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2009 Recruiting - Cornerbacks

Ok I’ve dragged my feet on this long enough. We need to wrap up this series so I can get to work on the 2009 recruiting chart. Let’s whip through the cornerbacks and then we have just the safeties to go.

2008 Cornerback Depth Chart
First String Second String Third String Fourth String
A.J. Wallace - Jr Devin Fentress - Jr Drew Astorino - rFr
Lydell Sargeant - Sr Knowledge Timmons - Jr Willie Harriott - Jr D’Anton Lynn - Fr

When you look at that depth chart you see a lot of juniors and seniors. I was hoping Penn State would have taken two cornerbacks in the last recruiting class, but we only got D’Anton Lynn. And he played safety in high school.

Cornerback is a desperate need for us this year. Sargeant is in his last year. Wallace may follow Justin King and enter the NFL early if he has a breakout year. He’s got the speed and athleticism to blow away the scouts in the NFL combine. Timmons and Harriott are both in the dog house, so who knows what their status is and if they can get it together. So this year I think it’s crucial that the Nittany Lions bring in at least three top notch cornerbacks. Here are the targets we’re going after.

Top Cornerback Prospects for 2009
Name Hometown Size
Darrell Givens Indian Head, MD 6-1, 180, 4.45
Vail Grafton Lawrenceville, NJ 5-7, 158, 4.72
Travis Hawkins Gaithersburg, MD 5-11, 185, 4.42
Darrell Mason Youngstown, OH 6-0, 209, 4.5
Abdul Smith Pennsburg, PA 6-1, 180, 4.49
Jordan Smith Steelton, PA 5-10, 180, 4.38
Damien Thigpen Manassas, VA 5-9, 170, 4.34

So there they are. We need three of them. Realistically I would be thrilled with two of them and a Plan B athlete type kid yet to be determined. The bottom line is we need bodies. Preferably fast bodies. Here is the projected scholarship allocation.

Projected 2009 Scholarship Allocation
Position Projected Scholarships
Quarterbacks 2
Running Backs 2
Wide Receivers 3
Guards/Centers 2
Offensive Tackles 3
Tight Ends 1
Defensive Tackles 2
Defensive Ends 2
Linebackers 2
Cornerbacks 3
Total 22