Stock Report - Defense

DEs

Name: Kyle Baublitz

State: PA

Competition: PSU

Star Rankings: Rivals 4 / Scout 3 (4/3)

Chances: 100%

Update: Baublitz became the 8th commitment to the Nittany Lions when he gave his verbal to Joe Paterno Sunday afternoon. Baublitz projects right now as a strong side defensive end who could grow into a defensive tackle.

Name: T.J. Clemmings (verbal)

State: NJ

Competition: Rutgers, Maryland, Pitt

Stars: 3/4

Chances: Steady 15%

Update: Clemmings is a newer offer. It has not been confirmed in writing or what Penn State's chances are. He was just at the Premier showcase in NJ and said he has plans to camp at Pitt and Maryland. It is hard to tell what his interest is in Penn State and what Penn State's his in him. Until he makes a visit to campus he will be hard to get a read on.

Name: Dominique Easley

State: NY

Competition: Florida, Rutgers, Boston College

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Steady 35%

Update: Easley remains one of the quietest recruits on Penn State's board. He does not give out a lot of information. What we do know he is has visited Penn State, Florida, and Rutgers during the spring. Penn State usually does pretty well when they go into New York and we will see if that can continue with Easley.

Name: J.R. Ferguson

State: MD

Competition: ACC and SEC schools

Stars: 5/4

Chances: Dropping 10%

Update: Ferguson is one of the elite prospects in the country. Though he is from Maryland he is originally from the south. This looks to be where he is headed, especially after transferring to Hargrave Military Academy.

Name: Kareem Martin

State: NC

Competition: North Carolina, NC State, Georgia Tech

Stars: 3/3

Chances: Steady 15%

Update: Martin is one of Penn State's newest offers. He seems to focused on southern schools and admits to growing up a North Carolina fan. With so many offers out to defensive linemen and the recent commitment by Baublitz, I am unsure how hard Penn State will pursue him.

Name: Corey Miller

State: SC

Competition: Tennessee, Florida State, North Carolina

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Steady 10%

Update: Miller is a teammate of Marcus Lattimore and is an extremely touted recruit in his own regards. Unlike Lattimore he does not have a visit planned to come up to Penn State. That will make it difficult to pull him out of the south. Many believe that Tennessee is the early leader.

Name: C.J. Olaniyan

State: MI

Competition: Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Steady 25%

Update: Olaniyan has kept quiet about his list of schools. He has visited quite a few schools in the midwest as well as Penn State this spring. If Penn State wants to make a push for him there will need to try to get him to come back this summer or schedule an official for a game this fall.

Name: Dakota Royer

State: PA

Competition: Notre Dame, Pitt, Michigan State

Stars: 4/3

Chances: Rising 90%

Update: Royer has just cut down his list to 5 and Penn State has been there the entire time. It seemed to be a Penn State / Notre Dame battle throughout and still looks that way. Growing up a Penn State fan can't hurt, plus add into Penn State's dominance in state this year, Royer could be a future lion.

Name: Brandon Willis

State: SC

Competition: Tennessee, Florida State, Florida

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Steady 10%

Update: Willis is also a teammate of Marcus Lattimore. He is like Corey Miller in that he seems interested in schools from the south, specifically Tennessee and Florida State.

Committed Elsewhere:

Justin Henderson (verbal) - Kentucky

Pete's Point of View:

Penn State seemed to be interested in taking 3 defensive ends at the start of the process and I don't think that has changed. They got the first one this week with Kyle Baublitz and Dakota Royer could be on board at any moment. That would then leave the focus on Clemmings, Easley, and Olaniyan. You could not go wrong with any of those.

DTs

Name: Shariff Floyd

State: PA

Competition: Michigan, Rutgers, Florida

Stars: 4/5

Chances: Steady 35%

Update: Floyd continues to blow up this spring. He continues to receive offers from all over the country. He has been to Penn State a couple times and I am sure he will be back on an official visit this fall. Floyd says he plans to announce at the Army All-American game and that Penn State will definitely be a hat on the table. Michigan could be the major competition here.

Name: Evan Hailes

State: VA

Competition: Virginia Tech, LSU, Tennessee

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Rising 40%

Update: Hailes is visiting Tennessee this weekend and Penn State next weekend. He has also said he will make a commitment at some point shortly after his visit to Penn State. Once considered a lean to Virginia Tech, even they admit that Penn State may have passed them. He loves LJ and we should see if that is enough to pull the upset when he visits.

Name: Daquan Jones

State: NY

Competition: Boston College. Pitt, Syracuse, Maryland

Stars: 3/4

Chances: Rising 65%

Update: Jones got the offer he was waiting for from Penn State and has stated how it changed his whole recruitment. He is another underrated New York prospect that Penn State loves to find and has the versatility to play on the offensive or defensive line.

