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According to a report at Blue White Illustrated, incoming freshman Troy Apke, recruited to play wide receiver at Penn State, has moved to the defensive backfield and will play safety for the Nittany Lions in 2014.
Apke was an all-state wide receiver in Pennsylvania, combining for 94 catches, 1,776 yards and 20 touchdown catches in his final two years at Mount Lebanon High School. It was enough to earn him three stars from the recruiting services and an offer from Penn State, one that he would cash in on, spurning the hometown Pitt Panthers. He's fast (4.4 in the 40) with size (6'1", 185) which makes safety a ideal spot for Apke.
From Apke's high school coach via BWI:
"I've been coaching for 26 years and he is by far the fastest player that I've ever coached," Melnyk said earlier this summer. "He's one of the fastest that I've ever seen on the football field. He has sort of a long stride, so he covers a lot of ground. So sometimes I think it looks like he's moving slower because he's covering so much ground with each stride."
Apke's move is probably one slightly forced by Penn State's recent recruiting strategy, one that has seen them bring in seven wide receivers between the 2014 (Apke, Saeed Blacknall, Chris Godwin, De'Andre Thompkins) and 2015 (Irvin Charles, Juwan Johnson, Brandon Polk) classes. Couple that with the amount of pass-catching talent at the tight end position and the skill set on the offensive side of the ball is stacked for the upcoming years. Wherever he ends up on the field, Apke has all the talent to make an impact for the Nittany Lions.
