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Does anyone on this board know why we aren't recruiting Colson Gatten?

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19333lion

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Apart from being a legacy recruit, he looks like a damn good LBer. He is quick, hits like a ton, and plays for Pittsburgh Central Catholic, one of Franklin's priority PA schools.

I thought for sure he would be recruited. He doesn't even seem to be an afterthought.
 
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Nits1989

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19333lion said:
Apart from being a legacy recruit, he looks like a damn good LBer. He is quick, hits like a ton, and plays for Pittsburgh Central Catholic, one of Franklin's priority PA schools.

I thought for sure he would be recruited. He doesn't even seem to be an afterthought.
Click to expand...
Why do you assume what’s happening?
 
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Bwifan

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19333lion said:
Apart from being a legacy recruit, he looks like a damn good LBer. He is quick, hits like a ton, and plays for Pittsburgh Central Catholic, one of Franklin's priority PA schools.

I thought for sure he would be recruited. He doesn't even seem to be an afterthought.
Click to expand...
Who is he being recruited by at this point?
 
NittPicker

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19333lion said:
Apart from being a legacy recruit, he looks like a damn good LBer. He is quick, hits like a ton, and plays for Pittsburgh Central Catholic, one of Franklin's priority PA schools.

I thought for sure he would be recruited. He doesn't even seem to be an afterthought.
Click to expand...
According to On3, he holds an offer from Penn State as well as a plethora of others.
 
Tom McAndrew

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19333lion said:
Apart from being a legacy recruit, he looks like a damn good LBer. He is quick, hits like a ton, and plays for Pittsburgh Central Catholic, one of Franklin's priority PA schools.

I thought for sure he would be recruited. He doesn't even seem to be an afterthought.
Click to expand...

@RyanSnyder should be able to provide more details.

Yes, Gatten is a legacy, attends PCC, plays LB, is well thought of, and was offered by PSU. In some instances, that might be enough to make him a part of PSU's recruiting class.

For whatever reason(s), it appears that PSU moved on from Gatten. Numbers are always a factor in recruiting, and it seems as though PSU is only taking 2 LBers. Numbers are somewhat fungible in recruiting, and if a super elite LBer decides later this year that he wants to be part of the '26 recruiting class, PSU's class might be 3 LBers. But at this juncture, it looks as though 2 is the number, and they've gotten verbals from 2 LBers.

Part of the fungibility of numbers is that many recruits are still growing. While anything is possible, most of the time if a LB prospect has a good chance of growing into DE size, that's mentioned during recruiting/when a prospect verbals. From what I've seen, there haven't been any indications of such with the two LBers from whom PSU has gotten verbals.

If you look at the bigger picture (all teams recruiting him), there are some trends. A lot of elite programs offered him in 2023 or 2024. And he visited many of those schools (PSU, ND, Mich, etc.) or their coaches visited his home/PCC when they were allowed. But this spring is when things get serious for HS juniors, and it appears that his visits this spring were to schools that were a tad below elite. It's tough to track all this stuff (without contacting the prospect), but it appears that he visited VT, WVU, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, etc. this winter/spring.

What has knocked him out of contention from elite programs? I don't know the answer to that. A lot of the top schools are now offering 'ships earlier in the process, and then fine tuning their targets as they get junior season film, get to visit with the prospect, talk with sources, etc. FWIW, Colsen lists himself as 6' 1.5" tall. But the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 6' 0". (I don't know when this measurement was taken.) Colsen lists his weight as 220 lbs., but the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 207 lbs. (Again, I don't know when this measurement was taken.) So perhaps he's a tad bit smaller than top colleges are looking for at LBer. Or, perhaps there are things on his film that has caused some of the elite programs to back off from Colsen. Or, it could that his size and his film is fine, but the size and film of other LBer prospects is just better.

Anyway, without any direct info, I can't answer your question specifically. But by looking at whatever bread crumbs are out there, it does seem that PSU backing off of Colsen is for reasons that have nothing to do with him being a legacy, or playing at PCC, or being a PA prospect, but rather for reasons (whatever they are) that are shared by all of the other elite CFB programs.
 
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RyanSnyder

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Tom McAndrew said:
@RyanSnyder should be able to provide more details.

Yes, Gatten is a legacy, attends PCC, plays LB, is well thought of, and was offered by PSU. In some instances, that might be enough to make him a part of PSU's recruiting class.

For whatever reason(s), it appears that PSU moved on from Gatten. Numbers are always a factor in recruiting, and it seems as though PSU is only taking 2 LBers. Numbers are somewhat fungible in recruiting, and if a super elite LBer decides later this year that he wants to be part of the '26 recruiting class, PSU's class might be 3 LBers. But at this juncture, it looks as though 2 is the number, and they've gotten verbals from 2 LBers.

