Penn State football recruiting: the home stretch

Tight end Adam Breneman, out of Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, Pa., has already enrolled and will be participating in spring camp for Bill O’Brien’s Penn State football squad. Breneman is a skilled receiver and looks to make an impact in a passing offense where tight ends caught 30 percent of the passes in 2012.

Breneman is ranked in the top three at his position by all major recruiting services, with ESPN pegging him as the top tight end in the 2013 class. He is pegged as the 44th-best player overall in the composite rankings compiled by 247 Sports.

Earlier Sunday, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that O’Brien was a candidate for several NFL jobs.

O’Brien, 43, won the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award for 2012, as he guided the sanction-riddled Nittany Lions to an impressive eight-win season. Previously, O’Brien was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

On Sunday’s edition of ESPN’s NFL Countdown pregame program, veteran ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen was asked about certain job openings and potential candidates for those openings. And one very interesting name popped up: Bill O’Brien of Penn State.

This is particularly newsworthy because unlike names such as Oregon’s Chip Kelly and Alabama’s Nick Saban, O’Brien’s name hasn’t been thrown out for an NFL job with any regularity.

Kansas State’s fine tradition of recruiting junior college players continued Thursday as JUCO QB recruit Jake Waters chose the Wildcats over the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Waters is a star for Iowa Western Community College, and also had offers from N.C. State and Houston. He is a solid 6’2 and 212 pounds, with good mobility. This season he threw for 39 touchdowns and only three interceptions.

Be sure to check out Land-Grant Holy Land for more Ohio State news, and Cardiac Hill for more on Pittsburgh. Also head over to SB Nation’s NCAA football hub for more college football coverage.

Penn State lost a commitment from five-star offensive tackle Dorian Johnson Tuesday night. It was the second decommitment of the day, joining linebacker Zach Bradshaw, who opted out earlier in the day.

Johnson and Bradshaw join three other recent decommitments in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and the resulting NCAA sanctions. They are: cornerback/receiver Will Fuller, who flipped to Notre Dame in July, defensive tackle Greg Webb, who flipped to North Carolina, and Ross Douglas, a corner who flipped to Michigan.

Johnson, who affirmed his commitment last month through his high school coach, told the paper that he’s now interested in Pittsburgh, Ohio State and Virginia Tech. His decision is a tough blow for the Nittany Lions, who have now lost five members of their Class of 2013 as well as nine transfers since the NCAA announced sanctions against the program.

Will Fuller, a three-star wide receiver from Philadelphia, decommitted from PSU in favor of Notre Dame last weekend, while Zach Bradshaw, a three-star outside linebacker recruit from Maryland, reopened his recruitment earlier Tuesday. But Johnson’s decision hurts the most, as he was the team’s third-highest rated recruit. Penn State’s Class of 2013 now stands at just nine players.

Zach Bradshaw, an outside linebacker recruit, decommitted from Penn State Tuesday according to multiple reports.

Bradshaw is the third player to decommit from the Nittany Lions since massive NCAA sanctions were announced, and the fourth since the release of the Freeh Report. PSU has lost four total recruits recently in addition to nine transfers.

In the wake of the NCAA’s recent sanctions against Penn State, the school has lost several current players and recruits. Penn State has lost another committed recruit as wide receiver Will Fuller has now flipped his commitment to Notre Dame. Fuller is the third player the Nittany Lions have lost since the sanctions came down.

Fuller informed IrishIllustrated.com of his commitment via text message.

Four-star cornerback Ross Douglas was the first player to lose his Penn State association in response to the NCAA’s sanctions against the program -- he left the night before, in fact. He’s already landed another Big Ten offer and has committed to joining the country’s most loaded class:

According to Greene, Wisconsin and Notre Dame were also highly interested.

The fallout from Penn State’s NCAA sanctions are far reaching and multi-faceted. One of the most immediate impacts, however, will be in recruiting.

What Do The Sanctions Mean?

NCAA president Mark Emmert will personally hand down sanctions against Penn State Monday morning. The punishment is expected to be crippling -- worse than the death penalty, sources say -- and could cause massive direct and indirect damage to the program for years to come. Recruiting will likely suffer, but it appears that Class of 2013 commitments are staying firm for now, according to Mike Farrell of Rivals.com.

The Nittany Lions have been building a solid class under new head coach Bill O’Brien. Brenman (TE), Mahon (OL) and Sickels (DE) are all ranked among the best at their positions by major recruiting services.

Greg Webb, a four-star recruit in the class of 2013, has rescinded his verbal commitment to Penn State and has instead decided to play football at the University of North Carolina. Webb is 6’2”, 290 pounds and a consensus top-10 defensive tackle. He’s received more than 30 scholarship offers and was considered a big get for Penn State at the time of his commitment.

Mike Farrell of Rivals was the first to report the news:

Dorian Johnson, an elite offensive tackle recruit, has committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions, according to SB Nation recruiting analyst Jeff Junstrom. Johnson is a consensus top-10 offensive line recruit nationally and is rated four or five-stars by the major recruiting services. Johnson holds offers from many of the top SEC and ACC teams in the country. He is a product of Belle Vernon (Pa.) High School.

Here’s an excerpt from SB Nation’s Black Shoe Diaries on the commitment:

Penn State got a terrible piece of recruiting news late in the week, when tight end Adam Breneman confirmed he suffered a torn right ACL during a seven-on-seven camp. He’s rated a four-star recruit by Rivals and a five-star by Scout, making him both the top player at his position and the top player from Pennsylvania.

“Since the rumors are out I guess I’ll make a statement,” Breneman told Lions247. “At our 7v7 today I did suffer a knee injury. We are unsure how minor or severe it is. Doctor Bixler said it could be very minor or it could be ACL. We should know in the next 24 hours after I get an MRI.”

Will Fuller, a consensus three-star recruit from Philadelphia (Pa.) Roman Catholic High School, committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions Tuesday night. Fuller’s other offers aren’t impressive (Boston College, Rutgers, Temple, etc.), but Black Shoe Diaries likes his well-rounded game.

Another day and another reminder that July is still very early in the recruiting process. Penn State landed a defensive back commitment yesterday by the name of Neiko Robinson. Few had heard of him. Robinson plays for Bratt (Fla.) Northview High School, a small area in the panhandle if the state. And he wasn’t rated by any service before his commitment.

So how did Penn State, which hasn’t had a commitment from a Sunshine State prospect in a decade, find Robinson? He came to their camp. Penn State has a major need for defensive backs in the 2013 class, and they offered Robinson after he impressed during their recent camp.

Penn State is off to a hot start in the 2013 recruiting class, with arguably the top tight end in the country in Adam Breneman and the top pocket passer in Christian Hackenberg. Penn State recruiting expert Jeff Junstrom of Black Shoe Diaries has compiled a great list of all the recruits making their way to Happy Valley for Penn State’s spring game Saturday.

All eight current commitments in the class of 2013 are expected. The top uncommitted recruit expected in town is probably Derwin Gray.

Greg Webb, a defensive tackle recruit, has committed to the Penn State Nittany Lions, as first reported by SB Nation’s Black Shoe Diaries. Webb stars for Sicklerville (NJ) Timber Creek High School. He also holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, UNC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, Virginia and Wisconsin. That’s quite the offer list.

Webb stands 6’2” and weighs in at just shy of 300 pounds. He is a consensus four-star recruit, and is considered one of the ten best defensive tackle recruits in the country. This is an important commitment, as the Nittany Lions attempt to reestablish themselves as a preeminent recruiting power in the Garden State. Webb has a good blend of quickness and power for his size, and profiles as a penetrating defensive tackle at the next level.