2009 Pennsylvania DE likes PSU

Defensive end Jack Lippert has been playing varsity football for Harrisburg (Pa.) Central Dauphin since his freshman year and in that time he has drawn plenty of attention from college coaches. The 6-foot-4, 225 pound rising junior has the ability to play several positions at the next level, and that versatility is one of the reasons he is considered a hot prospect in the Class of 2009.

Last year for Central Dauphin, Lippert recorded more than 50 tackles and eight sacks. This season the coaches plan on utilizing him at tight end for the first time. It should be a successful experiment.

"This will be the first time I've played tight end and I'm doing really, really well so far," Lippert said. "In our scrimmage the other day no one was able to run with me and I was able to catch the ball some. That speed is what will help me out the most at tight end. My speed and and explosion are my best assets as a defensive end."

Lippert runs the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds and has the ability to track down quarterbacks and running backs from behind.

He attended the Ultimate 100 camp earlier this year and performed very well. He attended a couple of smaller camps at which he dominated, and again did well at a Penn State camp.

What schools are on Lippert's radar?

"Well I'd like to stay close to home and find a place where I'll be able to play," Lippert said. "And I'd like to play for a big-time program.

"I'm definitely really high on Penn State. I'm pretty cool with their defensive line coach Larry Johnson. They've sent me a couple of pieces of mail and I've been up there a lot.

"I just recently took an unofficial visit to Pitt, which went great. I had a chance to talk to the coaches, including Coach (Dave) Wannstedt, and everything went well. I saw a couple of their scrimmages. Everyone was really friendly while I was there."

In addition to those two in-state programs Lippert has expressed interest in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio State.