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The culmination of the recruiting season is just around the corner, as National Signing Day 2017 is only days away. Here at Black Shoe Diaries, we’ll have coverage of Penn State’s recruiting class, taking a player-by-player look at each member of the class, and taking a bigger picture look at the class as a whole. Thanks for stopping by, and if you aren’t already following, please follow @BSDTweet on Twitter for more recruiting news and notes.
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Lamont Wade comes to Penn State as the highest-rated member of the recruiting class of 2017. Being an early enrollee, Lamont is already on campus and learning the system as he gets primed for an exciting career at PSU. The WPIAL star picked Penn State just a month ago, over offers from pretty much everybody - Tennessee, UCLA, Alabama, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Pitt, Virginia Tech, and many more all wanted Wade’s services.
A #B1G welcome to the Nittany Lion brotherhood, Lamont Wade! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/t1mo9FvFBb
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 18, 2016
Vitals
| Position | High School | Height / Weight | 247Composite Rank | Positional Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | High School | Height / Weight | 247Composite Rank | Positional Rank |
| Cornerback | Clairton, PA (Clairton) | 5-foot-9, 190 pounds | Four-star (0.9778) | No. 46 overall, No. 5 cornerback, No. 2 player in PA |
Highlights
Scouting Report
Lamont took his time with his recruitment, only committing to Penn State in December. Cornerbacks coach Terry Smith was the lead recruiter for Wade, an amazing athlete with the ability to play multiple positions.
Lamont has everything you’d look for in a defensive back, including a high level of football IQ, and a fair amount of swagger. The only measurable Wade doesn’t possess is height, but his muscular build and instincts more than offset any missing length.
Outlook
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If there is one position on the defensive side of the ball that Penn State has depth, it’s at cornerback. Grant Haley, John Reid, Christian Campbell, Garrett Taylor, Amani Oruwariye, Zech McPhearson, and T.J. Johnson all return for the Lions. As a cornerback, Wade figures to play into nickel and dime packages. Safety, however, is another story.
Marcus Allen returns as the starting free safety, but with Malik Golden’s departure, the strong safety position is up for grabs. Ayron Monroe, Troy Apke, and Nick Scott all figure to be in the mix as returning players, but none particularly took the reins when they were on the field in 2016. Wade has the speed and strength to be a force at safety from the get-go.
Regardless of where in the defensive backfield Lamont ends up, you can be sure that he’ll be pushing for playing time from day one, and after the 2017 season looks to be a 3-year starter in the secondary. The future is very bright for the Penn State defensive backs.