skill positions = 52%

Michigan

Avg 40 = 4.64
# of recruits under 4.6 = 7
% of players at skill positions = 61%

*These stats of course are based off of reported times. Some of the players did not have reported 40 times so they were not included. Skill positions include RB, WR, Ath, QB, TE & DB.

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Comments

Flordia Gators

average is 4.4….SEC..bastards

PSU Softball

by QBsneak12 on Feb 5, 2009 1:55 PM EST reply actions

Keep in mind...

….a 4.4 40 is faster in Florida than in Pennsylvania.

OMG ESSSSSSSSSSSS EEEEEEEEEEEEEE SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Speed.

WE ARE.......PENN STATE!

by Nick7 on Feb 5, 2009 2:02 PM EST up reply actions

Excellent point here: we are recruiting speed more than any other B10 school. Kids like Green and now Devon Smith add a dimension that the B10 is not used to seeing: blistering speed.

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

by millzners on Feb 5, 2009 2:22 PM EST reply actions

Great analysis.

I’d still like to get a few more of those 6’6-6’7, 300 pounders that run the 5.0 40. tOSU, and in the recent past , Wiscy and scUM seemed to get way more of those than we did. However, with Shrive, Gress and Cadagon are beginning to fit that mold! That’s exciting!

by PaJoe on Feb 5, 2009 4:01 PM EST reply actions

Here's another breakdown of each positions

DB – it looks like PSU overall got shorter, lighter, and slower DBs. We did however get more DBs than OSU and UM so hopefully a few of these guys will pan out and be contributors.

LB – even without Jenkins we appear to have done well at LB. Our recruits are taller than OSU and UM’s and they’re also the fastest of the bunch. UM appears to have gone really light at LB. This is probably indicative of Rich Rod implementing his defense from WVU. It’ll be interesting to see how this works in the Big Ten.

WR – we definitely went for heighth in this class. OSU appears to have gone the route of smaller and faster WRs. They got the fasters WRs in this class.

OL – it appears that all 3 staffs had the same philosophy. Big, tall, athletic OL. Hopefully this will pay off down the line when facing bowl opponents from the South.

DT – Michigan went the jumbo route while PSU and OSU went for lighter and more athletic DTs it would appear. I guess when you’re only playing 3 up from this is what you need to do. Again, another example of what PSU is going to face when the new Michigan defense is in place and running as RR wants it to.

DE – PSU stands out here because they got size without sacrificing speed. Another sign that LJ is still working his magic in Happy Valley and OSU and UM are playing catch up.

Ath – PSU definitely got some speed in their athletes. Of course with Smith we sacrificed size. Smith will probably be used as a returner anyway so size doesn’t matter all that much.

QB – OSU went with a thin QB that isn’t as mobile as the 2 QBs PSU and UM picked up. If OSU can’t lure a top QB to their program in the next class they could be hurting. OSU got a plan C QB.

RB – UM really went after the smaller RB in this class. Looks like they’re going to try and get RBs that will hide behind their big OL. OSU and PSU went after bigger backs and neither really sacrificed speed in order to get it.

TE – OSU is the only 1 of the 3 that went after a TE. They got a huge target at 6’8". He doesn’t have great speed so I assume he’s going to be utilized as more of a blocking TE.

What do you guys think of what the measurables are saying in these 3 classes? Anything else standout? Good or bad for PSU, OSU, or UM?

by RNF18 on Feb 6, 2009 9:41 AM EST reply actions