2011 Recruiting Recap

Penn State – The Nittany Lions captured the #1 recruiting class in the nation for the second straight year, but this year’s class doesn’t come with nearly the same notoriety. The lead recruit is only ranked #25 over in the nation, OG Tony Levine. The class also included just 2 five-star recruits, both offensive guards. The Lions did bring in the nation’s top quarterback prospect, Clint McDougal, but it seems unlikely that he will get much playing time because Penn State is so high on Erik Wilson, a redshirt freshman they brought in last year. Overall, the class is expected to add a lot of depth to the roster, but may not produce any immediate impact players as last year’s did.

Youngstown State – Facing a tall task of replacing the team’s top three corners from last year, Coach Jikolo pulled a stunner signing the top CB in the class as well as the #3. A.J. Morris, the #1 CB and #11 overall player in the class, looks to be a very similar player to Ryan Arrington, the senior that graduated to the NFL this offseason. Morris and Mike Gilmore were both five-star recruits and are expected to be starting this year. Overall, the class was a huge success and could lend some relief to the embattled coach. The class ranked #4 in the nation, and included the #1 FS, Levi Kerr, among the 25 signees. Kerr was the #4 ranked recruit in the entire country. The Penguins also brought in the highest ranked QB in school history as the #8 QB (#93 overall) Joe Stevenson joined the team. With Maurice Adams the projected starter, Stevenson will likely be redshirted but could start as soon as 2012. He is the first Elite 11 QB to ever sign with YSU.

Miami – The Hurricanes had a decent first recruiting class under new coach Troy Black. Ranked #16 and containing just 18 players, the ‘canes added some depth, especially at WR, but will need to turn to a lot of veterans this year as this class will not make a huge immediate impact. Miami did sign the third and fourth best WRs (Kareem Rogers and Martin Hill) in the nation, and 5 wideouts in all (one of whom will convert to TE). Along with #16 QB Courtney Francis, #7 HB Brandon Brown, and #8 WR Russ Nicholson, this class could be the makings of a strong offense in the near future.

Troy – The Trojans signed their two best recruits in-season, and seemed to be quite hurt by the coaching change. Bringing in only one three-star recruit and the rest two-stars in the offseason, the Troy class ranked just 39th in the nation. Not a lot of immediate impact players can be found on this list, either, especially considering that Troy has 23 seniors and 21 juniors already on it’s roster. Two key need positions, WR and CB, were addressed, but with two-star recruits, it is really hit-or-miss.