By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst

bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com

April 6, 2009

If Joe Paterno is going to dominate recruiting in his home state this year, landing linebacker/defensive end Dakota Royer from Manheim (Pa.) Central is close to a must get.

The 6-foot-3 and 220-pound Royer is one of the Keystone State’s top 10 prospects.  He has been a starter since the beginning of his sophomore season when he had 11 sacks.  Royer made 86 tackles, including 11 sacks, during his junior season and also caught 56 passes for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns.

Royer visited Penn State on March 27.  He looked back on the trip and told Nittany Network about his State College experience.

“I went there for an unofficial visit and watched one of their spring practices,” Royer said.  “I went there with my parents.  It was a lot of fun.  I’ve been there before, but this time it was more in-depth and I learned more.”

The Penn State coaching staff spent plenty of time with Royer.

“I talked to pretty much all the coaches,” Royer said.  “Coach (Mike) McQueary is recruiting me.  He showed me around the campus and the facilities.  I sat down with Coach (Ron) Vanderlinden.  I also sat down and had a meeting with Coach (Larry) Johnson.  We talked about where I would fit in.”

Royer played defensive end his sophomore and junior seasons, but has college linebacker size.

“The (Penn State) coaches said I would be a linebacker right now, but if I gain weight I might move down to defensive end and put my hand down,” Royer said.

Royer has 19 scholarship offers including Penn State, Pitt, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Illinois, Stanford, Virginia, Rutgers, Temple, UCLA and Syracuse.  He has a general timetable for narrowing his list down and making his college choice.

“At the end of this month I will probably narrow it down to seven,” Royer said.  “Then I’ll get a top four or five by June.  I wanted to make a commitment on my birthday, June 16, but that’s not going to work.  I don’t see that happening now.  I hope to decide by the third week of the football season.”

The Nittany Lions don’t have to worry about making Royer’s cut later this month.

“Penn State will be in my final seven,” he said.

Royer will next visit Virginia on Friday.  The week of April 13 he plans to visit Notre Dame, Michigan State and Illinois.