Coach Bill O’Brien’s recruiting class has received more attention than most planning to join Penn State, of course, primarily because the current members have chosen to remain committed to the school despite the NCAA sanctions that were announced last summer.
O'Brien held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss his squad's next set of true freshmen. The 43-year-old coach said he felt good about his group of commits for many reasons.
“We lost some kids because of sanctions, I mean there’s no question about it,” O’Brien said. “I’m not going to sit up here and tell you that the sanctions didn’t play a factor in some of the guys we set out to recruit. But at the end of the day, all I’m concerned about are the guys that are here. What we talk about all the time as a staff is we’re not about collecting talent, we’re about building a team.”
The coach said the sanctions did play a role in some player's departure from the class, but he and his staff keep focus on the members of the Lions locker room.
“We lost some kids because of sanctions, I mean there’s no question about it,” O’Brien said. “I’m not going to sit up here and tell you that the sanctions didn’t play a factor in some of the guys we set out to recruit. But at the end of the day, all I’m concerned about are the guys that are here. What we talk about all the time as a staff is we’re not about collecting talent, we’re about building a team.”
Here's a list of the 17 commits that make up the 2013 class, including a breakdown of each player who signed today.
But before introducing those officially joining Penn State today, be sure to recall the five members of this class that have enrolled early and are already on campus, set to begin practice this spring:
-QB Tyler Ferguson — Bakersfield, Calif. (junior college transfer)
-TE Adam Breneman — Camp Hill, Pa.
-RB Richy Anderson — Frederick, Md.
-DB Anthony Smith — Randolph, N.J.
-DB Jordan Smith — Washington, D.C.
Now, let the games begin…
8:38 a.m. — Penn State announces OG Tanner Hartman as the first official commit of the day.
Hartman is a three-star offensive tackle from Lynchburg, Va., who is coming in to Penn State already having ties to the program. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound lineman played for former Penn State quarterback Frank Rocco at Lynchburg Christian Academy, where he began to receive interest from schools such as Maryland and Richmond. Rocco, in speaking to the Collegian after his commitment in September, said Penn State didn’t offer as early as some other schools. But, when they did, Hartman’s high school coach didn’t hesitate.
“[Penn State] was a school that his family kind of always followed, so it was kind of like a childhood dream to play at Penn State,” Rocco said. “And it appeared that it wasn’t going to be a viable option until recently, and that’s why he’s in the position he’s in now.”
8:41 a.m. — Penn State announces OT Brendan Mahon as the next player to have officially signed his letter of intent.
Mahon is a three-star recruit committed since last March. Though ranked as the 18th best player at his offensive guard position by Scout, Mahon’s reviews have varied greatly, with Rivals.com listing the Randolph, N.J. native as the third best guard in his class. The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder also received offers from Florida, Boston College, Purdue and Temple.
8:47 a.m. — DE Garret Sickels declared the latest commit to the incoming class of 2013.
Sickels was an early commit for coach O’Brien last March, when the Little Silver, N.J. native made the decision to become a future front-four player for the Lions. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder will likely provide a speedy outside rusher, as the defensive end runs swift 40-yard-dash time of 4.68 seconds. The four-star recruit was ranked as the fourth-best end in his class and was also recruited by Ohio State, Mississippi and Tennessee before he settled on Happy Valley.
8:51 a.m. — LB Brandon Bell announced by Penn State to have officially joined the football program.
Bell is listed as a three-star recruit at the middle linebacker position out of Mays Landing, N.J. Scout ranks the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder as the 17th best at his position in his class. Bell had 117 tackles, 24 for a loss, in his junior season at Oakcrest High School and also received offers from Northwestern, Purdue, Boston College, among others.
8:55 a.m. — Penn State welcomes DE Curtis Cothran as the latest player to officially commit to the team.
Cothran is a Newtown product that will look to add to Penn State’s depth at the defensive end position. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder was rated as a three-star recruit by Scout, the 35th best at his position in his class. He made 35 tackles and eight sacks his senior year at Council Rock North High School and was named AP Class AAAA First Team All-State.
8:59 a.m. — Penn State announces WR Daesean Hamilton to have officially signed on board with the Nittany Lions.
Hamilton became the only wide receiver of his incoming class to commit to Penn State in December. The three-star recruit is listed as the 63rd best receiver in the country by Scout. Despite receiving heavy interest from in-state schools like Virginia and Virginia Tech, the Stafford, Va. native chose to join the Nittany Lions. After his commitment, Hamilton’s Mountain View High School coach, Lou Sorrentino, told the Collegian the receiver knew before even leaving Happy Valley for his official visit that Penn State was the right place for him. Sorrentino also described the receiver’s best assets, saying in all he was a “high school coach’s dream.”
