Give me verbal #9 and a siren WHOOOOOO
A bit of a late Christmas present for us today as Penn State has swiped four star defensive end Anthony Zettel out from under the noses of the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans.
Zettel hails from West Branch, MI and was thought by many people to be down to Michigan and Michigan State for some time. He had an impressive offer list that included Iowa, USC, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, and Cincinnati besides the two Michigan schools.
Rivals and Scout both list the 6'4" 254 lb defensive lineman as a four star prospect. Scout considers him the No. 5 defensive end in the country while Rivals ranks him at No. 8. ESPN considers him an offensive guard and has this to say.
Shows good flexibility in a three point stance; comes off the ball with a good first step, explosion and a flat back. His pad level and fit when drive blocking allow him to move defenders off the line of scrimmage; has the ability to handle quick 1st and 2nd level defenders; can maintain contact in space. Plays on his feet well and gets quite a few pancake blocks with his explosive playing strength. This is a guy who should be able to handle all the blocks necessary for the guard position.
Zettel is the ninth verbal commitment for the class of 2011, and he's a huge addition at a position of need. And that's regardless of whether he plays guard, defensive end, or defensive tackle. Penn State's class is late in coming together, but it's continuing to gain momentum, and people close to the program are indicating the staff expects to finish with a class of 17 or 18 kids. If this is true, we should have a pretty active month ahead of us leading up to signing day.
Here's what you won.