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Sometimes, there isn't much recruiting news between Tuesday and Friday. Though it's been rare this year, this is one of weeks. So instead, I'll give you the news and we'll play a game in the comments, much like we did in the depth chart post. Let's get interactive engagement going friends! But first...
A Very Important Lavert Hill Update
Lavert Hill is still committed to Penn State. This is a big deal, since Jim Harbaugh tried to work Khaki devil magic on him last week. Quinn Nordin seemingly already re-affirmed his commitment, and while Hill can and should take all the time he needs to make the decision that's best for him and his family, the further we get away from that date with his commitment in hand, the better.
Vert, for his part, did a great job trolling recruitniks when he sent out this tweet:
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT @ 8:30 ❗️❗️
— Ghost (@VertHill21) October 27, 2015
Assuming the worst, Penn State twitter had a minor aneurysm. However, it ended up being a new highlight video on Hudl, which I highly recommend. The video starts with Vert returning a rolling kickoff for a touchdown and never lets up, showing exactly why he's so coveted. Grade A trolling, young gun.
2018 isn't so far away, so do work James
The #1 tight end, #2 player from PA, and #18 player overall in the class of 2018 is Camp Hill, PA tight end Zack Kuntz. 6 crystal ball predictions already have him ending up at PSU, and according Ryan Snyder and the folks at BWI, he'll be returning to State College for another visit this weekend. Here's Kuntz's highlight video, which will make you feel bad about yourself because a high school sophomore could kick your ass. He's 6'7", 201 lbs, and he's a year-and-a-half from junior prom.
Micah Parsons gets some time to clear his head
Speaking of the class of 2018, its #3 player overall and #1 defensive player, Central Dauphin defensive end Micah Parsons, has been suspended for multiple games for violations of team rules, according to 4th Down Magazine. Hopefully, whatever happened was minor and a few games off gets Parsons back together. He's a high school sophomore, these things happen. Nothing to get too worried about. Parsons had 10 sacks and 17 tackles for loss this season, and is widely expected to end up at Penn State. His Hudl page is more snippets than full videos, but it's pretty great regardless.
Let's play the prediction game
So, you're James Franklin for the second time this week. It's September 1st, 2018 at the newly remodeled and upgraded Beaver Stadium. You're playing #20 Appalachian State, who have gone undefeated in Sun Belt play for three seasons running. Offensive coordinator Timmy Chang is a rising star in the coaching ranks, widely expected to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, Hawaii, after the season. You have a roster primed to win a national championship, thanks to excellent recruiting classes in 2015, 2016, 2017, and now 2018. What are your starting lineups on both sides of the ball for this game, which also happens to be the first College Gameday of the season? In this exercise, you're also predicting who will stay in the 2016 class and join the '17 and '18 ones, so have some fun with it. I'll post mine later on.