Part of the fungibility of numbers is that many recruits are still growing. While anything is possible, most of the time if a LB prospect has a good chance of growing into DE size, that's mentioned during recruiting/when a prospect verbals. From what I've seen, there haven't been any indications of such with the two LBers from whom PSU has gotten verbals.

If you look at the bigger picture (all teams recruiting him), there are some trends. A lot of elite programs offered him in 2023 or 2024. And he visited many of those schools (PSU, ND, Mich, etc.) or their coaches visited his home/PCC when they were allowed. But this spring is when things get serious for HS juniors, and it appears that his visits this spring were to schools that were a tad below elite. It's tough to track all this stuff (without contacting the prospect), but it appears that he visited VT, WVU, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, etc. this winter/spring.

What has knocked him out of contention from elite programs? I don't know the answer to that. A lot of the top schools are now offering 'ships earlier in the process, and then fine tuning their targets as they get junior season film, get to visit with the prospect, talk with sources, etc. FWIW, Colsen lists himself as 6' 1.5" tall. But the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 6' 0". (I don't know when this measurement was taken.) Colsen lists his weight as 220 lbs., but the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 207 lbs. (Again, I don't know when this measurement was taken.) So perhaps he's a tad bit smaller than prospects are looking for at LBer. Or, perhaps there are things on his film that has caused some of the elite programs to back off from Colsen. Or, it could that his size and his film is fine, but the size and film of other LBer prospects is just better.

Anyway, without any direct info, I can't answer your question specifically. But by looking at whatever bread crumbs are out there, it does seem that PSU backing off of Colsen is for reasons that have nothing to do with him being a legacy, or playing at PCC, or being a PA prospect, but rather for reasons (whatever they are) that are shared by all of the other elite CFB programs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i've never drilled down on the details, but that all makes sense. Mathieu Lamah and Terry Wiggins are just better prospects at the moment.
 
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Auxgym

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Tom McAndrew said:
@RyanSnyder should be able to provide more details.

Yes, Gatten is a legacy, attends PCC, plays LB, is well thought of, and was offered by PSU. In some instances, that might be enough to make him a part of PSU's recruiting class.

For whatever reason(s), it appears that PSU moved on from Gatten. Numbers are always a factor in recruiting, and it seems as though PSU is only taking 2 LBers. Numbers are somewhat fungible in recruiting, and if a super elite LBer decides later this year that he wants to be part of the '26 recruiting class, PSU's class might be 3 LBers. But at this juncture, it looks as though 2 is the number, and they've gotten verbals from 2 LBers.

Part of the fungibility of numbers is that many recruits are still growing. While anything is possible, most of the time if a LB prospect has a good chance of growing into DE size, that's mentioned during recruiting/when a prospect verbals. From what I've seen, there haven't been any indications of such with the two LBers from whom PSU has gotten verbals.

If you look at the bigger picture (all teams recruiting him), there are some trends. A lot of elite programs offered him in 2023 or 2024. And he visited many of those schools (PSU, ND, Mich, etc.) or their coaches visited his home/PCC when they were allowed. But this spring is when things get serious for HS juniors, and it appears that his visits this spring were to schools that were a tad below elite. It's tough to track all this stuff (without contacting the prospect), but it appears that he visited VT, WVU, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, etc. this winter/spring.

What has knocked him out of contention from elite programs? I don't know the answer to that. A lot of the top schools are now offering 'ships earlier in the process, and then fine tuning their targets as they get junior season film, get to visit with the prospect, talk with sources, etc. FWIW, Colsen lists himself as 6' 1.5" tall. But the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 6' 0". (I don't know when this measurement was taken.) Colsen lists his weight as 220 lbs., but the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 207 lbs. (Again, I don't know when this measurement was taken.) So perhaps he's a tad bit smaller than prospects are looking for at LBer. Or, perhaps there are things on his film that has caused some of the elite programs to back off from Colsen. Or, it could that his size and his film is fine, but the size and film of other LBer prospects is just better.

Anyway, without any direct info, I can't answer your question specifically. But by looking at whatever bread crumbs are out there, it does seem that PSU backing off of Colsen is for reasons that have nothing to do with him being a legacy, or playing at PCC, or being a PA prospect, but rather for reasons (whatever they are) that are shared by all of the other elite CFB programs.
Click to expand...
Nice work Tom.
 
