clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Committany Nation (12.2.15): Home Visits, 2017 News, Zembiec Wins a State Championship and More

We've got a jam-packed Committany Nation for you today.

By Nick Polak
247Sports

Jake Zembiec and Aquinas own New York

Penn State 2016 pro-style quarterback commit Jake Zembiec helped cap off Aquinas Institute's undefeated season with a 44-19 win over Saratoga in the New York State Class AA championship game. It was a dominating performance by Zembiec, who ended the day 18-for-23 with 462 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was the perfect way to end what was a spectacular season for the Rochester native, who will now focus on preparing for his early enrollment at Penn State in January.

To celebrate the win, Zembiec and his teammates did what anyone would do: rip chest hair off of one of their teammates with duct tape.

Kids these days, amirite?

Also of note is the recipient of three of Zembiec's touchdowns, Earnest Edwards. Under the eyes of James Franklin (who was there to watch Zembiec), Edwards had an outstanding game and drew some pretty high praise from the Penn State head coach.

Black Shoe Diaries spoke with Edwards about the game and about his recruitment afterwards. He has not yet heard from Penn State as a result of the game, but he was extended a scholarship offer by Wagner. Congratulations, Earnest. We hope to hear more of your name in the future. Check out Edwards' full highlights, as well.

A very important (and sad) Lavert Hill update

Lavert Hill is no longer committed to Penn State.

Looking for help on the defensive line

With Anthony Zettel set to graduate and Austin Johnson likely giving the NFL Draft some serious consideration, Penn State is suddenly looking very thin at defensive tackle. They have apparently reached out to a new target that could help remedy that lack of depth: Bentley Easley, a 6-foot-3, 320 pound junior college prospect out of Coffeyville Community College in Kansas.

David Adams talks his top-three

One of Penn State's primary targets in the 2017 class is ILB David Adams from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. Adams is a four-star prospect and the No. 2 inside linebacker in the 2017 class. He spoke with Scout recently and discussed his current top-three schools (Penn State, Pitt, Notre Dame). It wasn't much, but here's what he had to say about the Nittany Lions:

Penn State, we've always been close with them and I like their linebackers coach (Brent Pry) a lot.

Alex Gellerstedt honored

One of Penn State's committed offensive linemen in the 2016 recruiting class, Alex Gellerstedt, picked up a major honor when he was named to the All-Ohio Division 1 team. Ohio is littered with college-level talent, so being picked to this team is a serious honor for Gellerstedt. The three-star recruit is set to enroll early in January.

New 2017 offer out

Believe it or not, National Signing Day for the 2016 recruiting class is only two months away, which means the staff is putting more and more focus on the 2017 class. That focus has resulted in another offer going out, this time to four-star WR Isaiah Robertson. The No. 40 receiver in the class, Robertson is a native of Naperville, Il. and holds offers from 11 schools, including Cincinnati, Illinois, Iowa, and Maryland.

More big 2017 news

Penn State hosted arguably the top offensive lineman in the 2017 recruiting class a few weeks back when five-star tackle Isaiah Wilson came to Happy Valley and watched the Nittany Lions take on Michigan. The Brooklyn native clearly came away impressed with the experience. Before the game, Wilson had released a list of his top-eight schools, that did not include the Nittany Lions. On Sunday, he tweeted the following:

Penn State should feel good about where they stand, and they will likely be included in his new top group. However, it is yet to be seen if the following tweet still holds true:

We will update you on Wilson's status as soon as we can.

The next Jeff Samardzija?

Dual-threat quarterback Brandon McIlwain has re-emerged on Penn State's radar with the news of coaching changes at South Carolina, but will his football intentions even matter? In an early look at prospects for the 2016 MLB Draft, McIlwain, who has a desire to play both football and baseball in college, was listed quite highly.

He probably won't be drafted that high due to the threat of him going to college instead, but things could get very interesting for McIlwain if he does get selected somewhere inside the first round.

It's home visit season

Now that the regular season has come to a close, essentially every college coach in America who is not currently preparing for a conference championship game (example: Michigan State) is hitting the road for home recruiting visits. Here are some of the recruits who Penn State visited:

Quinn Nordin

Khaleke Hudson

Jake Zembiec

Tre Nixon

Miles Sanders

Of course, other schools can make visits as well ...

Notice the difference there? Pitt visit was only "good," but Penn State visit was "great." Take every single ounce of hidden meaning there and run with it. Run away with it, Penn State fans.

Big news coming?

One of the nation's top prospects in the 2018 recruiting class is five-star defensive end and Pennsylvania native Micah Parsons. As he first reported on his Twitter account and later confirmed to Black Shoe Diaries, Parsons is indeed considering committing this weekend. We'll have more on Parsons in the coming days.

More From Black Shoe Diaries