Fields, key pieces of Lions' future offense invited to The Opening

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Quarterback pledge Justin Fields is the latest Penn State commit to punch his ticket to The Opening.

In addition to the five-star pledge, Nike's annual showcase event at their Beaverton, Ore. headquarters will feature Nittany Lion verbal pledges Justin Shorter, Zack Kuntz and Ricky Slade. It's a strong contingent for a recruiting class that is ranked third in the nation in the 247Sports.com team rankings and Fields' rise to the top -- a place where this time one year ago his recruitment started to pick up with an offer from Duke -- will be one of the top stories for this class.



Participating in the Elite 11 quarterback competition, which Fields qualified for after a strong showing this past weekend in Los Angeles, is a big deal. Fields, should he keep his pledge to Penn State and sign with the Lions, would join Christian Hackenberg, Jake Zembiec and Sean Clifford as Penn State Elite 11 alums. Potentially having three Elite 11 quarterbacks on the same college roster at the same time is pretty much unheard of.

With schools all interested in Fields, the top-ranked dual threat passer in this recruiting class, Penn State will have to hope Fields ends up adding his name to the quarterbacks listed above as opposed to that of Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush.

Wimbush attended the Elite 11 in 2014 as a Penn State verbal pledge and flipped to the Irish three months later. Wimbush was a coveted prospect in the class and looks to take over Notre Dame's offense this year. While The Opening and the Elite 11 helped Wimbush get to know other prospects better -- including then Penn State pledges and classmates Saquon Barkley and Juwan Johnson who were also at the event -- it also reaffirmed that he was one of the best quarterbacks in that particular cycle and that made it enticing to continue looking around.

Fields, who lives near Atlanta, Ga. and plays for Cam Newton's 7v7 team, is a top target for Alabama and added offers from Florida and Florida State in the winter and spring. He earned his Penn State offer last summer after camping for the staff, a camp he attended on a whim because he was visiting family in the area and then fell in love with the place and committed in December.

Making sure that verbal commitment turns to ink come signing day is something that can be worked on by future teammates during The Opening.

The setup at The Opening and the Elite 11, a place where college coaches aren't allowed, gives players and parents a chance to talk openly about their recruitments and what they're looking for from schools, coaches and future teammates. The bonding time between players, some of whom could even end up on the same 7v7 roster for tournament play, is one of the top recruiting tools. For Fields and the trio of other Penn State pledges out there later this month the opportunity to spend time together in person -- as opposed to the group messages that keep prospects in the loop the rest of the year -- is important.

With a future college receiver, running back, quarterback and tight end at the same event not only does it show the potential of Penn State's future offense, but it also gives the prospects a chance to solidify their commitments while looking to add others to the class. With many schools expected to continue pressing Fields between now and when he signs it could bode well for Penn State that so much of their future talent on offense will be at the event.

Kuntz, the 6-8 tight end from Camp Hill, smiled a couple weeks ago when I asked him who he planned to recruit during his time at the showcase event. He wouldn't name names, but it's safe to say they all go in equipped with a wish lists of sorts. It happens every year.

With five-star defensive end Micah Parsons also set to attend The Opening look for plenty of players -- including those from Penn State -- to try and sway him to their school. Parsons was on campus this past weekend and with nine finalists and all of the top talents in the class in the same place at the same time he'll have plenty of committed and uncommitted players in his ear.

QUICK HITS

• Class of 2020 running back Jalen Berger, who impressed during Saturday's camp, tweeted that he picked up a Penn State scholarship offer afterward. He already holds offers from Michigan, Michigan State and Maryland, among others

• Quarterback Garrett Shrader, also a 2020 prospect, picked up an offer from the Nittany Lions this weekend as well. He also picked up an offer from Pitt this month.

•Class of 2019 quarterback Max Duggan, who camped at Penn State on Saturday, also picked up an offer this weekend.

• Belle Vernon offensive tackle Blake Zubovic, a 2017 prospect, trimmed his list to five finalists on Monday. Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Maryland all made the cut. Interestingly enough, Maryland's lead recruiter for him is offensive line coach Tyler Bowen. Bowen used to be a graduate assistant at Penn State during the 2014 season and spent the past two years at Fordham, with one year overlapping with Joe Moorhead's head coaching tenure there.

• James Franklin previously extended an open invitation to former Bachelorette contestant and his former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers to come to campus for a game. During the Lions' satellite camp in Murfreesboro, Tenn. on Sunday the head coach tweeted a photo of himself and receivers coach Josh Gattis with the youngest of the Rodgers brothers while in Tennessee. We'll have to see if any reality-TV drama heads to Happy Valley in the future should Rodgers make it up for a game.

• Something I didn't think I'd type today? Al Pacino is expected to play Joe Paterno in an upcoming HBO movie about the Penn State scandal. This adds to the list of scandal-related books, documentaries and films that are already and have been out for much of the past five years. One of the questions that came up last week after the sentencing for Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz was if this meant most of the scandal-related stories were over. Sure, for the most part that has to be it, but this story will never totally go away and this movie is just another reminder of that.