In their preseason analysis, CFN called true sophomore Crawford the newest Penn State "star on the rise," and wrote: "Gone is pass rushing terror Aaron Maybin, and in comes Jack Crawford...Another year, another big-time pass rushing end emerges. Last year it was Aaron Maybin who went from relative obscurity to first-round NFL draft pick status in just 11 games, and now the new star appears to be Jack Crawford, a 6-5, 262-pound sophomore with next-level pass rushing skills and excellent size. ... Jack Crawford could be the next pass rushing great. ... With his size and his ability, he'll be the next Penn State end in line for the NFL scouts to take a gander at...Out goes one star, in comes another. Lose all-star players...Someone else steps in and star. Expect more of the same this year with [DEs] Crawford and Latham looking ready to shine [like Mr. Clean].
CB AJ Wallace (true Senior). Rivals 5-star recruit. Rivals ranked him as the #1 CB recruit in the nation for the 2006 class (and ranked him #19 on the Rivals100). Was a U.S. Army All-American. He has had injuries issues ("Wallace struggled with a hamstring problem last year...he has had a hard time staying healthy"). Has been clocked at 4.34 (sub-forty speed) in the 40, according to NFL Draft Scout. NFL Draft Scout projects him as a 6th Round pick in the 2010 Draft. He also returns kicks and has set the all-time Penn State school record for season kickoff return yards (in 2007, same year he had a 97-yard kickoff return for a TD vs Ohio State... he's had seven kickoff returns of 40 yards or more in his career... not sure if that was coming into this season or including this season). Penn State cornerback A.J. Wallace warms up during football practice Monday, Dec. 29, 2008, in Carson, Calif. , in preparation for the Rose Bowl college football game against Southern California on New Year's Day. Damian Williams #18 of the USC Trojans is tackled by A.J. Wallace #1 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 95th Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi on January 1, 2009 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o8UuDRGiag[/MEDIA]
Seems like Penn State does have some serious linebackers/defense. Just hope that LSU can come up with a gameplan to neutralize their strengths. I am guessing one key thing is that JJ has got to learn to throw the football away quick, step into the pocket and not take sacks, as it is guaranteed that the pressure will be coming.
True Sophomore CB D'Anton Lynn, 2009 honorable mention All-Big Ten. Clocked at a 4.42 forty. NFL Draft Scout projects him as higher ranked CB for the 2012 Draft than Penn State's other CB, Wallace, who they project as a 6th Round pick in the 2010 Draft. They rate Lynn as the #16 CB for the 2012 Draft (but they don't give round projections for drafts earlier than 2010). The guy they have rated at the #16 CB for the 2010 Draft is projected in the 4th-5th Round. Lynn was one of only 4 true freshman to play for Penn State last year. He's out of Texas (hour from downtown Dallas) where he led his high school to a 16-0 record and a Texas State Championship (playing defensive back, linebacker, quarterback, running back and wide receiver). Turned down football scholarship offers from Pete Carroll (USC), Urban Meyer (Florida), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Jim Tressell (Ohio State), etc. to go play for Joe Paterno's Penn State. His father, Anthony, earned two Super Bowl rings playing for the Denver Broncos and then coached for the Broncos, Jaguars, Cowboys, and Browns--he now coaches for the Jets. Cornerback D'Anton Lynn (8) watches Stephon Morris (12) break up a pass Saturday against Iowa. Lynn is the son of two-time Super Bowl champion running back Anthony Lynn.
Their other DT is Ollie Ogbu (redshirt/4th-year junior). Honorable mention all Big-Ten this season. #1 on the 2009 Penn State team in forced fumbles. NFL Draft Scout rates him the #29 DT for the 2011 Draft (although they did write that "Teammate [DT] Jared Odrick gets most of the (deserved) pub, but Ogbu...has been a disruptive force in the middle of the field." Sportsxchange.com called him "underrated" in their Penn State analysis on Dec 15, 2009. In high school, he was named a PrepStar Magazine All-American. Even played RB in high school. CFN in the preseason: "The senior [4th year junior] has the raw talent and the skills to be a special interior presence...With a good motor, he's always working and always forcing blockers to play to the whistle." Penn State defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu rips down Indiana running back Marcus Thigpen during the 3rd quarter at Beaver Stadium. Michigan quarterback Steven Threet (10) is brought down by Penn State's Aaron Maybin (59) and Ollie Ogbu, rear [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1AlxDnntg8[/MEDIA]
