By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst

bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com

Jan. 19, 2009

Last week, Nittany Network broke the news that Buffalo (N.Y.) Canisius offensive tackle John Urschel would be making an official visit to Penn State over the weekend and would likely commit to the Nittany Lions.  We followed up Saturday with news that Urschel had indeed committed to PSU.

On Sunday night, Urschel discussed his decision with Nittany Network and revealed he had actually made his commitment to Penn State before arriving in State College.

“I committed before I went up for the weekend,” Urschel said.  “I committed last week.  But I hadn’t really talked to anyone about it.  I was sold on Penn State before I got there.”

Urschel made official visits to Buffalo and Cornell as well as unofficial visits to Penn State, Pitt, Stanford and UCLA.  In addition to Penn State, Urschel also had scholarship offers from Boston College and Buffalo.

“Penn State has a great combination of academics and athletics,” Urschel said.  “I think it’s a real good fit for me.”

Even though he had already committed to Penn State, his official visit was anything but a letdown.

“It went real well,” Urschel said.  “I really enjoyed it.  The best part was meeting Joe Paterno.  I had not met him before.  He’s a real cool guy.  He’s a lot funnier than I thought he would be.”

Urschel’s host on his official visit was offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski.  Like Wisniewski, Urschel will play guard for the Nittany Lions.  The two hit it off. 

“I liked hanging out with him and all the players,” Urschel said.  “They made me feel welcome.”
 
The 6-foot-4 and 285-pound Urschel has been on the Canisius varsity since his freshman year.  He has been a starter at offensive tackle since his sophomore season and also played nose tackle as a senior.

Urschel is an outstanding student.  His GPA is close to the 4.0 mark and he scored a 2190 on the SAT.  Urschel plans to major in engineering at Penn State.  He will begin classes at PSU in the summer.