Ladies and gentlemen, Fredrick “Juice” Scruggs!
The Skinny
Hometown/High School: Erie, PA (Cathedral Prep)
Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 270 pounds
Rankings: Four-star on 247, Scout, Rivals, and ESPN
Notable Offers: LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina
Highlights
The Tale
Scruggs’ recruitment has been a longtime Ohio State-Penn State battle, having visited both Columbus and State College twice since the fall. He was in Happy Valley for Penn State’s victory over Ohio State on October 22, and then returned for the Blue-White game. While it looked like the Buckeyes had the upper hand in the spring, the Nittany Lions were able to defend their PA border, landing a verbal commitment from Scruggs just before his senior season.
The Outlook
The fact that Scruggs has been a relatively quiet recruit has made people forget just how talented he is. Scruggs and Ohio State verbal Matthew Jones were probably the top two offensive guard targets for the Nittany Lions heading into the 2018 recruiting season, so this is a really, really good get for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have brought in some very strong offensive line classes in recent years (2015 and 2016 are already proving to be strong), and it looks like the 2018 class will be no different. Nana Asiedu has the makings of a bookend left tackle, while Scruggs will be a perfect fit at guard or center. Plus, Penn State also has Bryce Effner and Antwan Reed, who both offer the positional versatility to play a number of spots on the offensive line.
Moving forward, I would expect Penn State to focus on just one offensive line recruit — Rasheed Walker. Believe the staff likes JUCO T.J. Bradley a good bit, but with how the rest of the class folded out, I don’t think they have the room to take 6 offensive linemen.
If Walker were to make the call for the Nittany Lions, he would join Asiedu and Scruggs in giving Penn State three offensive line recruits in the 247Sports Composite Top 200. Those three would be the highest rated offensive line trio the Nittany Lions have signed in well over a decade.
Welcome to Penn State, Juice!