PSU Nittany Lions

Thomas Holley’s recruitment has been a lot like his most recent visit.

The ESPN 150 defensive tackle out of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Abraham Lincoln was at Penn State for the annual spring game, which was hampered by every weather condition imaginable.

“It did a little bit of everything -- rain, snow, everything -- it was crazy,” Holley said.

The first few months of his recruitment have been the same. Holley, No. 93 in the ESPN 150, has seen it all in a short time. He went from basketball prospect to first-year football player to playing just a handful of games to landing his first offer. Now he is an Under Armour All-American with more than 20 offers.

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Class of 2014 linebacker Troy Reeder fielded a phone call from Penn State on Sunday evening -- and he was pretty pleased with the outcome.

He already holds an offer from the Nittany Lions, but he felt even more wanted after speaking with assistant Ron Vanderlinden. The linebackers coach told him that he and Bill O'Brien would drive down to Salesianum (Del.) on Wednesday and that they wanted him to stop by for another, more-personal visit after most junior days.

"Coach Vanderlinden comes down to school just to check in with my coach every so often and I'm allowed to give a, 'Hey, how are you?' " Reeder said. "We talk on the phone pretty often, and they're a school I really want to get back up and see. It'll really be the third time I go up there -- but the first time was for a camp and the second time was for a game. I'm looking forward to seeing a different side of it."

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Philadelphia Imhotep Charter running back David Williams is leaving the Mid-Atlantic.

The ESPN 150 prospect will announce his commitment on Jan. 4 at the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Los Angeles.

“Me and my family talked about it after the recruiting period stopped and thought it’d be good,” Williams said.

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In the state championship game against Delbarton, Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional might have dug itself a hole too big to climb out of, if not for Kiy Hester. The 2014 athlete made several stops against the run early in the game, including one that looked like it would have gone for a touchdown.

St. Joseph fumbled the ball three times in the first quarter, setting up Delbarton with great field position every time.

“We had some fumbles and our coach told the defense to hold us in there because the offense, they’ll come,” said Hester, an ESPN Watch List prospect. “So we just played hard and kept doing good.”

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South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier made his in-home visit with David Williams (Philadelphia/Imhotep Charter) on Tuesday, and it only strengthened the Gamecocks’ lead for the ESPN 150 running back.

Spurrier was joined by area recruiter G.A. Mangus and running backs coach Everette Sands on the visit to the school and then later Williams’ home.

“It went well. My mom and them hit it off,” Williams said. “There was no awkwardness. Everyone was on the same page.”

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First-year program Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) is in the semifinals of the state championships, and the program is riding ESPN 150 running back David Williams to an undefeated season.

Colleges are coming through Philadelphia daily to meet with Williams, and Arizona State, Miami (Fla.), Penn State and South Carolina have all either come by the school or will be visiting this week, Williams said.

Penn State running backs coach Charles London met with Williams on Tuesday at the school and also had a chance to speak with his mother.

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A medium-sized suitcase, enough to fit a few days' worth of clothes, sits in the corner of DaeSean Hamilton's bedroom.

But the four-star wideout, who boasts double-digit offers, doesn't lug that around on college visits. No, that stays in the corner -- with dozens upon dozens of handwritten letters stuffed inside like a mailbag.

"It's a bit of motivation" said Hamilton, a receiver out of Stafford (Va.) Mountain View. "I don't try to take it for granted. I just use it as a boost to keep doing what I've been doing."

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Early playing time, fantastic facilities and long-standing traditions are nice. Paul Harris prefers relationships.

The receiver from Upper Marlboro (Md.) Douglass has cited his relationships with Tennessee's coaches as the primary reason he committed to the Vols in July. Harris is all too aware that those relationships may soon be in jeopardy.

With a 4-6 record (0-6 in the SEC), Tennessee's football program could soon face a transition if third-year head coach Derek Dooley is not retained. From afar, Harris has seen the issues facing the program. They prompted him to ask some tough questions of his lead recruiter, receivers coach Darin Hinshaw.

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Zayd Issah (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) runs through the same routine whenever he watches a game from the stands.

When the three-star athlete sees the team burst through that tunnel, he envisions himself as a player there. He wants to know how it feels, whether he's comfortable and if he fits in.

After a half-dozen trips to Happy Valley and another unofficial Saturday, he boasts a better sense than most. He wouldn't say where Penn State currently ranks, other than to acknowledge the school remains in his top 5, but he came away impressed.

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HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Zayd Issah looked as if he had gone 12 rounds, not four quarters.

A pair of blood-colored splotches -- one near his left eye the size of a half-dollar -- begged for bag of ice or a crafty cut man. A lingering MCL strain caused him to walk with a slight limp. And yet Issah, a three-star athlete, couldn't help but smile after Saturday's overtime victory, his joy momentarily supplanting the pain.

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