Courtesy of Penn State Athletics
Today, as the early National Letter of Intent signing day period kicks off, most — if not all — of the newest members of the Penn State recruiting class will sign on the dotted line, accepting a scholarship to play football for the Nittany Lions. For every player who does sign, I’ll be here to provide an in-depth scouting report. Here is my report on Indiana defensive end Rodney McGraw.
Height: 6-4
Weight: 230
School: Elkhart Central HS (Elkhart, Ind.)
Projected position: Defensive end
Rating: Four stars by ESPN; Three stars by Rivals.com and 247sports
Other Power 5 offers: Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue
Projection: McGraw is a first-guy-off-the-bus type of guy, potentially. And he shows what you want to see from a high school player: Speed, smarts and, mostly, a lot of effort. He is never out of a play. Watch enough film on him, and you’ll see him making more plays upfield than most prep defensive linemen do. But he’s going to be a bit of a project, technique-wise. Defensive line coach John Scott Jr. has liked him for a while, and if he can coach McGraw up to play lower, to better his get-off and to use leverage to his advantage much more consistently, Penn State will have a real find here.
Donnie Collins has been a member of The Times-Tribune sports staff for nearly 20 years and has been the Penn State football beat writer for Times-Shamrock Newspapers since 2004. The Penn State Football Blog covers Nittany Lions, Big Ten and big-time college football news from Beaver Stadium to the practice field, the bowl game to National Letter of Intent Signing Day. Contact: dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5368; @DonnieCollinsTT