The Lions' Pride

I would put that in the category of our staff choosing not to make things a priority outside a certain area. The previous staff had a percieved (at minimum) philosophy of waiting for kids to visit before investing time and resources into them. I personally didnt like that, but that is how they seemed to roll.

When you chose not to make that a priority, it takes away from, at the very least, having relationships in those areas. Hopefully the new staff spends some time each year at least looking into kids in areas of SoCal, Ga, SC and NC, Tex, Fla and so on. At the very least, a presence from PSU is established in areas.

No question Joe didn't put much effort into kids out west but that doesn't mean kids shouldn't be interested in Penn State. When recruiting services list a kid's "schools of interest", aren't they referring to interest from the kid's point-of-view, not the school's? When I was on FOS (and I started during the Spread HD/Rose Bowl era), I used to look at the top 100 kids' lists. It was striking how few times we were listed compared to OSU and Michigan by national recruits. And that was during Michigan's RichRod years. So, on-the-field success is not a requirement to attract kids. And if a kid is looking for a west coast feel and great academics, there are several actually on the west coast that fit the bill.

I think we just need to continue what we are doing this season, reaching out to places like Cali/Florida/South more often with solid contact and offers. Get the buzz going about PSU. Then once you start pulling in some of these recruits, I think it will open up those territories more as people will be more aware of those recruits around them going/looking at PSU sort of how they already do with OSU and UM.

If we pull 1 elite guy out of Florida that players in that state recognize, that'll go a long way in establishing a recruiting presence there for the future IMO.

I agree with that, but HS prospects probably wouldn't. Unless they live in PA.

My bad then, last I had heard it was going to be late April.

Also about prospects that we're looking to finish the class with, we have 6-8 spots left so our extremely hopeful finish will look like this

RB(0-1)-Ty Isaac or none
WR(1-2)-LaQuon Treadwell for one spot and then another WR, maybe Massington out of TX or Devon Allen
DL(2-3)-Henry Poggi, Joe Mathis, Elijah Qualls, guys like Gibbs or Hurst could maybe even pick up offers as we miss on other recruits
LB(0-1)-Levenberry or none
CB(0-1)- Kendall Fuller or none
S(0-1)- Cravens or none

Out of the prospects I listed, we won't land all of them but we should have about 20-22 spots for 2014. We had a ton of attrition under Rich Rod, so we're low on scholly numbers. We'll have a couple of 5th year seniors that won't be asked to come back as well.

Don't mean to butt heads with you, but it's getting close to where RichRod attrition won't be applying soon. From what I can tell, Hoke took 22 players (27 commits according to 247, but only 22 actually signed) in 2011, 25 in 2012, and now around 24 in 2013. I don't see where the room is for 20-22 in 2014. That's 71 players from Hoke's first three years.

No offense intended, it's just that every time teams are taking 22+ players every year for 4 years straight, it starts getting suspicious to me. And honestly, it gets frustrating considering PSU constantly seems to be taking classes in the teens. We get probably one class of 22+ every five years, where others seem to be taking them constantly.

No worries, trust me, I'd rather take classes in the teens than in the 20's. Our attrition seems to have stopped but there was some when Hoke was hired and Rich Rod fired. The actual number for 2014 right now is 16 or 17 but there are a couple of 5th years who don't contribute that probably won't be asked back and we have Lewan and Toussaint who could go pro, opening up another spot or 2. That's why I said 20-22. I'll try to find an exact number, because I could be off a little bit.

That's actually something I've been I've been wondering for a little bit.

Another QB to keep an eye on is Andrew Ford. He's visited PSU once (actually, his family has season tickets so it's rumored he'd be all ours if offered), but he's been getting mail from Michigan, among other schools. He's the QB for Cedar Cliff (Breneman's school). Ford split time with a senior last year, but should be the full time guy this year.

Ideally, we would take 2 QB's for 2014, most likely being Chance Stewart out of Sturgis, Michigan and D. Kizer out of Ohio(some say the top player in Ohio for 2014) but I'm not sure how realistic it is to get 2 high profile QB's to come in together. I do know both grew up Michigan fans, though. Have you guys sent out any offers for 2014? I know it's crazy to think about 2014 while signing day for 2013 is months away.