'14 NY DT Thomas Holley (Florida Verbal)

[IrishLax]

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This video is why PSU will always matter. IMO nothing can touch PSU for a big game atmosphere.

I'll also point out that PSU is a better school than most big time football factories and has the same football crazy culture as any SEC school. All in all, it's a super appealing package to a recruit.

I really, strongly disagree with the above. As I've said on here before, my little brother attends PSU. I've been up for games... and while the atmosphere like what they had for Michigan this year was truly epic by all of his reports... I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was an abnormality. The games I've attended have all had horrible atmospheres relative to a Virginia Tech, Clemson, or even the ever-criticized "quiet" Notre Dame. I've never been to SEC country, but it's hard to imagine it even coming close to some of the atmospheres I've seen on TV. Bama fans who attended the away game at Penn State might be able to share some knowledge on this if they're poking around this morning.

PSU is a very, very good school in many respects. We have a lot of PSU engineers at my firm for a reason. With that being said, grad rates and everything else aside for a second, it is inarguably a worse school than many "powerhouses" (USC, ND, Michigan, etc.) and it is not appreciably better than schools like Florida, Miami, etc. The educational opportunities are simply not a discriminator. Better than "most" might be true... but there are still a large number of schools with big time football and better/comparable degrees.

And finally, it's not an appealing package to a recruit because sanctions make them completely irrelevant and noncompetitive until this class is at least seniors (and probably longer than that). The only thing appealing about PSU right now for some recruits is proximity if you live in PA, NJ, NY, DMV and the prospect of immediate playing time because sanctions make you #1 by default on the depth chart if you can play a lick of football. If you have any interest at all in competing for conference or national championships or BCS bowls, PSU is the wrong choice. If you care about none of that and desire early PT for an irrelevant team and a good chance to audition for the league, then yeah... I guess it's appealing. Not many kids are losers like that though.

 

[tussin]

I don't. Northern football is dead. Northeast teams like Penn State, BC, Syracuse, Pitt, etc., especially, have all played their last truly meaningful college football games. They should just concentrate on hoops (does PSU even play basketball?). Even Ohio State is a joke this year and is going to get corn holed by a Clemson team that is only halfway decent, and the B1G's days of being relevant on a national scale are over.

1. PSU =/= BC, Cuse, Pitt
2. If Ohio State football is dead, then so is Notre Dame football.

 

[Domina Nostra]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en data-scribe-reduced-action-queue="><p>BOOM! <a href="https://twitter.com/BWIonRivals">@BWIonRivals</a>: Per <a href="https://twitter.com/rivalsmike">@rivalsmike</a>, four-star DT Thomas Holley has committed to <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23PennState&src=hash">#PennState</a>... <a href="http://t.co/9ZrzCTQADk">http://t.co/9ZrzCTQADk</a></p>— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) <a href="https://twitter.com/rivalsmike/statuses/412971154690035712">December 17, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That sucks, oh well.

 

[CanadalovesND]

Ah, well, at least he didn't go to O$U.

Best of luck, Thomas!

 

[peoriairish]

1. PSU =/= BC, Cuse, Pitt
2. If Ohio State football is dead, then so is Notre Dame football.

It appears you are a PSU fan and/or alum and nothing is going to change your opinion, but you need to just accept the fact you are wrong. Is PSU a good school? Yes. Better than most D1 football factories? No. Is it a dying program? Absolutely. You brought up 2005 as a point of reference when they were good. That was 8 years ago. 2 complete roster cycles. 2005 may as well have been 1905 for college football reference points.

 

[IrishLax]

It appears you are a PSU fan and/or alum and nothing is going to change your opinion, but you need to just accept the fact you are wrong. Is PSU a good school? Yes. Better than most D1 football factories? No. Is it a dying program? Absolutely. You brought up 2005 as a point of reference when they were good. That was 8 years ago. 2 complete roster cycles. 2005 may as well have been 1905 for college football reference points.

For a corollary, would be like us pointing at Charlie Weis going to back-to-back BCS games as if that had any bearing on the current state of the program.

