PSU Finalizes 2013 Recruiting Class

"Recruiting is about a fit and relationships," O'Brien said. "We started working early on this class and they visited us multiple times. This is a group of high character kids who are tough, go to class and do things the right way. Our coaches deserve a lot of credit. They worked hard to develop relationships with the families and the prospects and it turned out well for us."

Penn State's 2013 recruiting class features nine defensive signees and eight offensive signees from seven different states and one from the District of Columbia.  Breaking down the class by position, the signees include four defensive backs, three defensive linemen, three offensive linemen, two linebackers, two quarterbacks, one running back, one tight end and one wide receiver.

The list includes four high school players who graduated early to enroll at Penn State, and one junior-college signee, who began classes in January and are participating in winter conditioning with the team.

O'Brien led Penn State to an 8-4 record (6-2 Big Ten) during his first season as the Nittany Lions' head coach and was selected the 2012 Bear Bryant, Maxwell Football Club and ESPN Coach of the Year and the Big Ten-Dave McClain Coach of the Year. The Nittany Lions begin spring practice March 18 and the Blue-White Game is April 20 in Beaver Stadium.

Below is a complete list of the 2013 Penn State signees with biographical information.

2013 Penn State Football Signees

Name                                     Pos.    Ht.       Wt.      Cl./El.             High School/Hometown

Richy Anderson*                   RB       5-11    171     Fr./Fr.              Governor Thomas Johnson/

Frederick, Md.

Brandon Bell              LB       6-1      222     Fr./Fr.              Oakcrest/Mays Landing, N.J.

Adam Breneman*                 TE       6-4      230     Fr./Fr.              Cedar Cliff/Camp Hill, Pa.

Curtis Cothran                       DE      6-5      235     Fr./Fr.              Council Rock North/Newtown, Pa.

Parker Cothren                      DT       6-5      265     Fr./Fr.              Hazel Green/Hazel Green. Ala.

Tyler Ferguson*                     QB      6-3      199     So./So.           College of the Sequoias (Calif.)/

Bakersfield, Calif.

Kasey Gaines                        DB      5-10    160     Fr./Fr.              Grayson/Loganville, Ga.

Christian Hackenberg          QB      6-3      215     Fr./Fr.              Fork Union Military Academy (Va.)/

Palmyra, Va.

DaeSean Hamilton   WR      6-1      182     Fr./Fr.              Mountain View/Fredericksburg, Va.

Tanner Hartman                    G         6-5      255     Fr./Fr.              Lynchburg Christian Academy/

Lynchburg, Va.

Zayd Issah                              LB       6-3      215     Fr./Fr.              Central Dauphin/Harrisburg, Pa.

Brendan Mahon                     G         6-4      315     Fr./Fr.              Randolph/Randolph, N.J.

Andrew Nelson                      T          6-5      295     Fr./Fr.              Hershey/Hershey, Pa.

Neiko Robinson                    DB      5-11    170     Fr./Fr.              Northview (Fla.)/Flomaton, Ala.

Garrett Sickels                      DE      6-4      238     Fr./Fr.              Red Bank Regional/Little Silver, N.J.

Anthony Smith*                      DB      6-0      184     Fr./Fr.              Valley Forge Military Academy (Pa.)/

Randolph, N.J.

Jordan Smith*                        DB      5-11    178     Fr./Fr.              H.D. Woodson/Washington, D.C.

* Enrolled in January

--PSU Athletic Communications--