Unless you've been under a rock, you know that Penn State received its fifth verbal commitment of the 2014 class after the Blue-White Game in the form of De'Andre Thompkins, an athlete who is expected to play wide receiver in college. The North Carolina high schooler's pledge to attend Penn State gives the Nittany Lions four different skill position players in the 2014 class along with Troy Apke (WR), Mark Allen (RB) and Nick Scott (RB).
Next year is the first year that Penn State must be down to 65 scholarship players and while Bill O'Brien's run-on program seems to be successful in bringing in under-the-radar guys so far, there's no doubt that top-notch players are needed across the board in order for this team to stay successful in the last few years of NCAA sanctions. According to Willie's Mega-Roster, when accounting for the seniors who will graduate after this season, Penn State is saddled with 62 scholarship players which includes the five commits to the 2014 class. This means, obviously, that Penn State only has three more scholarships to hand out in the 2014 class unless there are transfers/dismissals/early entrants to the Draft.
Linebacker is already a spot of concern for the Lions as depth issues are already being talked about this season. Troy Reeder is a 2014 commit and maybe Zayd Issah will be a second down the road. No offensive lineman have committed. No defensive lineman have committed either, although, they're a relatively young group.
For this week's question:
Are you concerned with Penn State's 2014 class as of this moment? The haul is good now, but with limited space, should the focus be on spreading out the positions that get schollys? Or do you think O'Brien and staff think the run-on program can fill the gaps in line play, linebacking, etc.?
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