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Welcome to Black Shoe Diaries' coverage of National Signing Day 2016. Our goal is to make sure that you know everything you need to know about every member of Penn State's 2016 recruiting class, including what fans should expect from them, some highlight tape and more. We truly appreciate you taking the time to follow along with our coverage of all things Penn State recruiting-related over the past year, and we can't wait to continue to ramp up our coverage for 2017. So whether you've been reading the site for years, or a first-time reader who just stumbled upon Black Shoe Diaries, we hope you stick around.
With National Signing Day just a week away, we're kicking off our coverage by introducing the early enrollees. Let's keep things rolling with Alex Gellerstedt.
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Alex Gellerstedt is probably one of the biggest unknowns in this year's Penn State class to a lot of fans. Even his commitment back in May of 2015 came as something of a surprise. But, Alex has the potential to turn into one of the big impact players in a class full of them. On top of that, Dublin Coffman high school is one of the premier high school programs in the Columbus, Ohio area. The Rocks have produced players such as Brady Quinn, Jake Stoneburner, Mike Adams, and Chinedum Ndukwe. Gellerstedt should help the Nittany Lions staff establish a relationship with an important Ohio program as well.
Nittany Nation, help us welcome Alex Gellerstedt to our #PennState family! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/BdYE8xinn4
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 11, 2015
Vitals
| Position | Offensive tackle |
| High School | Dublin Coffman (Oh.) |
| Height/Weight | 6'7"/275 lbs. |
| 247Composite Rank |
 (0.8550) |
| Positional Rank | #60 offensive tackle, #28 player in Ohio |
| Commitment Date | May 18, 2015 |
Highlight Tape
Scouting Report
The 2015 season was only Alex's second on the offensive side of the ball. Prior to that, he was playing on the defensvie line. That relatively recent switch explains part of the reason he is not more highly rated. There is still plenty to learn about the tackle position, but his 6'7" frame is built to play there, and there is plenty of room to add strength. While he is a very raw prospect, he still earned Division I (Ohio's top division) All-Ohio honors as a senior.
Outlook
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Alex is already on campus, enrolling earlier this month for the Spring semester, and going through winter workouts, and Spring Practice later on. Despite that early start, he is a lock to redshirt this coming season. In fact, he is one of those players James Franklin is talking about when he say does not expect most offensive linemen to contribute much until their third year in the program. There is still plenty for Alex to learn about the position, while getting stronger.