In case you somehow missed it, Camp Hill (Pa.)/Cedar Cliff tight end Adam Breneman committed to Penn State on Friday night, choosing the Nittany Lions of around 35 other offers. He is widely considered the best tight end in the country and his addition further bolsters an already strong Penn State recruiting Class of 2013.
Adam spoke with Black Shoe Diaries after some of the excitement had settled down. For Breneman, however, the real work is just beginning.
(via Fight On State)
BSD: What has the past 48 hours been like for you?
Breneman: It's very exciting. It's a great feeling to have my mind made up, and let the whole world know where I'm going. I'm excited, and really happy and proud to be a part of the Penn State family.
BSD: What's next? You've said in the past that you want to get some other guys to come along with you. Who are you targeting?
Breneman: I already started talking to some guys, I've made contact with quite a few guys. [PA LB Alex] Anzalone, [WV WR Ryan] Switzer, [PA RB David] Williams, [PA WR Robert] Foster, and a bunch of guys I've talked to already. I think we're going to put together a really good recruiting class come Signing Day.
BSD: Do you think some of these guys, or others, will be joining you any time soon?
Breneman: I think so. I think a lot of guys are starting to see the attitude that they can do something special at Penn State. I don't know when, but the pretty near future we'll get a few more guys as well.
BSD: What about Penn State specifically - what set it apart from the other schools that you were considering?
Breneman: It would have to be Coach O'Brien and the way that he has developed tight ends in the NFL. The type of coach that he is, and all the resources he has coming from the NFL, and just seeing what he did at New England with Gronkowski and Hernandez. Being able to watch film with him and seeing how I would be able to fit in those roles.
We sat down [during the Junior Day visit] for a good bit and watched film on Gronkowski and Hernandez. He said that I would start off in the Hernandez role, we call it the F tight end, which is kind of the more athletic tight end.
BSD: You still have a year left at Cedar Cliff. What are the expectations for your senior season?
Breneman: We return a lot of skill guys, but we lose a lot of linemen. If we have time to throw the ball, and show up on defense, I think we could make a run at a district title.
[Class of 2014 recruit Andrew Ford] is a heck of a quarterback, and I've been really blessed to play with him and a few other quarterbacks in my high school career. He's my best friend, so hopefully he decides to follow me to Happy Valley. He'll get a bunch of offers; a lot of schools are already recruiting him. It's still really early for quarterbacks in the sophomore class.
BSD: What do think about Christian Hackenberg committing? Is he a good mix with you?
Breneman: I've gotten to know Christian very well, I talk to him all the time. We've connected really well. Obviously having someone like Christian that is such a high-ranked quarterback, and the talent and leadership that he has, is such a big bonus for me, knowing that I have someone like that to throw me the ball.
BSD: Finally, one thing we hear a lot about following recruiting is negative recruiting. Did you experience any of that, and if so, what did other schools say to negatively recruit?
Breneman: I've heard a lot of negative recruiting, not just about Penn State but other schools as well. I think it's something that all the schools use, and to an extent I think it's a thing that has to be used. The schools do a pretty good job at not over-using it, but they do point out the negatives about other schools.
A lot of schools felt that Penn State was high on my list, so they tried to use negative recruiting towards Penn State, but it wasn't really bad at all.
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