Penn State In Maryland: A Retrospective Look

With the ridiculous recruiting of LJSR in a state that is in the process of changing its name, I got to thinking: why the sudden surge? Of the eleven commitments Penn State currently has, six are from LJSR's territory.

Well where were these guys last year?

Of Maryland's Top 20 players in 2008, PSU was considered* by recruit #4, #6 and #11...but received commitments from none of them.

Same goes for 2007, consideration was only given by #2, #5, #6 and #15 (this is really strange considering the #10 prospect went to Akron). Again, none of them are currently in State College.

So the trend probably continues into 2006, right? Um, not so much:

(source: Rivals.com)

That's seven of the top nine. So this type of dominance isn't totally unprecedented, but still a bit strange considering how inconsistent PSU has been in Maryland.

So why the sudden influx of players? Could this just be the result of a decent shot a freshman playing time? Or have the recruiters taken some notes over the past two years of relatively weak classes and decided to change the game plan a little bit?

*To be honest I don't know if the inclusion of PSU on the list means they were offered or are considering. Does Rivals eliminate a school from the list of the player decides to take that offer out of consideration? I don't know.

Commit To Penn State And Crabcakes And Football!!! That's What Maryland Does!!! [Here is #11]

And the story continues, with commitment number 11, the sixth from The [insert Maryland motto here, crabcakes? I don't know...] State. He is WR Brandon Felder, stands 6'4" and runs a 4.43 forty.

"I got to talk to all three of the coaches. Coach Paterno was a real cool and funny dude. He told me he was going to be around forever. I didn't have to worry about him leaving. He also mentioned he's excited to have me on his team as well."