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LB99

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RyanSnyder said:
Yeah, i've never drilled down on the details, but that all makes sense. Mathieu Lamah and Terry Wiggins are just better prospects at the moment.
Click to expand...
Ryan, There was another LB prospect you mentioned last week in the Wiggins commitment podcast that you said PSU was pursuing, but he left them out of his most recent list? Who was that? Another elite LB?
 
ApexLion

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Tom McAndrew said:
@RyanSnyder should be able to provide more details.

Yes, Gatten is a legacy, attends PCC, plays LB, is well thought of, and was offered by PSU. In some instances, that might be enough to make him a part of PSU's recruiting class.

For whatever reason(s), it appears that PSU moved on from Gatten. Numbers are always a factor in recruiting, and it seems as though PSU is only taking 2 LBers. Numbers are somewhat fungible in recruiting, and if a super elite LBer decides later this year that he wants to be part of the '26 recruiting class, PSU's class might be 3 LBers. But at this juncture, it looks as though 2 is the number, and they've gotten verbals from 2 LBers.

Part of the fungibility of numbers is that many recruits are still growing. While anything is possible, most of the time if a LB prospect has a good chance of growing into DE size, that's mentioned during recruiting/when a prospect verbals. From what I've seen, there haven't been any indications of such with the two LBers from whom PSU has gotten verbals.

If you look at the bigger picture (all teams recruiting him), there are some trends. A lot of elite programs offered him in 2023 or 2024. And he visited many of those schools (PSU, ND, Mich, etc.) or their coaches visited his home/PCC when they were allowed. But this spring is when things get serious for HS juniors, and it appears that his visits this spring were to schools that were a tad below elite. It's tough to track all this stuff (without contacting the prospect), but it appears that he visited VT, WVU, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, etc. this winter/spring.

What has knocked him out of contention from elite programs? I don't know the answer to that. A lot of the top schools are now offering 'ships earlier in the process, and then fine tuning their targets as they get junior season film, get to visit with the prospect, talk with sources, etc. FWIW, Colsen lists himself as 6' 1.5" tall. But the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 6' 0". (I don't know when this measurement was taken.) Colsen lists his weight as 220 lbs., but the last verified measurements that On3 has, he was 207 lbs. (Again, I don't know when this measurement was taken.) So perhaps he's a tad bit smaller than prospects are looking for at LBer. Or, perhaps there are things on his film that has caused some of the elite programs to back off from Colsen. Or, it could that his size and his film is fine, but the size and film of other LBer prospects is just better.

Anyway, without any direct info, I can't answer your question specifically. But by looking at whatever bread crumbs are out there, it does seem that PSU backing off of Colsen is for reasons that have nothing to do with him being a legacy, or playing at PCC, or being a PA prospect, but rather for reasons (whatever they are) that are shared by all of the other elite CFB programs.
Click to expand...
Very cincere response @Tom McAndrew
 
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ChandlerPearce58

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RyanSnyder said:
Yeah, i've never drilled down on the details, but that all makes sense. Mathieu Lamah and Terry Wiggins are just better prospects at the moment.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear Mathieu and Terry are great prospects....but earlier this year, I may be wrong, but it seemed LB was a room of concern. Was it 2 years ago we recruited Keys, Rojas and Robinson? I thought they were the future for PSU at LB....well not to be. Seems recruiting just 2 is a bit light since every player is a free agent every year
 
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Bison13

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Was talking to some Washington friends back home and it looks like he is taking PSU out of contention. Said that pit has been working really hard on him and PSU has backed off quite a bit. We’ll see if he’s still on their board through summer camp sessions.
 
PSU Mike

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Should have gone after Dallastown’s Jalen Cook, who averaged 27 yards a catch with 12 TDs last year, and just crushed the old PIAA high jump record at 7’3” — in his first year of track. The old record was 7’ 1/4”.

Ironically he’s heading to … East Stroudsburg.

www.ydr.com

Dallastown's Jalen Cook 'has no words' after setting PIAA high jump record

The Dallastown senior set the all-time state record in the high jump in his only PIAA track and field championship appearance.
www.ydr.com
 
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NittPicker

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Congratulations to Colsen Gatten. No doubt there was a relationship formed with Manny during the early recruiting process at Penn State.
 
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rigi19040

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Bvillebaron said:
Or maybe they aren’t impressed with slow players who make tackles after 5 to 7 yard gains.
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Bvillebaron said:
Or maybe they aren’t impressed with slow players who make tackles after 5 to 7 yard gains.
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No. They prefer fast LBs who take the wrong angle, get to the ball 5 yds down field and then miss the tackle. That is why walkon Brandon Smith had more career tackles than half the scholarship LBs. Smith started at FB, switched positions and still out produced half the scholarship LBs.
 
