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Miles Sanders: The Most Interesting Man in the 2016 Penn State Recruiting Class

The Pittsburgh-area running back is more important to Penn State than he knows.

247Sports

When it comes to picking the most exciting player in Penn State's 2016 recruiting class, it's hard to look somewhere other than running back Miles Sanders. Despite the fact that Penn State is hardly lacking in the running back department, the Pittsburgh-native brings the kind of jaw-dropping ability that can make for a legendary career.

When Sanders originally committed to Penn State, all the way back in July of 2014, he was a well-known player. He had solid rankings from the recruiting services, had a nice reputation among the WPIAL and was generally seen as one of the better running backs in the country. Needless to say, that wasn't enough for Sanders. After becoming an unstoppable train of highlights during summer skill camps before his senior season, dominating said senior season and showing off his repertoire of skills at the Under Armour All-America game, Sanders finds himself finishing the 2016 recruiting cycle as the No. 1 ranked back, according to the 247Composite. And it's not hard to see why.

Few running backs in the country are the total package. There are backs who are fast, backs who are strong, backs who are elusive, backs with great vision and backs with great receiving skills, but rarely do you find a player with all of those traits, like Miles Sanders. He truly is the total package, and has the potential to be a game-changer in Penn State's backfield. And when paired with last year's freshman phenom, Saquon Barkley? Look out, Big Ten. The pain train is coming.

Miles Sanders is the type of player Penn State isn't supposed to be able to get. Miles Sanders is the type of player that is supposed to head off to play for Urban Meyer, or head down to the SEC. And yet, he chose Penn State instead. Sanders, along with Shane Simmons and Michal Menet, represent how the world of Penn State recruiting is changing. It was once a pipe dream to think that grabbing multiple top-50 players from a single recruiting class was possible for the Nittany Lions. Yet, here are the Nittany Lions, with three of the very best players in all of the country, led by the running back from Pittsburgh.

That is why Miles Sanders is the most interesting man in Penn State's 2016 recruiting class. The talent is huge. The potential duo of he and Barkley is tantalizing. The fact that he chose Penn State over Pitt is delightful. But what his commitment represents may be bigger than all of that. Whether the rest of the country likes it or not, Penn State is finally beginning to recruit the way they're destined to, and Miles Sanders is concrete proof of that fact. So look out, college football, because Penn State and Miles Sanders are coming at you sooner or later, and they won't hold back.

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