Nittany Lions land 2 recruits
By Philip Cmor,pcmor@altoonamirror.com
POSTED: May 28, 2008
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Penn State’s list of commitments for its 2009 football recruiting class reached 11 and its list of those from the state of Maryland grew to six with the announcements Tuesday of Washington Post first-team All-Met selection Sean Stanley and Oxon Hill wideout Brandon Felder that they would sign with the Nittany Lions in February.
Stanley is a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive end from Gaithersburg High School. As a junior, the four-star prospect made 37 tackles for loss, 16¢ sacks and forced nine fumbles.
Stanley had more than 20 written scholarship offers, including those from Clemson, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Pitt, Rutgers, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia Tech.
“He’s legit,’’ Eleanor Roosevelt High School coach Tom Green said of Stanley when told he had committed to Penn State, where two of his players had already pledged. “He’s really good.’’
Stanley and Felder join cornerbacks Darrell Givens and Stephon Morris, safety Malcolm Willis and athlete Derrick Thomas as Maryland prospects to pick the Lions. Morris and Thomas are from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt. Givens and Willis are from Lackey High School in Indian Head.
“I guess that’s where everyone wants to go,’’ Morris said. “When I made [my decision on Saturday], they [the other Lion commits from Maryland] weren’t what I was thinking about. But, now that I’ve committed, I’m thinking about how I’m getting to play college football with my best friends.
“We’re going to have about seven of us in the freshmen dorm together.’’
It was Morris who broke the news to the Mirror that Felder had committed to the Nittany Lions earlier last evening. Eleanor Roosevelt and Oxon Hill play against each other.
“He’s a really good receiver,’’ Morris said. “He’s strong and fast.’’
Felder also carried offers from Boston College, Syracuse and Maryland along with Penn State. Felder is 6-3, 167 pounds and has tremendous speed to go with his size — 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
In 2007, Felder had 40 receptions for 942 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Felder said he has been close to picking the Lions since making a visit a couple of weeks ago. However, he waited to last night to make it official.
“I just wanted to be part of the Penn State tradition,’’ Felder said Tuesday. “I was impressed with the staff, and it’s a great school academically.’’
Penn State also has a commitment from another Washington-area player, offensive lineman Frank Figueroa.
The Lions might not be done in Maryland, either. They are still at or near the top of the list to land Quince Orchard receiver/cornerback Travis Hawkins, Baltimore Dunbar running back Tavon Austin, Westlake receiver/return specialist Devon Smith and Good Counsel linebacker Jelani Jenkins. Jenkins is the No. 2 weakside linebacker prospect in the country according to Scout.com.
Sources have told the Mirror that Smith, one of the fastest players in the Mid-Atlantic region, will commit to Penn State if he receives a scholarship offer. He played with Thomas and Morris at Eleanor Roosevelt before transferring to Westlake.
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