By Bill Kurelic, NN Recruiting Analyst

bkurelic@nittanynetwork.com

July 7, 2009

The Nittany Lions received a huge boost to their future defensive line with the recent commitments of Evan Hailes from Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith and DaQuan Jones from Johnson City, N.Y.  Hailes is an ESPNU 150 Watch List prospect while Jones is one of the top prospects in the state of New York.

Joe Paterno also has a commitment from Kyle Baublitz from York (Pa.) Central.  Baublitz plays middle linebacker for Central, but will likely be a defensive end for the Nittany Lions.

Defensive lineman Dominique Easley from Staten Island (N.Y.) Curtis is another top New York prospect the Nittany Lions have been pursuing.  The 6-foot-3 and 260-pound Easley led his team to a 21-2 record over the past two seasons.

Easley made 49 tackles including eight sacks during his sophomore season. He recovered two fumbles and returned one for a touchdown as Curtis went 13-0 and won the city championship.  Easley made 51 tackles including 10 sacks during his junior season.

Easley has made two visits to Penn State.  He attended the Penn State-Michigan State game last season and also made an unofficial visit to Penn State during the spring and watched the Nittany Lions practice for the Blue-White Game. 

Easley has 18 scholarship offers including Penn State, Michigan, Rutgers, Syracuse, Florida, Georgia, Miami, South Florida, Boston College, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Maryland, Oregon, Duke and Connecticut.

Easley hoped to narrow his list down by the end of June, but has not been able to do so to this point.

“I’m still working on that,” Easley said.  “Right now I’m still looking at everyone, but I hope I can have it down by the end of the month.”

Easley said he will likely take at least some of his official visits, though he is not sure how many and is not sure of any of the schools he will visit.

When asked what he likes about Penn State, Easley said, “I like their facilities.  I like the coaches.  Kermit Buggs is recruiting me.  When I was there in the spring I liked how they practiced.  I’ll probably get back out there.”

Kurelic’s Comment:  There is still room left on the defensive line in this Penn State recruiting class, but predicting which way Easley will go is almost impossible at this point.