Connorpozlee

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rigi19040 said:
No. They prefer fast LBs who take the wrong angle, get to the ball 5 yds down field and then miss the tackle. That is why walkon Brandon Smith had more career tackles than half the scholarship LBs. Smith started at FB, switched positions and still out produced half the scholarship LBs.
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Wasn’t Brandon Smith a 5 star LB who couldn’t tackle or read a play? Maybe out of VA? Or is there a different Brandon Smith? All the names run together after a certain point.
 
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19333lion

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If he is good enough to be recruited by Manny, he is good enough to be recruited by Dan Connor.

BTW, Manny now has a mini-pipeline to PCC, the DE last year who we did recruit and now Gatten.

Duke has a lot to offer in terms of a degree, campus, and good competition. The ACC isn't the Big or the SEC, but it is high level college football.
 
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LB99

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rigi19040 said:
No. They prefer fast LBs who take the wrong angle, get to the ball 5 yds down field and then miss the tackle. That is why walkon Brandon Smith had more career tackles than half the scholarship LBs. Smith started at FB, switched positions and still out produced half the scholarship LBs.
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Josh Hull was a great walk on LB during the Paterno years. Does that mean the Paterno staff couldn’t recruit good LBs?
 
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cjrugger

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rigi19040 said:
No. They prefer fast LBs who take the wrong angle, get to the ball 5 yds down field and then miss the tackle. That is why walkon Brandon Smith had more career tackles than half the scholarship LBs. Smith started at FB, switched positions and still out produced half the scholarship LBs.
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You should go ahead and delete this now
 
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LB99

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rigi19040 said:
No. They prefer fast LBs who take the wrong angle, get to the ball 5 yds down field and then miss the tackle. That is why walkon Brandon Smith had more career tackles than half the scholarship LBs. Smith started at FB, switched positions and still out produced half the scholarship LBs.
Click to expand...
He also got exposed several times for lack of athleticism. Specifically, in the open field against Justin Fields and OSU. He was a good, solid LB, but clearly had some deficiencies. Again, criticizing the staff for recruiting 4 and 5 star LBs is mind boggling.
 
NittPicker

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Erial_Lion said:
Yes. He's the one that got ejected on the awful targeting call at Michigan in 2016.

Click to expand...

At B1G media days the following season, the conference officiating boss said that play was being used as an example of what is NOT targeting. Of course, that play happened at a time when it seemed like every official on the field was looking for a reason to put the screws to PSU.
 
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LBUfanatic

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19333lion said:
If he is good enough to be recruited by Manny, he is good enough to be recruited by Dan Connor.

BTW, Manny now has a mini-pipeline to PCC, the DE last year who we did recruit and now Gatten.

Duke has a lot to offer in terms of a degree, campus, and good competition. The ACC isn't the Big or the SEC, but it is high level college football.
Click to expand...
I understand your point, but in today’s world of recruiting and NIL PSU cannot take a kid simply because he is in our own backyard and we have fears of other programs making inroads into a certain school. Duke likely doesn’t have 2 other top prospects already signed at LB and they would regard Gatten as a great get. PSU is in a different position. Recruiting is not an easy game and a lot of things factor into who you take and who you don’t.
 
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rigi19040

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LB99 said:
He also got exposed several times for lack of athleticism. Specifically, in the open field against Justin Fields and OSU. He was a good, solid LB, but clearly had some deficiencies. Again, criticizing the staff for recruiting 4 and 5 star LBs is mind boggling.
Click to expand...

Brandon smith got exposed a few times but was still better than the scholarship players sitting on the bench who were not even good enough to get on the field. There was a long list of them.


Another problem was the staff did not emphasize the position. They acted like they could just plug anyone in at LB. They actually took multiple players who did not workout at other positions and simply moved them to LB.

Busts moved to LB
Jonathan Tomas RB to LB.
Koa Farmer S to LB to S to LB.
Jarvis Miller S to LB
DaeLin Darian WR to LB
Jonathan Sutherland S to LB
Tyrece Mills S to LB and back to S

Busts
Jake Cooper
Brelin Franklin
Brelin Faison Walden
Charlie Katshir
Lance Dixon
Tyler Elsdon
Jamari Buddin

The staff then cherry picks good players from the LB room and moves the to DE.
 
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rigi19040

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LB99 said:
Josh Hull was a great walk on LB during the Paterno years. Does that mean the Paterno staff couldn’t recruit good LBs?
Click to expand...
Weak argument. One has nothing to do with the other.

Chris Godwin was great. What does that say about last years WRs?
 
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