5* OL Dorian Johnson decommits from PSU and list of transfers to date

Submitted by bdsisme on

2013 5-star OT Dorian Johnson decommitted from Penn State last night.  He's said to be considering Pitt, Ohio, and VT.  Urban must be salivating.

 

2013 3-star WR Zach Bradshaw also decommitted yesterday, and switched to Virginia.

 

I think this is an up-to-date list of the fall-out from the NCAA sanctions -- feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Transfers (new school)

RB Silas Redd (USC)

WR Justin Brown (Oklahoma)

QB Rob Bolden (LSU)

K/P Anthony Fera (Texas)

LB Khairi Fortt (Cal)

TE Kevin Haplea (FSU)

OL Ryan Nowicki (Illinois)

DT Jamil Pollard (Rutgers)

S Tim Buckley (NC State)

 

Decommits (new commitment)

DT Greg Webb (North Carolina)

CB Ross Douglass (Michigan)

WR Will Fuller (Notre Dame)

WR Zach Bradshaw (Virginia)

OT Dorian Johnson (undecided)

Trebor

August 8th, 2012 at 9:32 AM ^

It depends on your position. With Larry Johnson Sr. and Ron Vanderlinden still there, I would certainly consider going there as a DL or LB because their coaches are top notch. The offense is a great unknown, because while the Patriots put up pretty stats under O'Brien, Tom Bradys don't just grow on trees, so I'd be a bit hesistant as an offensive player at first.

However, if you're a 2/3 star recruit, your NFL prospects are probably slim anyway, so getting the chance to play in bowl games (and not get your head pounded in by Wisconsin/OSU every year) might be a decent draw, so the MAC teams wouldn't be so bad. But then again, the education you get at a great academic school like Penn State would be hard to turn down... personally I'd probably pick Penn State but at that point it's more for the education than the football (unless, like I said, you're a DL/LB, in which case LJ Sr. and Vanderlinden have an incredible track record that'd be tough to say no to).

Perkis-Size Me

August 8th, 2012 at 10:11 AM ^

If my only offers were mid tier schools I'd consider PSU. No matter the situation, you're still playing in front of 100,000 people and playing for a coach with proven success in the NFL. Plus there's the education aspect, too.

The allure of "Hey, I coached Tom Brady." always warrants a second look.

Mr Miggle

August 8th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^

I think I would be a little worried about PSU. While penalties for football are in place, the fallout from their scandal is probably far from over. Will they be able to maintain their academic standing? Are their degrees going to be as valued in the future? From that list, Minnesota and Syracuse aren't bad choices for academics. Plus, RBs should want to play for Ty Wheatley. 

Felix.M.Blue

August 8th, 2012 at 9:46 AM ^

I didn't think it was going to be this bad. I thought they would get by the next couple years and then there was a light at the end of the tunnel that they could sell.

I don't think they can do that now. If a recruit sees current members leaving...well I would have to start looking again.

Needs

August 8th, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^

That's a very interesting question. Beyond the students, the local area is pretty small (Center County's about 1/3 the size of Washtenaw). It's a big time commitment for most fans to get to State College, which is a long way from Pennsylvania's population centers (3 hours from Pittsburgh, 3 1/2 from Philly, and those numbers without gameday traffic). I seem to recall that Penn State also upped their donation levels for tickets before the scandal blew up.

I'll bet they do ok in terms of attendance this year, but if they struggle on the field this year, I would imagine it's going to be hard to convince people to make the monetary and time commitment to attend Penn State football games in future years. Add in an unknown percentage of fans who have given up on PSU football with the scandals and you might expect to see a significant drop in attendance.

(As a comparison, I looked at their 2003-4 seasons, when they went a collective 7-16, and their attendance in those years dropped to around the 100,000 mark. I'm assuming those are tickets sold, so who knows if there were actually people in those seats. The sub 100k attendances carried over halfway into the 2005 season, where they had their resurgence).

I'd certainly expect it to be pretty full when they play Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and maybe MSU, both because of the attractiveness of those teams and the relative proximity of the New York metro area (5 hour drive) and DC (4 hours) which would allow opposing fans living in those places an opportunity to drive to see their teams play when it normally entails a flight or at least a long drive and an overnight. There may be a lot of opposing fans in Beaver Stadium for a few years and some relatively empty games when they're playing non-conference patsies.

TheLastHarbaugh

August 8th, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^

To put it into perspective, they've lost their:

Star RB

#1 WR

Starting slot receiver

Backup QB

Starting Punter/Kicker

Backup MLB

Backup FS

Backup TE

3rd string DT

Backup CB

-----------------------------

Their DB depth looks absolutely atrocious, and Michigan fans know what happens when you only have 4 scholarship CBs on your roster, and only 7 total scholarship DBs. It's goodnight Irene if even one guy gets injured.

They only have 7 scholarship LBs left, which means they've basically got 1 backup per position, so again, any injuries and it's time to que the fat lady.

Their running back situation appears to be a pu-pu platter, as a walk on is presently in competition for the starting job.

The top 4 receivers on their depth chart combined for 13 catches, 207 yards, and 0 touchdowns last year.

Their top 2 TEs did not catch a single pass last year.

In short, their offense consists of a walk on QB in his 3rd year starting after two very walk on like seasons, and no skill players with any valauble experience what so ever. Penn State's defense should be solid, but it's paper thin. A couple of injuries would completely decimate them, and turn them into a carbon copy of Michigan's defense circa the last few years.

Forecast: DOOM

Prediction: PAIN

TheLastHarbaugh

August 8th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^

Thanks.

I actually think Rich Rod's first year is a pretty solid comparison for this team.

-Meh to atricious QB play. Although, McGloin has started for 2 years (like that statement is any sort of consolation for Penn State fans). 

-RB by committee.

-Inexperienced WR corps, but Michigan had at least one returning contributor in Greg Matthews.

-No TEs (We would have had Butler, but then NERD SMASHING RAMPAGE).

-PSU's offensive line will be much better than ours was.

-Expected to be a solid defensive unit, with a few good to great players and a couple areas of weakness. Defensive line is the strength of the team. Safety play was expected to be our weak point (Boy is that an understatenment in hindsight), while theirs should be CB play (but really their whole back 4). No real depth.

-At least we had a competent Kicking/Punting game, but there is no way their return game can possibly be any worse than ours was.

It's going to be a rough season for Penn State.

 

BlueDragon

August 8th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^

RB by committee? Check.

Shout out to Greg Matthews. I have vivid memories of him making plays against ND in '09 in person and Minnesota in '08 on the TV.

No TEs? Check.

I do not recall us having much of an inspirational O-Line in 2008. No Jake Long and we were awful at zone blocking that year.

Only 4 CBs? Hello walk-on starters. I remember the feeling.