By Jeff Rice, NN Senior Writer

jrice@nittanynetwork.com

June 3, 2009

Tom Luginbill has seen the game as a player, a coach and a personnel evaluator. Each year, ESPN’s national director of recruiting and his colleagues at Scouts, Inc. evaluate more than 3,000 high school prospects, from future NFL stars to those destined for FCS programs.

Luginbill took some time to talk to Nittany Network senior writer Jeff Rice about a variety of Penn State topics. In the first installment of the series, Luginbill offered his thoughts on Penn State’s class of 2010 commits thus far.

In today’s second installment of our three-part series, Luginbill discusses some of the big prospects Penn State is still pursuing and how the Nittany Lions are perceived on a national scale.

Jeff Rice: Of the players it is still recruiting, who does Penn State need the most?

Tom Luginbill: This is going to sound strange, but I really felt that when they offered (Barry) Brunetti out of Memphis that it was an important offer. I think he’s further ahead than both Newsome and Jones. If they were able to get him I think he is a really good fit for the HD, is further along in the passing game than both Jones and Newsome. It’s not getting a lot of attention right now but I think if that works out in Penn State’s favor, people down the line will say, ‘Boy, that was a good pickup.’

Linebacker-wise, you have to look at Khairi Fortt. I think he’s ready-made for the collegiate level in terms of the physical intangibles to play right away. Corey Brown has great quickness and speed; I see him as more of a scatback, slot receiver, return guy.

Anthony Gonzalez is such an untapped, raw, physical specimen and a heck of an athlete. He has Tebow-like qualities when it comes to intangibles -- the way he plays, leadership, command of team, he’s creative, he improvises, and just makes plays.

JR: The Spread HD offense got a lot of pub last season and recruits are clearly aware of it. Do you think that made an impact with skill players like Paul Jones, Adrian Coxson and Silas Redd?

TL: If you look across the landscape of college football, teams giving the ball to playmakers that are in the spread offenses are attractive to running backs, receivers, quarterbacks. You’ve got to be in a scheme to attract the best players that is proven to get the ball in the hands of its playmakers. I think (the Spread HD) has paid huge dividends on the recruiting trail.

What Penn State is perceived to be by a student-athlete now is dramatically different from what it was five years ago. You have to give credit to the coaching staff for adapting with the times.

JR: Do you think Penn State’s name still carries the national weight in recruiting circles it once did?

TL: In the regions in which they are recruiting in terms of fertile recruiting pool, I do … Nationally, I don’t know if I would still say that, but some of that’s by choice. Are they gonna waste their time in certain areas they usually don’t recruit just to get a couple of kids? I don’t think Penn State’s going to do that.
But in Maryland, D.C, Virginia, Jersey, in-state and in the Midwest, they have regained their stature in relativity to the regions that are most important to them.

JR: Do you think the yearly chatter of “When will Paterno retire?” has an effect on recruits?

TL: It doesn’t seem to have done that yet … if that was the case, I really truly believe they would not have had the previous three seasons they’ve had. I think the answer to that question is in the results on the field.

Joe Paterno’s the figure, the face, the prominence of the program but in the grand scheme of things, they’ve been able to convey that Penn State is bigger than that. It’s that Penn State is recruiting you, the stability and the continuity is what’s recruiting you.

JR: Penn State recently made Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes running back Marcus Lattimore’s list of eight. Is he worth the hype?

TL: What I like most about him is he’s really good in the passing game. He’s all of 6-1, 215 pounds. He looks like a well-trimmed linebacker, runs with a upright shoulder, galloping style, that downhill, slashing, grind-it-out style, but when you get him in the passing game, he’s as competent as any wide receiver you’d have on the field.

In today’s spread offenses, the teams that are really good and diverse are the teams that will include any player in the passing game. There are some backs more explosive, some with more top-end speed, but there aren’t many backs as well-rounded.

JR: You mentioned Fortt. What are your thoughts on (defensive end) Dakota Royer?

TL: Royer is one of our favorite football players in this class, primarily for this reason -- we love players who are running on 93 octane every down, every game. That is a football-playing dude right there. His size is where he’s going to be behind coming in (Royer weighs about 220 pounds). But he has a great work ethic, is a great athlete, and when you line him up, he’s a good football player with a great motor. Once he gets into the weight room, look out. He’s just so fun to watch, plays so hard on every snap. Coaches love that kind of player.

JR: Is there a chance the Nittany Lions sign both Fortt and Royer?

TL: Possibly, with tradition and history at linebacker spot there, as well as a need from depth standpoint, there’s the opportunity there. The recruiting landscape has become about the depth chart – ‘Where can I play right away?’ Redshirting has become an afterthought for many guys; it used to be everyone did it. They are two guys that fit Penn State’s linebacking mold.

JR: Are there players on Penn State right now that have surprised you performance-wise as college players after evaluating them as high school prospects – good or bad?

TL: It’s a shame to see what happened with Maurice Evans. The reality is at one point that guy had everything in front of him to be a dominant player in college football. I was disappointed to see that. He had proved us right initially and then got off track.

A guy I’ll be watching this year is Mike Mauti. He has that similar feel and style of a lot of those great (Penn State) linebackers. I’ll be expecting big things from him.