THE CAPITAL TIMES All intentions of Devlin at Penn State New Penn State recruiting class features certain mid-Atlantic flair By GENARO G ARMAS Associated Press Writer STATE COLLEGE, Pa coach Joe Paterno likes to. keep a low profile, many of his incoming freshmen weren't bashful about their intentions to attend Penn State. At a hotel in Baltimore, A.J. Wallace, Antonio Logan- El and several other highly touted Penn State recruits slid blue-and-white caps on their head, smiled for the cameras and talked about living in Happy Valley. Patemo was smiling, too. After a banner 2005 campaign, Penn State cashed in on the recruiting trail on Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period. Analysts at two recruiting sites, Rivals.com and Scout. com, had the Nittany Lions' incoming class of 24 recruits among at least the top 10 in the nation. "To turn around and have a class like this, it's phenomenal," said Bob Lichtenfels, an analyst for Scout.com. "It shows that JoePa is not finished yet." Paterno was in a good mood on Wednesday, handing out loaves of garlic bread in the lobby of the school's football building after the signing day bustle died down. He downplayed the increased hype over the recruiting process but heaped praise on his assistants for their work. It helps that Penn State finished the 2005 season ranked third in the AP poll at 1- I , including an Orange Bowl win Florida State. "Always, when you win it helps," he said. "There's no question about that." Solid team work earn Steelers win Continued from page 7 everything in the balance. "When we called it, my eves lit ~ up and I had to try to not give it away," Randle El said. Parker took a pitchout from Roethlisberger, who then turned himself into a blocker. Randle El got the ball from Parker and ran to his right, making it look like a reverse. The Seahawks fell for it. Ward ran down the field and right past the duped safeties, who were convinced it was a run. By the time they figured out what was happening, Ward had run by them. This one was easy. "Certainly this is a team that uses Mens' team earns retribution from Dußois By MEGAN RESSER Sports Reporter MKRIS7aPSU EDU In a home game on Monday night, Jan. 30, the Penn State Han•isburg men's basketball team exacted revenge on the visiting Lions from Dußois. In an earlier contest, Dußois beat Harrisburg 72-53. This loss must have been a strong motivator for the Harrisburg team, because they put forth a superb team effort and came out with a 62-56 win, bringing their overall record to 7 wins, 8 losses. The entire game was a physical, fast-paced, back-and-forth fight, with neither team dominating possession of the ball for any great length of time. Although the Dußois team gave them some trouble with a full court press and two players who kept sinking three-point shots, the Lions from Harrisburg played scrappy defense and capitalized on several fast breaks to keep the score very Patemo had quite a haul from Maryland, so it was appropriate that some of his recruits got together at a function organized by defensive end signee Aaron Mayhin and his family at a Holiday Inn in Baltimore. Photo courtesy of pennstate scout com Pat Devlin, currently of Downingtown East High, will be trading his purple and gold for Penn State Blue and White in the upcoming fall season. Devlin originally planned on signing to Miami, however, after learning the change in the coaching staff, changed his mind and signed to Penn State. That's not far from Greenbelt, Md., hometown of Derrick Williams, who helped ignite Penn State's offense this past season as a freshman. £ s ~~ S ~ r close throughout the first half. Senior Nealy Rawlings dumped in I points in the first half alone. Freshman l lasahn Wright and sophomores Abe Ilitz and Steve Molek played well and contributed points of their own. Junior Craig Martin sank a crucial three-point Mens' Basketball Current Standings 7 Wins 8 Losses 0 Ties shot at the half-time buzzer, making the score Penn State Harrisburg 36, Penn State Dußois 38 at the half. Penn State Dußois managed to maintain their lead for the first ten February 6, 2006 lill'ieW]li!,'lP' Wallace is considered one of the top cornerback prospects in the nation but also excels on offense, having run for nearly 2,100 yards and 26 touchdowns last year at McDonough High School in Pomfret, Md. Sounds a lot like Justin King, the speedy two-way player who starred as a freshman this past season at Penn State. said. "That's what we e versatility we have 1m to get it done." is the first Super Bowl ;hdown pass thrown by .ceiver, taking its place the list of title game ickery. Dallas closed out a 27-10 win over Denver in 1978 with Robert Newhouse's 29-yard option pass to Golden Richards. And the guy who caught it took his • place among the Super Bowl's best. "Swann and (John) Stallworth, those are the guys that made spectacular catches in the Super Bowl," Ward said. "And I wanted to be compared to those guys. I think you can put me on the list now with those guys." minutes of the second half, although Penn State Harrisburg was right on their tail. With about eleven minutes left to go, senior Tim Hurtack tied the game at 47-47. Hitz then sank a three-point shot to give the Harrisburg Lions a lead which they never