Incoming Freshman

[screwed_again]

Who do you think will be your team's standout freshmen this year?

Despite being a small class, I think there are three or four true freshmen who could make a quick impact for Penn State.
1. Austin Scott-RB...psufan and I have been raving about him for ages. Hopefully he's the real deal and will be able to fill in quite nicely for LJ. BTW psufan, did you see Austin at the state track and field championships this past Saturday? He is looking big...in a good way of course.
2. Terrell Golden-WR...A physical freak. The way I've heard him described makes him sound like Bryant Johnson. He has great size and great speed. Haven't heard much about his hands.
3. Joel Holler-OL...Huge lineman with good feet.
4. Rodney Kinlaw-RB/Slot...Very fast, very quick. Good candidate for a return position.

[dh2k3]

Maryland

1) Wesley Jefferson- one of the top 2 high school LB's in the country. He probably won't start right away, but he'll challenge for the job at MLB, and will probably end up no lower than 2nd string.
2) Robert Armstrong- 6'4" 300 lb. defensive tackle. He enrolled in the spring, and looked GREAT in spring practice. Should play on the 2nd string this fall.
3) Vernon Davis- A very athletic WR/TE. 6'4" 220 lbs., and he's been clocked as low as 4.37 in the 40. Won't start, but should find playing time and a few touches as an H-back.

Also, he's not a freshman, but look out for HB Sam Maldonado (6'1" 230). In 2000, he came to Ohio State as quite possibly the most highly touted HS running back in the nation. He transferred to Maryland after two years at OSU, redshirted last year, and was one of the stars in spring practice. He'll fight with Josh Allen for the role as Bruce Perry's backup.

[RamsCanes]

The Hurricanes should have a few standout freshmen this season

1. Tyrone Moss- The RB out of Pompano Beach is the Broward County all-time leading rusher and should see a bunch of playing time backing up Frank Gore.

2. Devin Hester- This High School phenom can play WR, RB, CB as well as return kickoffs and punts. He should see some time on special teams.

3. Darnell Jenkins- Had an excellent spring playing WR

[Bad_Intentions]

NC State:

Mario Edwards DE....a freak...all over the field....a poor mans Kearse.

[screwed_again]

I think Friedgen has done a great job of building on Maryland's recent success, at least in terms of recruiting. If he can continue to develop talent like he's done thus far, they should be successful for years to come. They've come a long way since the last time they played Penn State (1993, a game which I attended at Maryland) and got shellacked 70-7. I've always kind of liked the Terps-probably due to proximity-less than 2 hours from where I live. Also because they didn't pose much of a threat to Penn State, although that wouldn't be the case today.

[JR4343]

ND had a great class this year, 3 with best chance of playing early

DE Victor Abiamiri: man among boys at the US Army HS All American game, great burst, unblockable

TE Greg Olsen: Nationally ranked in top 5 of all prospect lists, has been compared to Shockey

FS Tom Zbikowski: can play both CB and S, wrote recruiting diary for ESPN.com, excellent speed, big hitter

[JR4343]

dh2k3,

Jefferson is a nice get for the terps, tough luck losing Abiamiri the way they did. Was there any financial incentive for Jefferson to attend Maryland that we didn't hear about?

[dh2k3]

Quote:

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dh2k3,

Jefferson is a nice get for the terps, tough luck losing Abiamiri the way they did. Was there any financial incentive for Jefferson to attend Maryland that we didn't hear about?

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No, there wasn't . Although the Abiamiri situation was unfortunate, (1) it was done by a single assistant coach acting on his own, and (2) it was handled in the best possible way by the Maryland athletic department. The coach in question, former ILB's coach Ron Sharpless (who only recruited Abiamiri and DE Omar Savage, who did commit to Maryland and later denied that he was offered money) was having dinner with Victor A.'s family, and Victor brought up to his parents that he wanted an X-Box for Christmas. They said no, because it was too expensive and might hurt his grades. After dinner, Sharpless snuck Victor $300, and told him to buy the X-Box. If you can somehow spin that into a situation where Friedgen was involved, then I'd love to hear it. When the whole incident broke in late January, Fridge was in Florida coaching an All-Star Game. When he found out about it, he immediately dropped out of the recruiting of Victor Abiamiri and had Sharpless resign. Within days, a law firm was brought in to investigate, and send its report to the NCAA. Considering the fact that Maryland was 100% forthright and prompt in reporting this lone infraction, the penalties will most likely be very light, if there is a penalty at all. Don't expect any lost scholarships.