Adam Breneman, an elite tight end recruit, has committed to Penn State, according to Black Shoe Diaries. Breneman stars for Camp Hill (Pa.) Cedar Cliffs High School, and the commitment to Penn State was entirely expected. Breneman also held offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Stanford, Maryland, Notre Dame and Ohio State; he narrowed his list to the final three and Penn State before choosing the Nittany Lions.
Breneman is considered by many to be the top tight end in the country, his only real competition for that honor being Alabama commitment O.J. Howard. At 6'5" and 220 pounds, Breneman, who is still just 16, has very good size. He also has room to grow, and though he is still growing into his body, he already displays excellent body control, good feet, and a strong desire to play the game and compete.
As a junior, Breneman caught 72 passes for 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns.
With new head coach Bill O'Brien being the former coach of the New England Patriots, one has to wonder how much his use of the Patriots' star tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez impacted Breneman's decision to choose Penn State. I asked Black Shoe Diaries' Jeff Junstrom about O'Brien's a track record, not only of using tight ends, but of featuring them in his offense as well:
Coach Bill O'Brien was the offensive coordinator of one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL last year, so you better believe he's going to use that success to recruit players. Christian Hackenberg told me that Coach O'Brien showed him film of Tom Brady when Hackenberg was at Penn State's Junior Day a few weeks ago. And Adam Breneman has definitely been shown film on Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Their success is definitely a major tool for the Penn State recruiting staff.
The funny thing is that Aaron Hernandez is being used by two coaches that tried to woo Breneman to their school, as Ohio State's Urban Meyer was Hernandez' coach at Florida. Meyer took the nation's top tight end in the Class of 2007 and made him a fourth round draft pick; Bill O'Brien took a fourth round draft pick and made him one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
This is a major pickup for Penn State.
For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.