Name: Mike Thornton (verbal)

State: GA

Competition: Georgia Tech, Alabama, South Carolina

Stars: 3/3

Chances: Dropping 5%

Update: With three prospects higher on Penn State's board and the fact they are in good shape with all three does not bode well for Thornton. I don't think he has much interest in coming north anyways so it appears this recruitment is all but finished.

Committed Elsewhere:

Nick Acree - Virginia Tech

Anthony Ferguson - Iowa

Denzel McCoy - Georgia Tech

Pete's Point of View:

Penn State was only hoping to land two defensive tackles, but with three highly ranked prospects all on the the Lions I am sure they would take all three. Floyd won't announce for a while, but Jones and Hailes could both have summer decisions. If they would both commit here, Floyd is a prospect that we would hold a spot for. Plus Jones is someone that could switch over and play on either side of the ball.

LBs

Name: Khairi Fortt

State: CT

Competition: Notre Dame, Virginia, Florida

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Steady 75%

Update: Fortt has continued making visits this spring and none have seemed to be a true threat to Penn State. He also couldn't have hurt Penn State's chances that Fortt was in Lattimore's ear about the Nits. No one is sure when Fortt will pull the trigger, but it seems like Penn State is in prime position.

Name: Jordan Hicks (verbal)

State: OH

Competition: Texas, Ohio State

Stars: 4/5

Chances: Dropping 5%

Update: Hicks was given a verbal offer to see what kind of interest he had. The answer was not much as he seems to be leaning toward Ohio State and Texas.

Name: Mike Hull

State: PA

Competition: PSU

Stars: 4/4

Chances: 100%

Update: Hull was Penn State's 1st commitment this year. He projects as an outside linebacker or safety prospect.

Name: Tony Jefferson

State: CA

Competition: USC, Georgia, Oklahoma

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Dropping 10%

Update: Jefferson has listed Penn State in his top 5 and said he would like to take an official visit, but we will see if that happens. Most consider him a strong USC lean.

Name: Jewone Snow (verbal)

State: OH

Competition: Michigan State, Illinois, Cincinnati

Stars: 3/3

Chances: Dropping 5%

Update: Snow camped at Penn State's Nike camp. He did not leave real high on Penn State's list. He has connections to Michigan State and probably will end up there.

Name: Travis Williams

State: VA

Competition: Virginia Tech, Miami, North Carolina

Stars: 4/3

Chances: Steady 20%

Update: Williams plans on camping at Penn State this summer. He continue to list us, but I don't know how realistic it is. He seems to be a tremendous athlete and seems like he could end up being a good safety prospect.

Committed Elsewhere:

Caleb Lavey (verbal) - Oklahoma State

Jamal Turner (verbal) - Ohio State

Pete's Point of View:

Penn State wanted to get two linebackers and it seems like that will happen. What is even better is they look like they are going to get the two they wanted from the start. It looks like Linebacker U will continue to be in good hands in the future.

DBs

Name: Keenan Allen

State: NC

Competition: Alabama, Clemson

Stars: 4/4

Chances: Rising 5%

Update: Allen mentioned Penn State early in the process, but has since focused on Alabama and Clemson. He is been considered a strong lean to Alabama for a while.

Name: Brandon Ifill (verbal)

State: PA

Competition: Pitt, Michigan, West Virginia

Stars: 3/4

Chances: Dropping 10%

Update: Ifill has only received a verbal offer from the Nittany Lions, which is surprising since we have not offered many DB's. It seemed like he was interested in Penn State early, but now seems focused on Michigan and Pitt.

Name: Sean Parker

State: CA

Competition: Not Sure

Stars: 4/5

Chances: Dropping 10%

Update: Parker has continued to receive offers nation wide. His latest being from Florida. Early on it seemed like Parker was interested in leaving the west coast, however, as the summer continues that seems more and more unlikely.

Name: Earnest Thomas (verbal)

State: MI

Competition: Illinois, UCLA, Wisconsin

Stars: 3/3

Chances: Steady 30%

Update: Thomas is a teammate of QB Robert Bolden. Again it is hard to just Penn State's interest because they have only given a verbal offer. He has visited Penn State before and they may just want to see some more film before seeing if they truly want to make a push for him.

Committed Elsewhere:

Bashaud Breeland (verbal) - South Carolina

Jeff Knox - Pitt

Pete's Point of View:

This is the most intriguing position so far because no one has any idea what Penn State is thinking. They took quite a few players last year so this doesn't seem to be a high priority. It is never bad to be picky. There is also a chance that Alex Kenney or Silas Redd could be given a look at DB.