By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst

bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com

July 1, 2009

Annandale (N.J.) North Hunterdon tight end Kevin Haplea was recently back in the state of Pennsylvania, though not to visit Penn State this time.

“My high school team was there for a 7-on-7 against some teams from Pennsylvania,” Haplea said.  “It was at Bethlehem Liberty.  It went pretty good.  For our first time we did pretty well.”

Haplea was in State College in April for the Blue-White Spring Game.  He also visited Penn State both in early March and again later towards the end of the month.

There is no doubt Haplea has a strong interest in the Nittany Lions.  He has 23 scholarship offers including Penn State, Pitt, Florida, Florida State, Miami, South Florida, North Carolina, Louisville, Syracuse, West Virginia, Clemson, Rutgers and Purdue.

“I took a trip down south in mid-June,” Haplea said.  “I visited Miami, Florida, Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina.  I’m definitely considering those schools and schools up here like Penn State, Pitt and West Virginia.  Those (last) three schools have been pretty high on my list since the beginning.”

Haplea hopes to select a college sooner rather than later.

“I think I’m getting close to deciding,” he said.  “Hopefully, the best case scenario would be to decide sometime in July.  I’ll definitely decide by the end of the summer.  I’m going to be a January graduate.”

Haplea spoke with Penn State assistant coach Bill Kenney a few days ago.

“We talked about the tight end situation,” Haplea said.  “We talked about using the tight end in their offense.  Most likely I’ll visit Penn State again before I decide.”

The 6-foot-4 and 235-pound Haplea is one of the top tight end prospects on the East Coast.  He caught 17 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns during his junior season.  Haplea also played defensive end and made 58 tackles including nine sacks.

Kurelic’s Comment:  The Nittany Lions have been on a roll, landing three new commitments in the past week.  I don’t think Haplea decides before the end of the week, but when he does decide, I think the Nittany Lions have a pretty good shot.