Advanced Skills Camp Recap

This past Saturday (6/22/13), Penn State hosted their Advanced Skills Camp. There were many standout performances, and the coaching staff extended 5 new offers.

New Offers (Year) (School) (Position) (Stars According to 247)

Rashan Gary (2016) (Scotch Plains-Fanwood (NJ)) (DT) (Not Yet Rated)

Van Jefferson (2015) (Ravenwood (TN)) (WR) (Not Yet Rated)

Austin Clark (2015) (Rockbridge County (VA)) (OL) (4*)

Tristen Hoge (2015) (Highland (ID)) (OL) (4*)

Kareem Ali Jr. (2015) (Timber Creek (NJ)) (CB) (4*)

The fact that Gary was one of the younger players at the camp, and earned an offer, says a lot about his performance. Jefferson is the son of current Tennessee Titans Wide Receiver coach, Shawn Jefferson. Clark holds offers from PSU, Duke, UNC, and UVA so far. I got a chance to speak with Hoge before the camp, and he was very excited to meet the coaches and make an impression, which he was clearly able to do. Ali is reportedly very high on Penn State, although it is a little early on for him to be naming a top group.

Two other recruits that stood out were Patrice Rene (2016) (St. Peter (Ontario)) (DB) and Jonathan Sutherland (2017) (Lester B. Pearson (Ontario)) (DB). It would seem that with Akeel "Big Maple" Lynch, and Michael O'Connor, Penn State is developing somewhat of a Canadian Pipeline. So that's pretty neat. I spoke with Sutherland, and he told me that he had a great time at the camp and got to meet with Coach Midget. He's planning on coming back this season for a game, and although he acknowledged it is too early for him to be making a top group, he said he really likes Penn State. So these are two to watch for the future. Chad Smith (2015 LB) also had a good camp, and could be offered early into his junior year football season. Here's ESPN's take ($?) on the camp as well.

2014 Recruit Tidbits

2014 DB Malik Hooker named his top 5 yesterday, which included Penn State, Pitt, OSU, WVU, and Michigan (In no particular order). He's planning on taking ($) two official visits to Michigan and WVU (The 2 he has not yet seen). He may be rising up the board.

A few other notes, as some changes have come about since my Roundup. Penn State extended an offer to Antoine White (2014) (Millville (NJ)) (DT) (3*). White was given his offer without attending the camp this weekend, after not being able to make it to campus (ESPN story here $). Despite only recently receiving the offer, he is reportedly high on the Lions.

Another recent PSU offer, Qadree Ollison, named his top 5 yesterday.

My top 5 schools in no specific order are; Penn State Pittsburgh Rutgers Syracuse Wisconsin

— Qadree Ollison #⃣7⃣ (@QOllison) June 24, 2013

With all of these things in mind, and the seemingly strong mutual interest between both parties in each case, I am led to believe that O'Brien must not like where he sits with the other recruits on their board. Cory Johnson is reportedly not being considered anymore due to grade concerns, leaving the Penn State Board to consist of (roughly) the following names...

RB: Qadree Ollison

TE: Mike Gesicki

OL: Alex Bookser

DL: Thomas Holley, Derrick Nnadi, Ricky Walker, Antoine White

DB: Dravon Henry, Montae Nicholson, Troy Vincent Jr., Malik Hooker, Anthony Davis

With Henry and Holley both poised to take their time, anything is possible with these last 4 spots. The staff may even continue to hand out offers, like they did for Ollison and White. A group of players is planning to visit on Wednesday, including Troy Vincent Jr., Ricky DeBerry (2015 LB), and maybe Alex Bookser (Trip may be in doubt now). That being said, since I was asked on twitter, my tentative prediction for who rounds out the class is as follows..

Troy Vincent Jr., Antoine White, Dravon Henry, and Ricky Walker.

There are a whole mess of things that can occur from now until my next post, so this prediction can, and will change.

ALSO, the rosters for The Opening (Beaverton, Oregon) (June 30-July 3) have been announced. Current Penn State commit De'Andre Thompkins will be there, as well as PSU targets Thomas Holley (DT), Minkah Fitzpatrick (2015 CB), Montae Nicholson (DB), and Troy Vincent Jr. (DB). Updates will come when available.

Follow @BSDtweet on Twitter
And join us on Facebook
All BSD community members should review our current Posting & Commenting Policies before creating any posts or commenting.