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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.
To read up on all of the other members of the 2016 recruiting class, simply head back to the main draft board, where recruits will be added as their official letters of intent roll in.
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Miles Sanders was not only the first player to commit to Penn State's 2016 class, but he ended up being the Nittany Lions' top ranked recruit. Sanders is one of the most complete high school players to ever sign on the line to play his college football in Happy Valley, and has an unbelievably bright future ahead of him. The five star running back is set up to pair with Saquon Barkley to form a devastating backfield duo.
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Vitals
Position | Running back |
High School | Woodland Hills (Pa.) |
Height/Weight | 5'11"/199 lbs. |
247Composite Rank |
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Positional Rank | #20 player overall, #1 running back, #1 player in Pennsylvania |
Commitment Date | July 19, 2014 |
Highlight Tape
Scouting Report
Simply put, Miles Sanders is a stud. He has speed, quickness, great vision, power, elusiveness- you name it, Sanders has it. He has been turning heads all across the country over the last year, shooting up the rankings on nearly every major recruiting site, and for good reason. He is the total package when it comes to running backs, as he is also adept at receiving out of the backfield. Everything that we said about Saquon Barkley last year when he was preparing to come to Penn State, we can say about Sanders now, but with more straight-line speed. Sounds pretty good, huh?
Immediate Outlook
I will eat my shoe if Miles Sanders redshirts in 2016. With Akeel Lynch set to transfer, Sanders will be up against redshirt sophomores Mark Allen and Johnathan Thomas, along with redshirt freshman Andre Robinson, for the number two slot on the depth chart behind Barkley. While Scott and Allen both showed that they are capable running backs in their own right in 2015, neither one possesses the natural talents that Sanders does. Does that mean he a sure thing to take over the number two role? Absolutely not. But you can bet that this coaching staff will get him on the field as soon as possible, especially after seeing how quickly a freshman star revolutionized their offense in 2015.
Barkley will still be the alpha in the Penn State running back corps in 2016, but Sanders should find himself getting plenty of carries, as the two will look to form a devastating one-two punch in Joe Moorhead's offense.