 

[tussin]

I really, strongly disagree with the above. As I've said on here before, my little brother attends PSU. I've been up for games... and while the atmosphere like what they had for Michigan this year was truly epic by all of his reports... I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was an abnormality. The games I've attended have all had horrible atmospheres relative to a Virginia Tech, Clemson, or even the ever-criticized "quiet" Notre Dame. I've never been to SEC country, but it's hard to imagine it even coming close to some of the atmospheres I've seen on TV. Bama fans who attended the away game at Penn State might be able to share some knowledge on this if they're poking around this morning.

PSU is a very, very good school in many respects. We have a lot of PSU engineers at my firm for a reason. With that being said, grad rates and everything else aside for a second, it is inarguably a worse school than many "powerhouses" (USC, ND, Michigan, etc.) and it is not appreciably better than schools like Florida, Miami, etc. The educational opportunities are simply not a discriminator. Better than "most" might be true... but there are still a large number of schools with big time football and better/comparable degrees.

And finally, it's not an appealing package to a recruit because sanctions make them completely irrelevant and noncompetitive until this class is at least seniors (and probably longer than that). The only thing appealing about PSU right now for some recruits is proximity if you live in PA, NJ, NY, DMV and the prospect of immediate playing time because sanctions make you #1 by default on the depth chart if you can play a lick of football. If you have any interest at all in competing for conference or national championships or BCS bowls, PSU is the wrong choice. If you care about none of that and desire early PT for an irrelevant team and a good chance to audition for the league, then yeah... I guess it's appealing. Not many kids are losers like that though.

1. That's why I said it is the best big game atmosphere. Also, you can make that argument about any school. Are ND fans getting rowdy for the Wake Forest game? How about the VTech / Marshall game this year? Heck, Bama can't even get their students to stay at the game. IMO, you judge a stadium atmosphere during the biggest games and PSU is easily one of the best in the country.

2. I was making the academic comparison to the larger SEC schools. PSU obviously isn't bargain for football players that ND or Stanford is... but it's actually not too far behind. To take a page from Whiskey's playbook, take a look at the 30Y Football ROI. PSU is number 8 in Overall Football GSR (just behind schools like Stanford, BC, and Duke).

3. The last paragraph is a fair argument. However, PSU will have 85 scholarships again in 2016 and will likely have their bowl ban lifted this year. Recruits will have the chance to play for a great coach, play early, and go to a great school with a strong atmosphere and tradition. Recruits are still going to choose PSU over 80% of the other programs in the country. They even have a top 20 class this year!

 

[Rhode Irish]

1. PSU =/= BC, Cuse, Pitt
2. If Ohio State football is dead, then so is Notre Dame football.

1. I disagree. They might be the best of those four programs, but they're of the same class.
2. I disagree. Notre Dame is an elite university with a national recruiting network. Urban Meyer may be able to keep OSU relevant for a few years because he has a recruiting network in the south, but in the long run that program isn't as good as Michigan's and Michigan has already passed the brink. Meyer won't be there for long, so it's a matter of time for them.

 

[Andy in Sactown]

1. That's why I said it is the best big game atmosphere. Also, you can make that argument about any school. Are ND fans getting rowdy for the Wake Forest game? How about the VTech / Marshall game this year? Heck, Bama can't even get their students to stay at the game. IMO, you judge a stadium atmosphere during the biggest games and PSU is easily one of the best in the country.

2. I was making the academic comparison to the larger SEC schools. PSU obviously isn't bargain for football players that ND or Stanford is... but it's actually not too far behind. To take a page from Whiskey's playbook, take a look at the 30Y Football ROI. PSU is number 8 in Overall Football GSR (just behind schools like Stanford, BC, and Duke).

3. The last paragraph is a fair argument. However, PSU will have 85 scholarships again in 2016 and will likely have their bowl ban lifted this year. Recruits will have the chance to play for a great coach, play early, and go to a great school with a strong atmosphere and tradition. Recruits are still going to choose PSU over 80% of the other programs in the country. They even have a top 20 class this year!

 

[IrishLax]

1. That's why I said it is the best big game atmosphere. Also, you can make that argument about any school. Are ND fans getting rowdy for the Wake Forest game? How about the VTech / Marshall game this year? Heck, Bama can't even get their students to stay at the game. IMO, you judge a stadium atmosphere during the biggest games and PSU is easily one of the best in the country.

