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Oh, Hello: Ohio OT Alex Gellerstedt Commits to Penn State

The Nittany Lions picked up a three-star OL out of Ohio.

By Bill DiFilippo

Whoo_siren_medium

Alex Gellerstedt, ladies and gentlemen!

Stats:

Home/HS: Dublin, OH (Dublin Coffman)

Height: 6'7"

Weight: 275 lbs.

Recruited By: Herb Hand, Terry Smith

Starz 'n Sheetz:

Stars: 3* 24/7, Rivals, Scout

Offer Sheet: Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami (OH), North Carolina, Northwestern, Pitt, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin

Cinema:

The Tale:

When we all heard there was a Franklin siren today, it was a bit of a surprise. Not many recruits commit to a school in the afternoon on a Monday, so this had to somewhat come out of left field.

That's exactly what happened, as three-star Ohio OT Alex Gellerstedt committed to play for the Nittany Lions today. The Ohio native received an offer from Penn State on May 1, and during a visit to campus today, he committed to James Franklin's program. This is a bit of a surprise, as all five of his Crystal Ball picks thought Gellerstedt was headed to Kentucky.

Now, if you're just going off of his ranking on the various recruiting sites, this wasn't a big get at all. However, take a look at that offer sheet, do you think that someone who isn't that good of a recruit would have offers from 16 high-major programs? That speaks to the potential that Gellerstedt possesses, as he hasn't played on the offensive line for very long. Here's what Matt had to say about the commitment: "He’s a really raw player, only played 1 season on offense. Was a DL before that. Good size, pretty athletic."

Also, it's always big when Penn State can go into Ohio and snatch a player away from Ohio State. While the Buckeyes didn't offer Gellerstedt, Rivals indicates that Urban and co. had some level of interest in the Dublin, OH native. As bscaff pointed out in our email thread, the Nittany Lions had a ton of success in the area in recruiting during the 80s and 90s, and it translated to success on the field. Hopefully Gellerstedt -- along with some of the other targets that Franklin has in the area -- can change that.

Outlook:

Of course, Gellerstedt won't sniff the field until 2018, in all likelihood. We know that the Franklin and Hand want offensive linemen to redshirt their first year (2016) and spend their redshirt freshman year (2017) learning the position, so Gellerstedt's going to get to know the Dwight Galt really well for a few years.

However, he is a really intriguing prospect, as he has the frame and athleticism to be a Big Ten offensive lineman. At the very least, Gellerstedt will provide a ton of depth along the line, which as we saw last year, is incredibly important. Also, going off of what was said above about getting guys from Ohio, he is Penn State's second recruit out of the state since 2014, joining OT Chance Sorrell.

With Gellerstedt's commitment, Penn State has eight players in the class of 2016, and he joins Connor McGovern as the only offensive linemen in the class. The Nittany Lions have the No. 15 class in the country and the No. 3 class in the Big Ten, according to 24/7. If you're into the "following people on Twitter" thing, Gellersted can be found at @alexgellerstedt.

Welcome to Penn State, Alex!

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