It appears as if talented four-star tailback William Mahone of Youngstown, Ohio may have scratched Penn State from the schools he is considering.
And that would mean the Nittany Lions’ perplexing struggles at recruiting top-grade tailbacks will continue on.
Scout.com is reporting that Mahone’s trip to State College last weekend to watch the Nittany Lions play Alabama did not go well. He apparently arrived late to the game, as planned, but told Scout.com that he did not talk to any Penn State coaches and was pretty much ignored.
Mahone is planning a recruiting visit to his other top choice, Notre Dame, and it looks like the Fighting Irish could be closing with him.
Losing Mahone is another damaging blow to tailback recruiting for Penn State, odd enough because the Lions are still known for giving their tailbacks plenty of work.
Five-star tailback Rushel Shell of Aliquippa never seemed to be interested much in Penn State and the Lions’ staff decided to pass on recruiting four-star back Greg Garmon of Erie.
And so there’s not much left on the school’s short list for tailbacks.
The Lions have been hot and cold with interest in Downingtown running back Drew Harris, who is 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds.
The other main interest now may be New York tailback Akeel Lynch, who is the same size as Harris. Though Lynch has verbally pledged to attend Boston College, he said he still is open to considering an off from the Lions.
Penn State also is recruiting Ohio State verbal commitment Brionte Dunn, another highly-rated running back. Dunn recently visited Penn State on a recruiting trip, though he may stick with Ohio State if NCAA sanctions are not too severe.
Some believe that Dunn is favoring Michigan, if he does decide to leave the Buckeyes’ class of 2012.
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Thanks Joe, thats another one you lost.
This coaching staff is a incompetent, inept fiasco.
They should have had plenty of time to spend with the young lad, given that they used the usual 1979, predictable game plan against Alabama. And since they apparently never spend any time teaching their QBs how to play the game, they should have plenty of free time.
The priority at Penn State is something other than winning. Maybe winning isn’t all that important, but it’s a mystery to me where exactly their priorities lie as they have had their share of off-field incidents.
The 4 star running back made a good decision since after Joe totally destroys the program, the back would sit on the bench.Nice recruiting Joe. Your son is still waiting to take your place and continue to make the program a 2nd rate program. Did I see Temple almost beat Penn State and a very fine coach who wanted to coach at Penn State beat Ohio State yesterday and turning around a out of control program into a high standard program. GO JOE
HEY JOHN YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT PENN STATE,AND YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN PART OF A COLLEGE TEAM SO YOU WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND THAT A NUMBER 1 SCHOOL LIKE PENN STATE WOULD NOT LET A COACH’S SON RUN A PROGRAM JUST BECAUSE OF WHO HIS FATHER IS.DO YOU REALLY THINK THE OTHER COACH’S WOULD PUT UP WITH THAT.IF JOE IS SO BAD HOW MANY COACH’S HAVE A BETTER RECORD OVER THE LAST 8 YEARS,NOT MANY SO LETS GET RID OF JOE AND HIRE ALL THE COACH’S THE IRISH HAVE HAD SINCE LOU HOLTZ CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR IN 1988,ILL STAY WITH JOE HE’S EARNED IT
As a PSU 65 grad, I have followed the football program for 50 years. In those early years the energy from JoePa was of the highest level. Fans, players, assistant coaches, and recruits could feel the impact. Over the years I have loved what he has accomplished and the respect he has attained for Penn State and its football program.
The energy is still there but slowly waning, enough to make a difference in all aspects of the program. It is now time to pass the torch. We all love and respect a true icon of the sport, but ………….