By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst

bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com

June 25, 2009

Joe Paterno and his coaching staff are set to welcome in a super group of prospects for the Nittany Lions’ Senior Camp on Friday and Saturday.

The camp is designed to focus on rising seniors, and some of the top prospects on Penn State’s recruiting board are scheduled to be in attendance.

One player who will not have to worry about dead legs from a long trip to Happy Valley is ESPNU 150 Watch List wide receiver Alex Kenney from State College, Pa.  Kenney has grown up in the Nittany Lions’ backyard and his father is a professor at Penn State.

The 6-foot and 190-pound Kenney caught 16 passes for 240 yards during his junior season.  He rushed for 670 yards and averaged 12.9 yards per carry.  Kenney averaged 40.7 yards per kickoff return and 17.6 per punt return.

Kenney has over a dozen scholarship offers including Penn State, Pitt, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina State, Boston College, Temple and Kentucky.

Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith defensive lineman Evan Hailes, who has trimmed his list of 30 scholarship offers to five schools, will work out at Penn State’s camp this weekend.

The 6-foot-1 and 310-pound Hailes, an ESPNU 150 Watch List prospect, has narrowed his list down to Penn State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, North Carolina State and LSU.

Hailes, who plans to select a college at the end of this week or beginning of next week, made 81 tackles including 11 sacks in helping his team go undefeated and win a state championship last season.

Defensive lineman DaQuan Jones from Johnson City, N.Y., one of the top prospects in the Empire State, will attend Penn State’s camp this weekend. 

The 6-foot-4 and 300-pound Jones, who made 63 tackles during his junior season, has 10 scholarship offers including Penn State, Boston College, Maryland, Syracuse, Illinois, Rutgers, Connecticut and Pitt.

It is not 100-percent clear if he will make it to State College in time for the second day of the Senior Camp on Saturday, but it is definite ESPNU 150 Watch List quarterback Robert Bolden from Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s will be in State College for camp.

“I leave on Saturday for Penn State’s camp,” Bolden said.  “I’m not sure if I’ll work out Saturday or not.  But I’ll be working out.  I’ll be there until Wednesday.”

Wednesday is the last day of the Penn State Offense and Defense Camp.  That camp is a four-day camp that runs from Sunday, June 28 to Wednesday, July 1, and is open to not only rising seniors, but underclassmen as well.

Bolden remains a viable candidate to be the other quarterback in Paterno’s 2010 recruiting class.  Paterno has a commitment from quarterback P.J. Jones from McKees Rocks (Pa.) Sto-Rox, but wants to add a second signal-caller to the class.

“I’m still pretty interested in Penn State, Michigan State and Oregon,” Bolden said.  “I’m still pretty open to everyone, but those are three I’m really looking at.  Those three are recruiting me the hardest.” 

Starting on Friday it will be a busy recruiting period for the Penn State staff with the two camps going back-to-back.  Nittany Network.com will have complete coverage.