PSU adds two preferred walk-ons
Penn State added two preferred walk-ons to its Class of 2018 Tuesday night in State College wide receiver Brandon Clark and Concord, N.C., punter John Brosnahan.
Clark, who stands at 6-foot-3, 192 pounds, is the son of former Penn State All-American Bruce Clark. Akron, Delaware and New Hampshire have all shown interest, but he quickly decided to take advantage of the opportunity to be a preferred walk-on at Penn State once he officially learned of opportunity Tuesday evening.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Penn State,” said Clark. “I love it here and the community here is just what I want. I feel like Penn State has always been in (my) blood. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to come here.”
He added,” I’ve talked to (some schools), but I’ve always been waiting for Penn State. I always told people that if I don’t go to Penn State for football, I’ll go there just for school. Penn State is the only school I had in mind.”
So far this season, Clark has totaled 15 receptions for 229 yards. He also leads the team in touchdowns with eight. Clark placed seventh overall in the triple jump (44-11) this past spring at the PIAA Track and Field Championships
As for Bronahan, he visited Penn State just a few weeks ago for the game against Indiana. Army was the only Division I FBS program to extend a scholarship offer at this stage, but North Carolina, N.C. State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech were a few schools that showed interest.
“I have gone on visits to UNC, NC Central, East Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and South Carolina,” he said. “I had offers from Army and North Carolina Central, but after I went on my visit to Penn State, I knew that's where I wanted to go. Everything there is top-notch. It made my decision really easy.”
Through seven games this season, Brosnahan is averaging 44 yards per punt on 38 attempts. He’s also pinned 19 kicks inside the 20-yard line and converted three of five field goal attempts, including a long of 50 yards. Both of his missed field goals were blocked.
Special teams assistant Sam Williams kickstarted Brosnahan’s relationship with staff. In more recent weeks, he’s been in contact with both Charles Huff and James Franklin.
“I got to come up for an unofficial visit against Indiana,” Brosnahan said, “I was able to get a tour of the football facilities and the campus. The football facilities were the best I’ve seen. I also got to walk around campus a lot and it was my favorite campus, by far. The coaching staff was able to make it feel like home to me. That was really important.”
Below are highlights of both prospects. The first video is of Clark's three touchdown performance in State College's 70-14 win over Carlisle two weeks ago. The second video is Brosnahan's film from his junior season.
