High school recruits signing with Penn State
Penn State coaches are receiving signed letters of intent from high school recruits on national signing day.
High school recruits signing with Penn State
Joe Juliano
Signed letters of intent are arriving at the Penn State football office as the Nittany Lions welcome members of the freshman Class of 2012.
As of noon Wednesday, Penn State has announced the names of 12 players who faxed their official letters of intent on national signing day.
In addition, recruiting web sites Fight On State and Blue White Illustrated have identified two more signees – defensive tackle Jamil Pollard from Westville, N.J., and wide receiver Eugene Lewis from Plymouth, Pa.
Those confirmed by Penn State as already being in the fold are: quarterback Steven Bench of Bainbridge, Ga.; defensive lineman Brian Gaia of Pasadena, Md.; wide receiver Malik Golden of Hartford, Conn.; defensive back Jake Kiley of Plymouth, N.H.; offensive lineman Wendy Laurent of Hamilton, N.J.; defensive back Jordan Lucas of New Rochelle, N.Y.; defensive lineman Evan Schwan of Harrisburg; offensive lineman Anthony Stanko of Howland, Ohio; wide receiver Jonathan Warner of Camas, Wash.; linebacker Nyeem Wartman of Jessup, Pa.; tight end Brent Wilkerson of Clinton, Md.; and wide receiver Trevor Williams of Nottingham, Md.
Penn State also announced the earlier signing of tight end Jesse James of Glassport, Pa., who enrolled last month at the university.
According to recruiting web sites Scout and Rivals, in addition to Pollard and Lewis, the Nittany Lions should be expecting four more letters to be coming in.
The release of signees as their letters of intent arrive is a new twist for Penn State. Former head coach Joe Paterno never commented on his new players on national signing day, and officials waited until late in the day before releasing the full list.
--Joe Juliano
Bench and Lynch, based on stories I've read, have great leadership skills. PSU should have had 24 scholarships available. Keeping a few extra for next year is not a bad thing. OSU used a lot this year.— 76er- 2013 will be the year BOB strikes 'gold' in recruiting. PA has a lot of quality recruits that will need to be retained to stay in state with PSU. Three PA recruits in particular....Adam Breneman TE 6-5/225 Camp Hill, PA... Patrick Kugler OT 6-4/270 Wexford, PA.....Robert Foster WR 6-3/190 Monaca, PA ---and plenty from NJ/MD also,
— Romus
This season is Joe's fourth season on the paper's Penn State beat. He previously covered the Nittany Lions for United Press International from 1976 to 1984.
Emily Kaplan is the Inquirer’s fall intern covering the Nittany Lions. She is a senior at Penn State and has covered a variety of sports for the university’s student-run paper, The Daily Collegian. Over the last two years, she has reported for The Associated Press from State College.
A Montclair, N.J. native, she has also interned at MLB Network, NHL.com and covered the 2012 Olympics in London. Follow her on Twitter here @EKaplan24.