“He’s a nice blend of a lot of different things,” Sorrentino said. “He’s not 6-foot-4, but he’s 6-foot-1 or so. He’s not a 4.3 [40-yard dash] runner, but he can run…He has great ball skills, great body control, and he’s very smart.”
9:03 a.m. — OT Andrew Nelson becomes the latest member of the incoming freshman class to sign his letter of intent.
Nelson is a three-star offensive lineman from Hershey who received offers from Pittsburgh, Temple and Maryland. Slotted as the 30th best in his class, Nelson is known for his aggressiveness and quickness in his protection. The 6-foot-5, 296-pounder was named a third-team all-state selection after his senior season at Hershey High School and will look to add depth to an offensive line that graduated two senior starters.
9:42 a.m. — DE Parker Cothren joins his fellow classmates as the eighth officially committed player to join Penn State.
Cothren is a three-star defensive end all the way from Hazel Green, Alabama, who received lots of attention from SEC schools. Listed as the 99th ranked end in his class, the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder received offers from Auburn University, Georgia Tech University, among others. Cothren had 22 tackles and 6.5 sacks as a senior at Hazel Green High School.
9:46 a.m. — Penn State announces DB Kasey Gaines to have also signed his letter of intent to play in blue and white.
Gaines is a two-star also out of the south, but this time it’s Logansville, Ga. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound safety was recruited by fellow southerner (and former Penn State defensive coordinator) Ted Roof, who Gaines said extended the scholarship offer to him last august. The safety had 93 tackles and five interceptions to help lead his Grayson High School squad to a AAAAA Georgia State Title. In speaking with the Collegian after his commitment, Gaines said he had several other enticing offers on the board, including a well-known academic school in Harvard.
“It was a difficult decision,” Gaines said. “I wanted to go to Harvard and all, because that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, too. But [Penn State] was just something I couldn’t pass up.”
9:50 a.m. — Penn State welcomes QB Christian Hackenberg to the program after the gunslinger signed his letter of intent earlier today.
Hackenberg quickly became one of the ring leaders of this recruiting class when the Fork Union, Virginia-native was one of the first to verbally commit to Penn State nearly a year ago. The five-star passer weighs in at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds and is ranked the second-best quarterback in his class by Scout.com. With the future of O’Brien’s quarterback play uncertain for the upcoming season, Scout.com recruiting analyst Scott Kennedy said Hackenberg could realistically be in competition for a starting job, saying he has “all the physical tools one could ask for in a passing quarterback prospect.” And in speaking with the Collegian last year, Hackenberg already spoke with a sense of enthusiasm when discussing his class' future with the team.
“It’s definitely a mission,” Hackenberg said in April. “We want to put Penn State back on the top of college football where they belong. It’s one of the most traditional programs in the country, and I think it belongs up there. We definitely want to restore the roar.”
11:10 a.m. — Penn State announces LB Zayd Issah has also made his commitment official.
Issah, a four-star linebacker from Harrisburg, has had quite a recruitment process that has involved two separate verbal commitments to Penn State, with a decommitment in between. However, the Central Dauphin star became known as one of the best two-way players in the state all the while. Issah has shined at the running back position as well, but he instead will look to continue the excellent tradition of linebackers here at “Linebacker U." Ranked the 18th best at his position in the country, Issah will likely add some depth to a linebacking group that lost both Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges this past season. After decommitting following the NCAA sanctions last summer, Issah told the Collegian the main reason he recommitted was because he felt Penn State was still his best option.
“I’m excited. I know Penn State is still at the top,” Issah said. “Just the fact that it was still a good spot to go play linebacker for coach Vanderlinden, and definitely my family being able to see me play.”
Scout.com analyst Brian Dohn elaborated on Issah’s potential impact on the field when the Collegian spoke with him a few weeks ago.
“He’s explosive and his first two steps are very good, which is key,” Dohn said. “His acceleration is good, and he’s shown glimpses that he should be able to get into the backfield and disrupt things there.”
2:35 p.m. - Penn State's 2013 class is officially complete, as safety Neiko Robinson has officially committed.
The school just reported that Robinson sent in his National Letter of Intent to bring the team's National Signing Day total to 12 players, and its 2013 class to 17 commits. According to Scout.com, the 6-foot, 170-pound defensive back is a two-star recruit. A Century, Fla., native, Robinson is the third defensive back to join Penn State's recruiting class.
With all of the expected letters sent, Bill O'Brien will address the media a little after 3 p.m. to talk about his first personal recruiting class. Stay with the Collegian for continued updates on National Signing Day.
