Penn State University
Maryland Invasion Yields Top Class
By Pat Tholey

This year Penn State's coaching staff crossed the Mason-Dixon line on a mission. They wound through the cities and towns of Maryland, both big and small, leaving lasting impressions on the top football prospects in the state. In the end, the Nittany Lions plucked seven of the top 11 prospects from Maryland.

"Any given year, you look at the talent in your 250 mile circle and this year it happened to be a great year in Maryland," Penn State recruiting coordinator Mike McQueary said. "The needs we had in terms of big kids, in terms of one or two skilled players, guys that could play defensive and offensive line, a couple linebackers, they happened to fall in Maryland."

A.J. Wallace was a big steal for the Lions. At the beginning of October, the cornerback didn't have Penn State in his top seven, but later moved it into his final five after making two visits to Happy Valley in the span of two months. He was also intrigued with the opportunity to play early and both ways at Penn State, similar to what Justin King did last fall.

In addition to Wallace, the Nittany Lions landed other highly touted skilled players such as wide receiver Chris Bell, tight end Andrew Quarless, linebackers Navorro Bowman and Bani Gbadyu, McKeesport, Pa. native Travis McBride and quarterback Pat Devlin, who changed his commitment from Miami to Penn State in late January.

Bringing in big men was the Lions' top priority, especially with the loss of seven starting linemen from last season.

"We had to bring in five or six defensive linemen that can play early, and be able to play in the Big Ten as soon as they got here. We needed five or six offensive linemen to do the same," McQueary said.

All-Americans Jared Odrick and Maurice Evans both selected Penn State and are expected to add depth and contribute early at defensive end. Odrick was told he could potentially see 25-30 plays a game his freshman season while Evans expects to see the field next season, too.

The biggest steal of recruiting season was Maryland guard Antonio Logan-El, who spent 18 months as a Maryland-commit before changing his mind in favor of Penn State. Massive defensive tackle Phillip Taylor joined Logan-El as a late addition to the Lions' class.