National Signing Day Eve

I’d like to start today’s post by congratulating former Nittany Lions, Michael Robinson and Jordan Hill on their fancy new rings.  Both men play for the Seattle Seahawks, who embarrassed the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII this past Sunday.  To date, at least one former Lion has played in 43 of the 48 Super Bowls played and there are now 37 former Lions with a combined 53 Super Bowl rings.  Congrats on the fresh bling gentlemen!

Now, on to the main topic of today’s post.  National Signing Day is tomorrow, which means it is the first day that recruits can officially sign their National Letter of Intent, solidifying their choice of school.  Up to this point in the recruiting process, all commitments were verbal and non-binding.  ESPNU (as well as the WatchESPN mobile app if you can’t get to a TV because of some pesky job) will have essentially wall to wall coverage all day as the fax machines begin to whirl in every head coach’s office around the country.  If you’re super into recruiting, this is the biggest day of the year for you; but for most of us, it feels a little blow out of proportion.  Regardless, here’s where Penn State finds itself on the eve of NSD…

Since my last post, 4-star DE Lloyd Tubman has reopened his recruitment, and this past weekend he took visits to a couple of schools including Kentucky and Big Ten rival Nebraska.  He will make his final decision at 9am tomorrow, but considering he took down everything Penn State-related from his Twitter page, it’s starting to look very unlikely that he will be wearing the Blue and White next year.  Still, that hasn't seemed to slow down James Franklin, who took the opportunity to reel in commitments from a pair of 3-star DBs: Amani Oruiwariye (FL) and Christian Campbell (AL).  That makes 5 DBs in this recruiting class, and as friend of the blog (and Bowl Pick Em Champion) Brian Bender pointed out, it’s becoming obvious that Coach Franklin doesn't like what he sees out of Penn State’s secondary right now.  If Tubman does in fact go to another school, it will free up one last scholarship in this class.  That scholarship could go to Torrence Brown, a 3-star athlete from Alabama.  I usually hate the term "athlete," but in this case, it’s very fitting.  The 6-4, 228 lb recruit played RB, LB, DE, TE, and WR in high school… now that’s versatility!  The only safe guess at this point is that he’ll end up playing somewhere on the defensive side of the ball.  Given Penn State’s lack of depth at LB, he’ll most likely end up in that unit with the possibility of lining up at DE if he can put on some weight.

In other recruiting news, after the commitment of walk-on kicker Jorge Powell last week, PSU picked up commitments from 3 (yes 3!) additional walk-on kickers this week: Nick Boumerhi, Troy Stivason, and Joe Julius, who turned down a full soccer scholarship at Southern Illinois to walk-on for the Nittany Lions.  The special teams blitz continued with the commitment of walk-on long snapper Kyle Vasey.  Considering there are only 2 scholarship kickers (Sam Ficken and Chris Gulla) currently on the roster, and 0 scholarship punters, it’s pretty clear that special teams is a major position of need for the coaching staff, and it’s impressive to see that they've been able to fill that need so well without using up precious scholarships.  It should also be pointed out that some of these guys can punt if needed, so they could potentially earn a scholarship that way if they play their cards right.

Oh, and don't forget that this is a thing.  Coach Franklin's "Signature Event" will now feature guest appearances by Michael Mauti and LaVar Arrington!  Should be a good time.

On the coaching front, former linebackers coach and Penn State legend, Ron Vanderlinden, has accepted a position with the Air Force Academy.  I still think it would have been amazing if James Franklin had managed to bring Vanderlinden back to the Penn State staff, but since that didn't happen I will instead wish Coach Vanderlinden the best of luck in his new role.  You’re a true Penn Stater and you will be missed.  Besides, at least he didn't go to Ohio State like some people!

Well, that will do it for today.  Have a great NSD everyone!  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus for all the latest news and notes on Penn State football, and as always, go State!