Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford received 17 offers coming out of Cincinnati St. Xavier High School but Ohio State was not one of the schools making an offer, according to 247sports.com.
If that is correct, it is a decision that could come back to bite the Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon. But Penn State pulling top prospects out of Ohio is not happening as much now as it did in the 1980s and 1990s.
Here are five of the best players Penn State ever signed from Ohio:
1. Jeff Hartings
Hartings often said he was never an Ohio State fan while growing up. He became a two-time first-team All-American and was first-team All-Big Ten at offensive guard for three years from 1993-1995. Penn State’s first-team offensive line allowed only three sacks all season in 1994.
David Jones, who has covered Penn State football for many years for the Harrisburg Patriot News, earlier this year wrote that Hartings “without much question is not just the best guard, but the best offensive lineman the Penn State program has ever produced.”
2. Ki-Jana Carter
Bengals fans, you should have seen him before the knee injury. In 1994, his final season at Penn State, Carter rushed for 1,539 yards and averaged 7.8 yards per carry, which is something like shooting a 61 in golf. In a Cincinnati Enquirer story about what might have been for the former Westerville South standout, former Bengals offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet said, “He was so good. God, was he good.”
3. Todd Blackledge
The North Canton Hoover graduate was the quarterback on Joe Paterno’s first national championship team in 1982 and threw for 2,218 yards and 22 touchdowns.
4. Curtis Enis
The Mississinawa Valley graduate was an NFL first-round flop, but he ran for 1,363 yards in 1997 and 1,210 yards in 1996 at Penn State.
5. O.J. McDuffie
The Gates Mills Hawken graduate caught 99 passes his final two years at Penn State in 1991 and 1992 and became an NFL first-round pick.
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