Dontea Ayres: "I Just Love It"

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com

Dontea Ayres from Salisbury (MD) Wicomico HS may only be 5'8", but don't call him undersized.  That's because he is 205 lbs, runs a 4.5 forty and self-reports (this isn't a joke) a 455 lb bench press and 655 lb squat.  And that is not a type-o.

It's these astounding numbers that have Ayres receiving attention from around the country.  "Stanford, they're recruiting me very hard.  Penn State's recruiting me hard, Maryland is recruiting me hard.  Tennessee and Michigan State - they've all been in contact," he said.  "[I don't have] offers yet, but they're just waiting to see my transcript."

What is Ayres looking for in his college decision?  "Academics.  Academics are the most important," he said, while adding that history and a winning tradition would be nice.  "That's something that Penn State definitely has, a winning tradition," he said about the Nittany Lions.

Speaking of the Nittany Lions, where do they sit this early in the process?  "If I had to choose now, I'd definitely choose Penn State.  I love Penn State.  Penn State's a dream school...I just love it."

Although Dontea has not talked to the PSU coaches specifically about an offer, he has sat down with them and talked about the recruiting process.  Furthermore, he has been on campus twice this summer, and added that he'd like to make it up for a game this year.

(Photo courtesy of Philly.com)

According to Rick O’Brien of Philly.com, St. Joseph’s Prep QB Skyler Mornhinweg will choose to attend Penn State this afternoon in a conference call scheduled for 2 p.m.

The son of Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, Skyler originally commited to Stanford during his sophomore season, but decommited when head coach Jim Harbaugh left to take the San Francisco 49ers job.

The 6’3’’, 215 pound signal caller is ranked as the #44 QB in the class of 2012, via his Scout.com page. He becomes the 11^th player of the 2012 recruiting class for the Nittany Lions, and the second skill position player, joining TE Jesse James.

Penn State fans will want to keep an eye out today in their local book stores, grocery stores newsstands and more. Maple Street Press Nittany Lions Kickoff 2011 is now available and it contains a pair of feature stories by me, touching on the evolving social media aspect of college football and looking at the running game this upcoming season.

I received my copy of the magazine in the mail a couple weeks ago and I had a chance to flip through it and see what everyone else did. To me, it looks like it came out great. If you happen to pick up a copy at some point do me a favor and flip to page 67 for my story on the way social media has impacted the sport of college football. Then, turn to page 77 to read my take on this year’s running backs, Silas Redd and Stephfon Green (and Brandon Beachum).

My thanks to Mike Hubbell, who is the editor of the magazine and the former driving force behind Black Shoe Diaries (you may have heard that he stepped down). A number of contributions came from the staff of the website, but there are also contributions from writers from Joe Pa’s Doghouse, Nittany Lion’s Den,Victory Bell Rings, Onward State and more.

The printed price on the magazine cover is $12.99 and it is slated to be on newsstands on July 19. If you want to save a couple bucks then do yourself a favor and like Maple Street Press on Facebook. Anyone who does will receive free shipping if you place an order through the MSP Facebook Store (savings of 25 percent). And don’t think that by liking them you will just get advertisements for their various publications. You will also get some interesting sports trivia and factoids sent to your Facebook stream on a regular basis as well.

Let me know what you think about my stories, and the entire magazine itself. It was fun putting together my contributions for this year's issue and I hope you enjoy reading them.

Cup of Joe: Where we haven't seen Harry Potter

Happy Malik Golden and Skyler Mornhinweg commitment day!

PS: You could have found most of this morning's links by just checking ESPN.com.  BUT, I'm glad you dropped by the Den anyways.  Feel free to start commenting on any of our material, follow us at @TheNLD, or liking us on facebook.

-Jay Paterno is still babbling about how much to pay athletes

-JoePa is looking healthy, just like his team

-Anthony Fera is a great punter, but suspiciously not a great kicker?  Whatever, that's enough ESPN for one day

-Penn State Swimming and Diving schedules are announced

-Penn State Central previews the running back situation for the fall

-The 2012 recruiting class can be great.  Or not.

Cup of Joe: Where Hope Solo is still smokin'

Sadly, looks don't always make you a better athlete (unless you're Blair Brown).  That's why I only blog about PSU athletics.

-Penn State coaches must have felt that their class was too good.  Luckily, Jamil Pollard is looking around

-The Ess Eee See is here to tell us yanks what's wrong wid us

-Nittany Lion athletes continue to be really, really smart

The series "The Games of Our Lives" is taking a week off for vacation. But while I play, you need to do a crash course. Read up on three great games (and one "perspective piece"). There will be a quiz when I return.

The Games of Our Lives: 1977 PSU at Arizona State Fiesta Bowl

The Games of Our Lives: 1978 Maryland at PSU

The Games of Our Lives: 1981 PSU at Pittsburgh

(and one historical perspective piece...Are you Redd-y? Why Penn State's Future Rests More on Silas Redd than a QB)

See you next week where your tan author will transport you back to the 1982 season with two magical games that sparked Paterno's first national championship season.

Henry Poggi from Baltimore (MD) Gilman School may have yet to begin his junior year of high school, but he has received more than 10 offers.  The Nittany Lions Den recently caught up with him to hear how his recruitment has been going, and whether or not Penn State has been in contact.

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com

Is PSU in the running for Blue Chip 2013 TE?  Read On!

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com

Nittany Lion's Den: How've you been man?  How's the off-season going?

Adam Breneman: It's going great.  Since the season I've gained some weight and went from 205 to 220-225.  I also got faster.  Just keep going hard, you know?

NLD: What's your 40 looking like?

AB: Hand timed I'm everywhere from high 4.5s to 4.7.  I'm trying to get electronic timed soon.

NLD: Nice.  In some schemes a 40 times is important for a TE, but obviously there's a lot more involved.

What schools are recruiting you, and what do they think your best attribute is?

AB: Yeah true, I just feel like if you're fast on the field, your forty time shouldn't matter.  And I have offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, Virginia, Boston College, Rutgers and Temple so far.

I think what separates me is my receiving ability.  I've pretty much played WR since freshman year, but I have a big frame and I can be physical enough to block on the line of scrimmage.  I pretty much broke all my school's receiving records already, so my hands and speed is definitely what I think separates me.