Penn State landed their first commitment for the class of 2009 when Bunn, NC offensive lineman Ty Howle committed to Joe Paterno during an unofficial visit this past weekend.
The 6'3" 295 pounder is projected to play center for the Nittany Lions after playing center his entire high school career. While playing for his head coach and father, Howle led his team to a 9-3 record and earned All-State Honors in North Carolina.
Though is offer list wasn't very impressive (East Carolina and Navy), most people agree this is a good pickup for Penn State. From looking at film it looks like this kid has that nasty streak that I love to see in an offensive lineman. If he gets his hands on you you're blocked. And when he blocks you he isn't happy unless you're eating grass and mud. We need a pure center to replace A.Q. Shipley. If Howle turns out to be that guy it will give us flexibility to move Wisniewski or Stankiewitch over to guard. Personally, I'm just glad we took a lineman with a name easier to spell than Wisniewski and Stankiewitch.
What really impressed me is that Ty just sounds like a really good kid.
...
Howle currently carries a 3.9 GPA in his core courses and overall GPA of 4.2 thanks to several honors classes he has completed. He intends to begin his college academic career in a general science major so he has options when he finally settles on a post-football profession. Right now his thoughts are ranging from chemical engineering to pre-med.
Welcome to the family, Ty. We are Penn State.