More analysis will come later, but until then, here are the 16 new Penn State Nittany Lion football players, each of whom officially signed their letters of intent yesterday. Welcome to Happy Valley, gentlemen!
- Anthony Alosi, OL, Marlton, NJ
- Adrian Amos, DB, Baltimore, MD
- Deion Barnes, DL, Philadelphia, PA
- Bill Belton, ATH, Sicklerville, NJ
- Kyle Carter, TE, Bear, DE
- Sam Ficken, K, Valparaiso, IN
- Jordan Kerner, DL, Fairview, PA
- Ben Kline, LB, York, PA
- Angelo Mangiro, OL, Succasunna, NJ
- Ryan Nowicki, OL, Glendale, AZ
- Shawn Oakman, DL, Lansdowne, PA
- Allen Robinson, WR, Southfield, MI
- Shyquawn Pullium, DB, Erie, PA
- Donovan Smith, OL, Owings Mills, MD
- Matt Zanellato, WR, Burke, VA
- Anthony Zettel, DL, West Branch, MI
Quick analysis, upon first glance of the new slate of commits:
- Joe Paterno, naturally, is partial to Italians; is there a more Italian name than Angelo Mangiro? It doesn't hurt that this offensive lineman was the best player in the class, rated a 96 out of 100 at Lions247.
- Only five of the players are from PA, but that speaks more to the talent level that was available for the class of 2011. More telling is that only four players are from states not named PA, NJ, DE, VA and MD. That means that Penn State has a strong lock on its local recruiting grounds, but does not travel much in search of recruits.
- Finally, the class started slow, finished well, but overall remains a bit of a disappointment. Rated in the mid-30s overall by Scout.com, all eyes will be on 2012 for a much stronger showing than in 2011.