Penn State Recruiting Roundup (12.1.14): New Commits, New Interests, and A Look Ahead

Sirens, Sirens, Sirens

While it was certainly a disappointing final home performance for the senior class and the rest of the Penn State football team, that doesn't mean the weekend was a complete loss. On Saturday, just before game time, Penn State received a commitment from 2016 4 star QB Jake Zembiec (Rochester, NY). Zembiec is the #1 rated player in New York for the 2016 cycle, and seems to be a very good fit for Franklin and Donovan's offense.

But that wasn't all for this Thanksgiving weekend! On Sunday, after finishing up his official visit with the Nittany Lions, former Michigan commit, 4 star CB Garrett Taylor, verbally committed to Penn State. Taylor's commitment not only puts Penn State back into the 247Composite Top 10, but he becomes Penn State's highest rated recruit. Taylor had narrowed his choices down to LSU and PSU following his LSU visit, and was favored to become a Tiger by many. As we've seen before though, a visit to Happy Valley can be a powerful thing, and Taylor clearly felt the love from the staff and the commits. Sterling Jenkins told me that all of the commits at the game were doing their best to actively recruit the trio of official visitors, Taylor, Christian Wilkins, and Paris Palmer.

Caleb Bright

Caleb Bright is a currently unranked 2016 offensive lineman from the state of Iowa. He was a visitor this weekend for Penn State's matchup with Michigan State. He is also an avid reader of Black Shoe Diaries! But what has made Bright twitter-famous in the Penn State internet world the last few days though, is this-

How many recruits do you see doing this after a visit? pic.twitter.com/vJdDc98Xo9

— Tim Tolley (@TimTolley_PL) November 30, 2014

It's not a huge thing to send a quick thank you message to a coach on twitter, but it speaks volumes to the type of character Bright has. I got a chance to talk with him a bit on Sunday, and he told me that he loved the game day atmosphere and the fact that he finally got to meet Coach Hand in person. He was told by the coaches that he'll be invited back for a Junior Day in the future.

Bright has already visited Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa State, although is yet to hold an offer (he will return to PSU, Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana for Junior Days). He did say though, that the first school to offer will have an advantage in the end. He also said that he hears from Penn State, Iowa, Iowa State, Western Michigan, Western Illinois, and Florida Atlantic weekly.

Most importantly for Penn State fans, he told me that Penn State is his dream school. He is working hard to improve the areas that he knows he needs to improve in, such as overall speed and foot movement, but he is well on his way to earning an offer.

Qua'd Cheatham

Another under the radar visitor from this weekend was Qua'd Cheatham. Cheatham is a currently unranked CB/WR from Newark, NJ. He doesn't hold any D1 offers yet, but has interest from Penn State, West Virginia, Temple, and Rutgers. I spoke with Qua'd about the game, and he said that the atmosphere was crazy, even for a minimized crowd.

Cheatham missed most of his senior season due to injury, but still was able to make an impact with 5 interceptions (he had 7 his junior year), as well as 410 receiving yards and four touchdowns. As of right now, Cheatham is in the process of setting up a visit to Virginia, but wants to come back to Penn State as soon as possible. He is yet another example of someone who has Penn State as a dream school, and could very well end up becoming a preferred walk-on. He will most likely continue to be recruited as a corner. He told me that he views his ability to read the offense as his strongest skill on the field, which is partially why he is at his best in zone coverage. You can check out Qua'd's Hudl film, here.

A Quick Look at 2016

I want to get to the Big Board, so this will be quick. But just to get a feel for the 2016 class and what it could end up looking like, here is the list of guys who Penn State is focusing on and who have reciprocated that interest, along with their national composite rank.

• DT Rashan Gary (#3) ★★★★★
• DE Rahshaun Smith (#45) ★★★★
• OT Michal Menet (#64) ★★★★
• OT Jauan Williams (#65) ★★★★
• QB Brandon McIlwain (#148) ★★★★
• TE Cary Angeline (#217) ★★★★
• LB Keandre Jones (#246) ★★★★
• QB Dwayne Haskins (#52) ★★★★
• LB Brendan Ferns (#62) ★★★★
• WR Trevon Diggs (#86) ★★★★
• CM Damar Hamlin (#125) ★★★★
• DT Ellison Jordan (#159) ★★★★
• OG Parker Boudreaux (#225) ★★★★
• OT JP Urquidez (#230) ★★★★
• CB Patrice Rene (#282) ★★★★
• DE Terrell Hall (#313) ★★★★

2016 could be something really, really special.

Penn State Recruiting Class of 2015 Big Board

Current Commitments: 19

Notes: This edition of the offensive line board is a bit smaller than last time. That would be thanks to Matthew Burrell's commitment to Ohio State, and Emanuel McGirt's commitment to NC State. Burrell's commitment hurt, especially when it was reported that he was primed and ready to commit to Penn State following his visit. Maybe that means the commitment wouldn't have lasted, but we'll never know now. So instead, Penn State turns it's attention to two commits currently committed elsewhere. Newsome remains in a holding pattern until (if?) a new head coach is named at Michigan. To this point, Brady Hoke is still in charge. The big names that Michigan will be considering though, will be sure to draw in some big recruits in a similar manner to how Franklin drew in big names like Saeed Blacknall and Koa Farmer when he took over at Penn State.

Palmer is a Junior College guy who has been committed to South Carolina for a while. I asked Sterling Jenkins, who was at the game this weekend, about Palmer. He said that he wasn't sure where Penn State stood, but that he definitely enjoyed himself and likes the Nittany Lions. It doesn't look as if it will turn into anything at this point, but it's still too early to say.

Notes: Ouch. Losing Adam McLean due to academic reasons really hurts this 2015 Penn State class. At this point, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he is able to get his academics in line in time to make it to State College, so the staff needs new options. Christian Wilkins is still very much in play, and visited this past weekend. I was told by Sterling Jenkins that he seemed really comfortable there, and that he wasn't thrown off by the loss. He also added in that he thinks Wilkins will end up a Nittany Lion. As has been the case throughout his recruitment, it is unknown when Wilkins will commit.

I haven't talked to Robinson about his visit yet, but I spoke to him last week to get a feel for what he was looking for, so you can go back and check that out. Robinson was the first guy to receive an offer in the wake of McLean's decommitment, and the staff likes him quite a bit. He could be the next one to pull the trigger for the Nittany Lions.

I don't have much to add on Settle. He is certainly trending in the wrong direction, though.

The Black Shoe Big Board

As a quick reminder, my own personal Big Board is simply a list of the remaining recruits organized by probability of committing to Penn State combined with talent and potential. Sometimes it might be the same as Penn State's true Big Board, but we'll never know if it is because none of us are on the coaching staff.

1. Christian Wilkins
2. Ricky DeBerry
3. Shareef Miller
4. Tim Settle
5. Austrian Robinson
6. Nick Bowers
7. John Petrishen
8. Grant Newsome

Link$ and Other News

• Johnny Petrishen had an awesome time at Penn State, writes Sean Fitz.
• Garrett Taylor talks with Adam Friedman about his commitment.
• Jake Zembiec wants to be a leader for the 2016 class.
• Scout Spotlights! Shareef Miller, Steven Gonzalez, Sterling Jenkins, John Reid