Signed: OL Juice Scruggs
WHAT HE DID: Scruggs capped his senior season at Cathedral Prep by capturing a second-straight PIAA Class 4A state championship, defeating Imhotep Charter, 38-28. It was a rubber match of sorts in what was their third consecutive meeting in the title game. Scruggs also excelled as a defensive lineman.
WHAT HE WON: Scruggs earned first-team all-region and all-district honors from 2015-2017. He was also first-team all-state his junior and senior seasons. A four-star prospect, Rivals considers Scruggs to be the No. 15-overall prospect in Pennsylvania. Although he was a two-year starter at left tackle for Cathedral Prep, Scruggs is projected as an offensive guard at the college level and is ranked No. 19 in the country at that position.
WHERE HE VISITED: An Ohio native, Scruggs visited two campuses more regularly than any others: Penn State and Ohio State. Last spring he visited the Buckeyes twice and PSU once, before shutting down his recruitment for the summer. Then before the start of his senior season in August, he announced that he was joining the Nittany Lions.
QUOTABLE: “I picked Penn State because every time I went to Happy Valley, it felt like home. The coaches treated me like family. They kept it real with me and didn’t sugarcoat things to get their point across. Also, the other commits in the 2018 class were reaching out to me. That was a big deal to me. I felt comfortable.”
PHIL’S TAKE: Scruggs mainly played at the left tackle position at Cathedral Prep, but he’s projected to play either guard or potentially center at Penn State. Since the summer, he’s actually lost some weight, checking in at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, but Scruggs has the frame to add at least 25 pounds without losing any of his lateral quickness. In fact, his quickness may be his biggest strength, as Scruggs has exceptional feet that enables him to sustain his blocks. He pulled exceptionally well from his tackle position in high school, getting to the second-level with ease. Scruggs is also great at sustaining leverage at the point of attack. It’s clear that he has excellent technique, as he rarely gets too high coming out of his stance. Scruggs appears to have the mental makeup to play the center prospect at Penn State.
