By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst

bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com

March 3, 2009

The Nittany Lions had great success recruiting the state of Maryland for their 2009 recruiting class. In fact, Joe Paterno signed more prospects from Maryland than he did from Pennsylvania.

Paterno and his staff are working Maryland hard for their 2010 recruiting class and one of their targets is Frederick (Md.) Linganore star Zach Zwinak.

The 6-foot-1 and 230-pound Zwinak has been a starter at both running back and linebacker since the beginning of his sophomore season.  Zwinak rushed for 435 yards and averaged over eight yards per carry that season.  He made 41 tackles including eight for loss.

Zwinak rushed for 1,447 yards, averaged 10.9 yards per carry and scored 19 times during his junior season.  He made 53 tackles, including 11 for loss.  Zwinak forced seven fumbles with his hard-hitting style.

“Everybody originally thought he would be a great linebacker in college,” Linganore coach Rick Conner said.  “But the more coaches watch him they say he can run the ball.  I think he could be a great linebacker or running back in college.”

Zwinak is a powerful young man who runs well and is very athletic.  He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.

“He has explosive power,” Conner said.  “He can dunk a basketball.”

Zwinak has a dozen scholarship offers.  His list includes Penn State, Maryland, West Virginia, Michigan, Stanford, Cal, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Pitt and Rutgers.

Zwinak visited Rutgers in January as well as Maryland and Virginia Tech in February.  He also visited Happy Valley during the football season, attending the Penn State-Michigan game.

“It was nice,” Zwinak said of his visit to State College.  “I liked everything.  I enjoyed my time there.  I’m going to try and go to Penn State’s (football) camp.”

One thing the Nittany Lions may have going for them is that Zwinak seems to favor the offensive side of the ball.

“Penn State said they like me at fullback,” Zwinak said.  “I’ll play anywhere, but I like offense.  I like to run the ball.”

Zwinak does not plan to select a college in the near future.

“I want to go to as many places as I can,” Zwinak said.  “I want to see what different places are like.  I’ll take official visits.  I’ll probably wait until after the football season is over to pick a college.”