DE Jerome Hayes (5th-year Senior). --Penn State lists him as a defensive end but, really, he is a linebacker crowding the line of scrimmage, much the way Tim Shaw did a couple seasons ago. --A ridiculously decorated recruit coming out of Bayonne, N.J., Hayes was viewed as a key piece of Penn State's 2005 class... 2005 Army All-American, 2005 Tom Lemming All-American and 2005 PrepStar All-American. Scout has him as the #15 LB and Rivals had him as the #12 OLB. --Tore his right ACL in Oct. 2007, and then tore is left ACL in Sept. 2008. Any hope of an NFL career was probably ruined when he suffered his second ACL injury. "Anytime you have your favorite thing taken away from you, it makes you appreciate it a little more," Hayes said. "Just putting that helmet on, putting that No. 5 on my chest every Saturday is something that I'll always remember." [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3WjspT1BAQ[/media] Jada Feliciano, 8, shows up Penn State linebacker Jerome Hayes with one-handed push-ups in the locker room. Penn State defensive ends Jack Crawford and Jerome Hayes run a drill during a practice session held in Holuba Hall. Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes tackles OSU RB Brandon Saine Jerome Hayes mauls Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen
Penn State is #5 in the NCAA and #1 in the Big Ten with 8.25 tackles for loss per game (best SEC teams are Ole Miss at #10, Georgia at #18, Bama at #24, and Arkansas at #26, South Carolina at #39 and LSU at #45). Penn State is #6 in the NCAA and #1 in the Big Ten with 2.92 sacks per game (best SEC teams are Florida at #16, Ole Miss at #24, Georgia at #34, Bama at #38, and Arkansas at #45). LSU is #89, tied with Tennessee. DTs--Tackles for Loss 10.0 -- DT Jared Odrick 8.0 -- DT Ollie Ogbu 4.5 -- DT Devon Still (pictured below) 1.0 -- DT James Terry 1.0 -- DT Jordan Hill DTs--Sacks 6.0 -- DT Jared Odrick -- also had 3 QB hurries 2.0 -- DT Ollie Ogbu -- also had 1 QB hurry 2.0 -- DT Devon Still (pictured below) 1.0 -- DT James Terry 1.0 -- DT Jordan Hill DEs--Tackles for Loss 13.5 -- DE Jack Crawford 6.0 -- DE Eric Latimore (pictured below) 4.5 -- DE Jerome Hayes 4.0 -- DE Kevion Latham 2.5 -- DE Sean Stanley -- also had 1 QB hurry DEs--Sacks 5.5 -- DE Jack Crawford 3.5 -- DE Eric Latimore -- also had 1 QB hurry (pictured below) 2.0 -- DE Sean Stanley 1.5 -- DE Kevion Latham 1.0 -- DE Jerome Hayes LBs--Tackles for Loss 15.5 -- LB Navorro Bowman 10.5 -- LB Sean Lee 8.5 -- LB Josh Hull 1.5 -- LB Stupar 1.0 -- LB Colasanti 0.5 -- LB Gbadyu LBs--Sacks 3.0 -- LB Navorro Bowman -- also had 1 QB hurry 2.0 -- LB Sean Lee 2.0 -- LB Josh Hull 1.0 -- LB Colasanti 1.0 -- LB Stupar DT Devon Still (71) takes down Ohio State running back Dan Herron (1) DE Eric Latimore DE Eric Latimore
This is almost as scary as reading about Devon Hester before we played Miami, Brady Quinn and Jeff Smargichek or whatever before we played ND, and Laringitis and Co before we played tOSU. <quivers with fear> :shock: John, I knew you'd have great pictures and stats, but how do you think they stack up against '07 tOSU, and do they have anyone that plays on offense?
To be honest, I did zero research on that LSU vs Miami bowl game, although I was thrilled about the match-up and beating them down was one of my proudest moments as a Tiger fan. I can't name a single person on that Miami team we played... just their head coach. I didn't even know who Devon Hester was until well after he was in the pros... and I didn't know (until now) that he played against us. As for the ND vs LSU bowl game, I figured we'd crush ND just because I thought ND was overrated. Ya, I'd heard of Quinn and Smargichek or whatever before they played us... I didn't get why anybody thought Quinn was as great as ESPN made him out to be, but I thought Smargichek or whatever was pretty legit, but not as legit as the WRs ND had this year, esp. Golden Tate. I didn't know any other players on their team besides those two when we played them in the Sugar. Did ND or Miami have anybody besides just 1-2 great players on their team when we played them? Although I imagine they did, wish I'd have known about it for sure, cuz it would have made me appreciate those LSU wins even more. As for Ohio State, I did do a lot of research on them when we played them in the title game, I even joined the big Ohio State discussion forum and hung out there (something I haven't even done for this game vs Penn State). They had Gholston, Laurinitis (sp?), Jenkins, Wells... I pointed out here how they were each projected as early round picks, and it turned out some even went higher than I imagined: Gholston--6th overall, 1st Round, Jenkins--14th overall, 1st Round to my Saints (and I didn't want him... I wanted to trade down for extra picks or I wanted Utah's Sean Smith instead, but I was cool that we took him for the most part), Beanie Wells--31st overall (1st Round), Laurintis (sp?)--35th overall (2nd round). However, except for those big-time guys, that Preseason #11 2007 Ohio State team, impressive as it was, wasn't as loaded and/or impressive as this Preseason #9 2009 Penn State team we are playing. As for Penn State's offense, looks pretty good so far from what I've read. Just trying to keep the thread organized by finishing off the D first.
