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'06 MD CB A.J. Wallace (Penn State signee)

As I've said before, I hope he changes his mind. I've told various folks in PMs that he reminds me of past recruits we've obsessed over...the guys who LOVE the recruiting process. That type of recruit can switch favorites in a heartbeat. ..

Anyone that has followed recruiting over the years knows exactly what you are talking about. These types of recruits sting the most when they don't pick OSU like Stanley McClover (who evidently is going pro), although A.J. has not verbaled to OSU like McClover did.
 
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Anyone that has followed recruiting over the years knows exactly what you are talking about. These types of recruits sting the most when they don't pick OSU like Stanley McClover (who evidently is going pro), although A.J. has not verbaled to OSU like McClover did.

McClover really didn't shock me that much. He came on the scene relatively late, visited tOSU almost out of the blue and just about committed on the spot. I wasn't that surprised that there were second thoughts as fast as he did things.
 
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Link

FOOTBALL: Freshman gives PSU boost vs. Youngstown St.
For Public Opinion Daily Record/Sunday News

STATE COLLEGE -- There's something to be said for a fresh-faced, long-striding kid to brighten things up when everyone starts grumbling again. It was another overcast day at Beaver Stadium, and an uninspiring opponent to contemplate over tailgate beers.
Plenty more struggles on the field, too.
Things like costly penalties. More missed field goals. A shaky passing game. An inability to finish promising drives.
All of that produced a growing rumble of boos from the announced Penn State crowd of 104,954 on Saturday afternoon.
To make matters worse, this was against a feisty but undermanned Youngstown State team, exactly a week after the Lions absorbed a high-profile beating at Notre Dame.
So just insert A.J. Wallace into the 37-3 victory Penn State earned over the Division I-AA Penguins.
Wallace is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound freshman from Waldorf, Md. A colt with the kind of game-changing speed and moves that were so vital to the Lions last year, when freshmen Derrick Williams and Justin King provided momentum-turning lifts each week.
On Saturday it was Wallace who gave the sleepy, sloppy Lions what they desperately needed in the second quarter of a tedious game that should have never been tedious.
Williams was supposed to be in the game with the Lions leading only 3-0. But he felt a leg cramp coming on.
Put in Wallace.
He took a reverse pitch and used trickery and speed to break free to the right. He shrugged off a high, desperate arm-tackle attempt and cruised to the sideline.
He began eating up huge chunks of turf with those long, pretty strides.
Sprinting teammate Deon Butler raced to provide a block to clear the final obstacle and enable Wallace to make it to the end zone upright.
A 76-yard touchdown. A stadium shaken to life. A 10-0 lead and the energy burst necessary to begin burying a team the Nittany Lions needed to bury as soon as possible.
Game-changer?
The lead was 20-0 only six minutes later and, thankfully for Penn State fans, the rout was on.
No matter that it was the only time Wallace touched the ball all day.
Penn State officials usually don't allow true freshmen to talk to the media, so it was best to ask others:
n All-American offensive tackle Levi Brown said, the play "helped everybody get over that hump a little bit."
n All-American linebacker Paul Posluszny: "His speed is so impressive. He's unbelievable. When you can just go on the field like that and know our offense is only one play away from scoring, that's a big advantage."
n Center A.Q. Shipley: "The kid's fast, man. I'm still making a block on the line of scrimmage, and he's 60 yards down the field ... That kind of got us off the floor a little bit."
n Defensive tackle Ed Johnson: "A play like that gets everybody hyped."
Remember that Wallace opened the season with a similar brush fire. He ran a 42-yard reverse in the second quarter that set up a touchdown against Akron. He also returned two kickoffs for 95 yards.
Wallace had one of the few bright spots in the loss to Notre Dame.
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He took a first-half handoff and sprinted for a first down.
Of course, there were other things to consider against Youngstown State.
Tailback Tony Hunt enjoyed his first big rushing day of the season, too fast and too much of a load for the Penguins to handle. The Penn State defense was efficient, particularly early, holding the Penguins to 41 first-half yards.
Certainly, there may not have been much learned from this kind of victory, especially with a trip to No. 1 Ohio State looming.
The good: The offensive line and tailbacks worked well together throughout, from Hunt, the first-stringer, to Williams, a part-time runner, to backup Rodney Kinlaw. Penn State out-rushed Youngstown, 389-47.
The bad: The special teams were ugly again with a bad kick return, penalties that brought back big runs and the continued comedy of the field-goal unit. (Lions kicker Kevin Kelly missed three field goals).
The questionable: The passing game really never clicked, as Anthony Morelli and his receivers struggled to find the rhythm expected against this type of competition.
The Penn State junior quarterback was only 11-for-27 throwing for 154 yards and no touchdowns. He threw too high and too short, and he threw long into double coverage when other receivers were open on shorter routes.
"He still needs to get a (better) feel for the underneath (receivers)," said coach Joe Paterno. "And he's got such a strong arm that he thinks he can throw the ball 70 yards down the field when he's got a shot at some underneath (receivers).
"I think he just needs to get a little bit better touch. And that will come with time."
And while the Penn State defense looked impenetrable at times (How about the way Johnson rag-dolled Youngstown quarterback Tom Zetts on that 15-yard sack?), the Penguins were playing without their leading rusher.
They also played much of the game without their leading tackler, linebacker Jeremiah Wright, who was injured early.
They still were a I-AA opponent. So it remains that the Lions have much to prove next week on their trip to Columbus.
A couple of game-breaking jolts from someone like Wallace would help.
The freshman has his own cheering section -- the "Wallace Warriors" occupy a row or two of the student section. The kid plays on offense, defense and on special teams.
He has the kind of speed and moves that can help make up for sloppy special teams and wobbly passes.
"People just cheer as soon as he touches the ball because they know something exciting is going to happen," Butler said.
 
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