relinquished. Molek, Hitz, Wright, and Rawlings all solidified the Harrisburg victory with strong offensive and defensive play, which included taking control of many key rebounds. With two minutes left, Harrisburg was holding onto a 58-55 lead. Molek and Rawlings hit four critical free throws to bring the score to 62- 56, which became a lead to which the Dußois Lions did not have time to catch up. Harrisburg's 77% successful free throw shooting, compared to I)ußois's 55%, proved to be instrumental in their victory. Harrisburg's high scorers included Rawlings, who finished the game with a team-high 24 points, Hitz who dumped in 17 points, and Molek, who contributed 10 points of his own. "He's got all the tools to shine," Kevin Noon, an analyst for Rivals. corn, said about Wallace, who has been clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash. The 6-foot-6, 310-pound Logan-El ranks among the nation's best offensive line prospects, but also made an impact on defense during his senior season at Forestville (Md.) High School, with 82 tackles and three forced fumbles. He announced last week that he was switching to Penn State after having made an oral commitment to the University of Maryland before his junior year. Quarterback Pat Devlin followed a similar path to State College. Devlin, Pennsylvania's career scholastic passing yardage leader with 8,162 yards for Class AAAA Downingtown East, originally committed to Miami. He announced last week he was instead headed to Penn State. Devlin had said he changed his mind after Hurricanes coach Larry Coker fired some of his staff, including quarterbacks coach Dan Werner. Devlin already has connections to Happy Valley, his parents both Penn State graduates and his grandfather lives in State College. Anthony Morelli, a junior next year, is poised to assume the starting quarterback job next fall from Michael Robinson. Scouts say Chris Bell, a wide receiver signee from Norfolk, Va., PSH Volleyball Club First Men's Game vs. Messiah College Thurs. Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. in the CUB 6 1 . 115 10 1 111011 6 . tk iS Vitt I kr 1,. \iik '''3,;!': ..1! - ~. : ... ..; 1: Pi. 41-: . i:,&,>: ... 1 Si l I Ig Oi l 0 11 I 61 I I‘ 1 ‘ll I I I I 111 I r a l I I 1 / 4 1 I I .® ... . , : i : : ii‘ . 11. 4:.§...V.c:i:v• -1 : :: . 1 . 4-A:i . .:o l's.: 4.:-• 1 4 y -t, : -1 - ,i; i!, ' ke)644k .„E„:.„, x„,,,r1.,„A ..„.,:. 4: Students volleball KPLARKI N®COMCAST. NET By ANDREW KO Staff Reporter AJK233@PSU.EI Nealy Rawlings men's basketball earn has been named Featured Athlete by the Penn State Harrisburg Athletic Department An accounting major, Rawlings' 21 point effort was crucial in a 92-75 victory over Penn State Mont Alto. The 21- year-old senior is a 2002 graduate of Roxborough High School in Philadelphia. Trying out for the team seemed like a no brainer because of his previous experience in the Penn State Athletic Conference, and after has the size (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) and speed (4.5 seconds in the 40- yard dash) to be an immediate compliment to Williams in the passing game. Andrew Quarless, a 6-foot-4, 228- pound tight end from Uniondale, N.Y., with 4.5-second 40-yard dash, might also contribute immediately because "he can stretch field vertically," Lichtenfels said. The impact that first-year players Williams and King had this past season has been closely watched by high school players, Noon said. But Paterno said the subject of playing time didn't come up much when he spoke with recruits. Instead, many signees told him that they liked the close-knit family atmosphere at Penn State, Paterno said. Three of the past season's four defensive line starters have run out of eligibility, including All- American Tamba Flali. Maurice interested joining the club or the menus team, contact Ben Davis @ BVDSOOI @PSU. EDU or Kevin Larkin @ Featured Athlete Penn State Schuylkill , st two years Nealy luting close to 20 Ls season for the Yet this season has seen a memorable one for Rawlings. "I believe this is the best group of guys I have played with in my three years of experience in college basketball. Everybody is so ositive and dedicated by going hard in practice and leaning on each other. Everyone on the team wants to make it to the Final Four. But just like Coach Ream preaches to us, we have to take it one game at a time. We have to execute on the little things that will get us to the Final Four at University Park." Evans, of Middle Village, N.Y. and Jared Odrick, of Lebanon, are a couple of Penn State's top D-line signees and might help replenish depth. The 79-year-old Paterno said he tries to visit each recruit at their home, and the subject of how much longer he will coach doesn't come up much. "I tell them I don't think I can go much longer than 10 years," Paterno joked. Then he added, "The quality of all the people around here have made it less important how much longer I'm going to be here." Maybin, in a telephone interview, said he had a few doubts initially about how active the 79-year-old Paterno was before meeting him in person. "1 really have no worries about Paterno," he said. "If anybody knows Coach Paterno, he's not trying to leave until he wins another national championship."
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