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Oh, Hello: 2018 PA OL Chris Bleich Commits to Penn State

Penn State gets its second commitment in the class of 2018 in a massive offensive lineman.

By Bill DiFilippo

Whoo_siren_medium

Chris Bleich, ladies and gentlemen!

Stats:

Hometown/High School: Plymouth, PA/IMG Academy

Height/Weight: 6'6"/305 lbs.

Recruited By: Josh Gattis, Matt Limegrover

Starz n' Sheetz:

Starz:

Not listed

Sheetz: Penn State, Syracuse

Cinema:

The Tale:

Hey, look, another 2018 prospect! Penn State just picked up a big ol' dude in Plymouth, PA tackled Chris Bleich. You may have noticed that he doesn't have any stars and his only other offer was from Syracuse, but do remember that it's still waaaaaaay early in the 2018 cycle, so you don't have to worry about anything.

Besides, it helps a lot that Bleich is a monster – he's 6-foot-6, 305 pounds, but he was even bigger and lost a bunch of weight (he was up around 330 pounds, so shouts to him for dropping 25 pounds). Originally from Wyoming Valley West High School, Bleich recently transferred to IMG Academy in Florida. He went to Penn State's junior day in February, has been on the Nittany Lions' radar ever since, got an offer on March 30, and committed a few minutes ago.

The Outlook:

So because it's so early in his recruiting process, not much is known about Bleich. It's a really good sign that he committed himself to losing weight this offseason, so you'd guess that work ethic will never be an issue. He pulled the trigger quickly, so you'd guess that commitment won't be an issue. Basically, he is a big ol' offensive lineman who is a ways away from every playing college football.

As for once he gets on the field, I'll repeat what we've written in all of these posts for offensive linemen – odds are, the plan will be for him to sit his freshman and redshirt freshman year and be in a position to compete for a job as a redshirt sophomore in 2020-2021. By then, guys like Ryan Bates, Steven Gonzalez, Michal Menet, Conor McGovern, and Will Fries will probably have the line solidified, so it's going to be a loooooooong time until we see Bleich on the field.

With his commitment, Penn State now has two commits in the class of 2018 – Bleich and Micah Parsons. The Nittany Lions' 2018 class, as currently constructed, is the No. 2 class in the Big Ten and the No. 9 class in America.

If you'd like, you can give Bleich a follow on the Twitter machine @Bleich72. Welcome to Penn State, Chris!

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