2010 Recruiting - Running Backs

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.

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.

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