PSU Offers Lackawanna OL Anthony Whigan
Penn State became the latest program to verbally offer Lackawanna College offensive lineman Anthony Whigan on Tuesday.
A native of Great Mills, Md., Whigan emerged this past season when he earned a starting spot as a freshman. By the fifth game, he was already named a team captain, along with Penn State’s other top target at Lackawanna, safety JaQuan Brisker.
“I got a message from [Ricky] Rahne in the afternoon,” said Lackawanna offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Josh Pardini. “I gave him a call then and he just asked me my thoughts on Whigan and if I’m still in love with him. I’ve been talking him up to everyone since the season. That’s not going to change. He’s just special. He’s a great person, a great student and a great player.
“I believe [Penn State] ended up going through evaluations of Pennsylvania prospects and since we’re a Pennsylvania junior college, they decided to reach out and let us know that they don’t want to wait. Coach Franklin and everyone else feels comfortable enough about him to offer now and not wait until the evaluation period. We’re going to have a ton of schools coming to see him when we start spring practice in April, so that’s probably a good move. He’s already up to eight offers now and I really do think that’ll grow.”
Listed at 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, Whigan primarily played tackle in 2017, but he proved during camp that he could also be used as an interior offensive lineman if needed.
“He’s super-athletic,” Pardini said. “He’s one of only a handful of guys that have played all five positions for me. He’s played center, both guard and both tackle positions. During games, we used him mainly at right tackle, but we know that if we need him to bump down, he could do that for us.”
As mentioned, Penn State has also made Whigan’s teammate, Brisker, a major priority for the 2019 class. Neither prospect has visited with James Franklin and his coaching staff yet, but Pardini believes that’ll change once Lackawanna finishes its spring semester.
“Since they’re non-qualifiers and they’re still within their first-year of junior college, they can’t take visits until our semester ends, which is May 11th,” he said. “I know Penn State has already talked to Brisker about stopping in State College when he’s on his way home to Pittsburgh that weekend. Anthony lives in Maryland, so he’s not far from State College either. I wouldn’t be surprised if they host those guys as soon as possible, so some time in May.”
Both Brisker and Whigan have now accumulated eight offers each. In addition to the Lions, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, Nebraska, Syracuse, TCU and West Virginia have all offered Whigan. Iowa State, Maryland, Pitt, Syracuse, Temple and West Virginia are the top schools to offer Brisker.
Those lists should grow once schools are able to scout each prospect during the evaluation period, but Pardini said that the teams within the region may ultimately have an edge on the rest.
“I think that, with both JaQuan and Anthony, if they have their preference, they’ll end up staying fairly close to home, or at the very least, on this side of the country," he said. "They’re both family-oriented, Whigan especially. So, it’s hard for me to see them going out west or way down south. I just think they’re both too close with their friends and family to go very far from home.
“But at the same time, this is going to be a long process. Lots of schools are showing interest but haven’t offered yet. I know Oklahoma is very interest in Anthony, so we’ll see how this all progresses in April and into the summer.”