Committany Nation: Enis and Friday Still Options for Penn State?

Penn State Legacy Schedules Official Visit

Arizona wideout Solomon Enis, son of Penn State great Curtis Enis, will be back in Happy Valley for the Nebraska game, according to Sean Fitz of Lions247. Enis was originally scheduled to officially visit the Nittany Lions for the Indiana game, but that visit never came to fruition. This will be his first time back in State College since taking in the Blue and White game in April.

Obviously, the Nittany Lions don’t have too many spots left, and with Micah Parsons, Tyreke Smith, Jayson Oweh, and Rasheed Walker still on the board, it remains to be seen if Enis has a full green light. That being said, I don’t think Penn State would go through the trouble of hosting a legacy recruit for an official visit weekend if there wasn’t a decent chance that he could be squeezed into the class.

If Enis were to commit to Penn State, he’d join Justin Shorter, Daniel George, and Shaquon Anderson-Butts in giving the Nittany Lions one of the very best wide receiver classes in the country.

Nittany Lions In It With Friday

Penn State already has P.J. Mustipher, Judge Culpepper, and Aeneas Hawkins all committed to play defensive tackle, but it appears that the Nittany Lions are continuing to pursue New Jersey four-star Tyler Friday.

Friday has been super quiet on the recruiting trail, not making a known visit anywhere since a trip to Rutgers back in April, so it’s difficult to say where schools stand with him. Michigan is believed to be the leader, but Friday is so quiet I’m not sure that information is all that legitimate.

From a Penn State perspective, I’m not surprised the Nittany Lions are keeping themselves in the race with Friday. He’s a Top 100 player, and as we’ve all seen the last two weekends, Penn State needs to continue to add talent along the interior. He also doesn’t appear in a rush to make a decision, which could be a good thing for James Franklin and Co. as they figure out just how much space is left in the class.

2018 Player Focus: Nick Tarburton

Perhaps more than anybody, I’ve been beating the “Nick Taburton is going to end up at defensive end” drum. When a kid is 6-foot-4 and pushing 245 pounds before he even gets into a college strength and conditioning program, nature usually takes its course. That being said, the Nittany Lions will have a massive hole at middle linebacker next season, and really, just linebacker in general. More and more, I’m talking myself into Tarburton at least starting his career at linebacker. Let’s look at the film though:

The first thing that jumps out is Tarburton’s size. He carries 240 pounds with ease, and has the frame to add more — that’s what worries me. If he’s able to keep himself in the 240-pound area, great, stay at linebacker. I just don’t know how realistic that will be. Still, he’s a terrific looking linebacker prospect otherwise. Great instincts/feel for the game, closing speed, a punishing tackler — the kid checks a lot of boxes. There will be an adjustment in pass coverage at the next level, but even there, it’s not like he’s a stiff athlete.

We’ll see what Penn State has in Ellis Brooks and Jesse Luketa — and perhaps one Micah Parsons — but I’m now firmly in the “try Tarburton at linebacker” camp. I don’t like the idea of potentially stunting his growth as a defensive end, but Penn State’s linebacker situation might just call for it.

Ricky Slade Full Senior Highlights

There are 1,440 minutes in each day. I am asking you, dear reader, to use 12 of those minutes to watch Ricky Slade’s highlights.

Wow. You will see Ricky Slade carrying the ball for Penn State next season.