I'm saying I've been to "big games" against Nebraska and Ohio State, and the atmosphere was nothing special compared to "big games" at some other places. Little game vs. little game atmosphere I don't really know. I don't really think PSU is anywhere close to "unmatched" in terms of atmosphere... either on the norm, or for big games... and there are a lot of comparable venues even in my limited travels.

2. I was making the academic comparison to the larger SEC schools. PSU obviously isn't bargain for football players that ND or Stanford is... but it's actually not too far behind. To take a page from Whiskey's playbook, take a look at the 30Y Football ROI. PSU is number 8 in Overall Football GSR (just behind schools like Stanford, BC, and Duke).

Compared ONLY to SEC schools, I would agree.

 

[tussin]

To clarify, I grew up in PSU country and actively root against them. My friends are all die-hard fans and it drives me insane.

That being said, to classify it as a "dying program" is just silly. It reminds me of my above-mentioned friends making that same argument for ND in 2009 (when ND was in it's last year under Charlie and PSU was enjoying its 3rd 10+ win season in 5 years).

CFB success is cyclical and situational with the key ingredient being the right coach at the right time. I think O'Brien is a really good coach and PSU will be a really good program if he waits out the sanctions. End of argument.

 

[irishff1014]

We have known for some time he wasn't going to be at ND. But Penn state is better then Ohio State.

 

[Pachuco]

If you have any interest at all in competing for conference or national championships or BCS bowls, PSU is the wrong choice. If you care about none of that and desire early PT for an irrelevant team and a good chance to audition for the league, then yeah... I guess it's appealing. Not many kids are losers like that though.

I think you can choose PSU for reasons that are noble, and beyond, or at least in addition to, mere indifference to trophies and early playing time. I'm not a Penn State fan by any means, but I can see the importance of bonding with a coaching staff and its players, faculty and student body, and desiring to help restore a sense of respectability to a program and University as part of the decision to be a student-athlete there. Maybe this is naive, but cynicism can be exhausting at times.

 

[EuropeanDomer]

He will probably open his recruitment with O'brien leaving PSU (his own words).

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

He will probably open his recruitment with O'brien leaving PSU (his own words).

Good to hear.

 

[IrishLax]

He will probably open his recruitment with O'brien leaving PSU (his own words).

His "mentor" uncle really screwed him on this one. Now what does he do?

He had a falling out with Ohio State. Florida sucks. And he was steered away from visiting ND for the banquet.

Great advice he has been getting....

 

[Luckylucci]

His "mentor" uncle really screwed him on this one. Now what does he do?

He had a falling out with Ohio State. Florida sucks. And he was steered away from visiting ND for the banquet.

Great advice he has been getting....

Exactly, his uncle has really screwed him on this.

 

[Cpnd1]

If he opens up, will he give ND another look? Wasn't it PSU and Florida with us running third?

 

[OrlaNDomer]

Would love to see him give us another look.

 

[Irish8248]

Wouldn't be the first recruit to visit in January and sign in February

 

[GoldenIsThyFame]

If he doesn't go to Penn State he is going to Florida.

You can't change wanting to try in college.

 

[Riddickulous]

O'Brien reportedly told him that he wasn't going anywhere.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

O'Brien reportedly told him that he wasn't going anywhere.

What else would he say?

 

[ulukinatme]

O'Brien reportedly told him that he wasn't going anywhere.

Diaco said the same thing to one of the recruits just before they announced his switch to UConn. Part of the business.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Diaco said the same thing to one of the recruits just before they announced his switch to UConn. Part of the business.

Trumbetti, I believe

 

[Irish#1]

We'll go after him if O'Brien does leave.

 

[rtrn2glory]

wow...super shady on O'Brien's part if he turns out to take the Texans job.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

wow...super shady on O'Brien's part if he turns out to take the Texans job.

It's Penn St. The whole place is super shady.

 

[Irish#1]

wow...super shady on O'Brien's part if he turns out to take the Texans job.

True but it goes on all the time. What happens if he decides not to take the job? He doesn't want recruits looking because he is. Ironic isn't it!?

 

[Cpnd1]

@AnnaHScout: Notes on Isaiah McKenzie, Thomas Holley & Juju Smith as they relate to Notre Dame ($): http://t.co/GeUTgZULj1