Lions land another recruit
Penn State’s football recruiting has picked up steam lately, landing its third recruit since the weekend.
The latest is Derrick Thomas — another defensive back — who is from Eleanor Roosevelt High in Greenbelt, Md. — the same school as Penn State receiver Derrick Williams.
Thomas earned honorable mention all-state honors last season as a receiver and, according to Scout.com, he chose the Lions over Illinois, Maryland and Rutgers.
Last weekend, the Lions also received verbal commitments from Maryland cornerback Darrell Givens and New York City safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong. They also received a commitment a couple of weeks ago from cornerback Malcolm Willis, a teammate of Givens at Lackey High in Indian Head, Md.
The Lions’ other verbals so far are offensive linemen Mark Arcidiacono (Philadelphia) and Ty Howle (Bunn, N.C.).
Penn States expects to have a full allotment of 25 scholarships to hand out before National Letter of Intent Day next February.
He had 12.5 sacks and a team-best five forced fumbles last fall as a sophomore.
Other Big Ten players on the watch list include Ohio State’s Malcolm Jenkins (defensive back), Marcus Freeman (linebacker) and James Laurinaitis (linebacker); Iowa defensive tackle Mitch King; Northwestern defensive tackle John Gill; Indiana defensive end Greg Middleton; Wisconsin defensive end Matt Shaughnessy; and Michigan defensive tackle Terrance Taylor.
