There may not be a bowl game for Penn State this year, but the postseason continues to be a good one.
After a host of awards and honors earlier this month, the Nittany Lions Sunday added a recruiting coup.
It was a big recruiting weekend that ended with Penn State getting four verbal commitments Sunday including highly rated targets Zayd Issah, and DaeSean Hamilton.
Issah is a 6-3, 205 pounder from Central Dauphin (Pa.), who previously committed to Penn State but rescinded it earlier this year. He also was being sought after by Oregon. The linebacker is a consensus three-star prospect, who held 15 scholarship offers.
Hamilton, from Stafford, Va., is a 6-1, 185 pound receiver, who is another three-star recruit. He also had offers from Duke, Illinois, Boston College and East Carolina. His commitment was lauded by several high profile recruiting analysts.
Jonathan Walton and Anthony Smith are the other two commits.
Walton is another linebacker, with two or three stars depending on which recruiting service, from Daphne, Ala. He’s 6-1, 225 pounds and had offers from Minnesota and Arkansas State among others.
Smith is a defensive back from Valley Forge Military Academy, who also had offers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He is 6-0, 185 pounds and is a post-grad player from Wayne, Pa. He will enroll in January.
The four commitments bring Penn State’s total to 17 for the 2013 class. However, four of the players are expected to enroll in January and, thus, will count against the 2012 total. This keeps the Lions within the 15-scholarship limit that the NCAA sanctions allow.
In addition to Smith, Adam Breneman, (four-star tight end) Richy Anderson (three-star running back) and Jordan Smith (two-star defensive back) will also enroll in January.
The early enrollees allow Penn State to sign two more recruits that will enroll in the fall. The Lions also have one more slot available for a January enrollment and, clearly, they are targeting Iowa Western JC quarterback Jake Waters.
Penn State’s staff is scheduled to visit Waters early this week. He spent the weekend visiting Kansas State and has also garnered late interest from Alabama and Texas.
As of now, there are no scholarship offers from the Longhorns or Crimson Tide and most expect Waters to choose either Kansas State or Penn State – and the decision could come as early as this week.
Follow Marty Valania on Twitter @EastRecruiting.
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