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Lloyd Tubman, ladies and gentlemen!
Stats:
Home/HS: Louisville, KY/Seneca Academy
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 230 lbs
Starz 'n Sheetz:
Stars: 4* 247; 3* Rivals, Scout, ESPN
Offer Sheet: Vanderbilt (had committed April 13, 2013), Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Western Kentucky (had committed March 19, 2013)
Cinema:
The Tale:
Lloyd Tubman, like Chance Sorrell, switched his commitment to follow James Franklin to Penn State. Like Sorrell, he had been one of the earliest recruits in their 2014 class to pull the trigger, and like Sorrell, he was a regional recruit that drew interest from the other programs in the area. Looking back on it now, it seems that when James Franklin pledged to dominate the region, he neglected to mention which region, exactly, he plans on dominating. Anyway, Tubman had decommitted after Franklin left Vanderbilt, and was looking most heavily at Kentucky, but as soon as Franklin offered to bring him along to Penn State, Tubman agreed.
Unlike Sorrell, though, we're hoping that his commitment doesn't portend the news that his would-be position coach will join CJF in State College; although Sean Spencer is a terrific and well-liked coach who shares a name with a television fake psychic, he's not Larry Johnson. Oh, and fun fact: like former Penn State LB Bani Gbadyu, Tubman was born in Liberia before moving to the Philadelphia as a young child, so he's got a Pennsylvania connection.
Outlook:
Tubman looks like a pass rushing specialist, as his highlights show a quick first step and terrific motor (facts buttressed by a reported 4.5-second 40); though it seems he's too small now to make an immediate impact at the next level, there's no reason to think a redshirt year wouldn't help his long-term prospects (see: Barnes, Deion). According to 247, he's done plenty of that already: he was a mere 5'11, 150-pound freshman, before bulking up en route to a breakout 23-sack junior season.
2013 saw his stock dip a little bit--he was downgraded by some from a 4-star prospect to a consensus 3-star guy, if you care about the charade--but clearly Franklin still thought highly enough of Tubman to invite him to flip his commitment to Penn State, and that's good enough for me, especially this late at night.
Welcome to Penn State, Lloyd!
