Top Pa. prospect leaves state again

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From 2003 to 2006, Penn State kept the top player in the state of Pennsylvania home to play for the Nittany Lions.

Now, there is a new trend.

This season marks the fourth consecutive time the top player in the Keystone State has decided to play college football outside Pennsylvania.

Sharrif Floyd from Philadelphia (Pa.) George Washington is headed to Florida to play for the Gators. Floyd, the nation's No. 4 player overall, leads a strong and deep group of prospects in this year's Rivals.com Pennsylvania Top 40.

The latest streak began in 2007, when defensive end Derrick Morgan went off to stardom at Georgia Tech. Then, Terrelle Pryor and Corey Brown left the state to play at Ohio State in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Floyd is one of only two Pennsylvania prospects in the Rivals100 this year, but it's still a very deep group overall. The 6-foot-3, 310-pounder is the nation's top defensive tackle prospect and the highest-ranked player from the state since Terrelle Pryor was No. 1 overall in 2008. Pittsburgh (Pa.) Penn Hills cornerback Cullen Christian, who checks in at No. 99 in the Rivals100, is No. 2 in the state and is headed to Michigan.

After the top two, Penn State makes a nice run in the rankings.

Linebacker Mike Hull from Canonsburg (Pa.) Canon McMillan is No. 3 in the state and is joined in the top 10 by fellow Penn State commitments Paul Jones (No. 5), Thomas Ricketts (No. 6), Kyle Baublitz (No. 7), Miles Dieffenbach (No. 8) and Dakota Royer (No. 10). Penn State also boasts commitments from No. 11 Alex Kenney and Luke Graham (No. 19). The Nittany Lions are also expected to land No. 31 Shyquawn Pullium.

In addition to Floyd, two other players in the top 10 are headed out of state. Athlete Corey Brown from Springfield (Pa.) Cardinal O'Hara (No. 4) and defensive end Ken Wilkins from Washington (Pa.) Trinity (No. 9) are headed to Ohio State and Michigan, respectively.

While Pitt struck out in the top 10, the Panthers did land a good share of the top 40. No. 12 Anthony Gonzalez, No. 14 Aaron Donald, No. 17 Andrew Carswell, No. 22 Derrick Burns, No. 24 Eric Williams, No. 25 Brandon Ifill, No. 27 Salath Williams and No. 28 Kevin Weatherspoon are set to sign with the Panthers.

Other programs that did well in Pennsylvania in 2010 include Boston College, which landed No. 15 Seth Betancourt and No. 20 Andre Williams. Maryland landed No. 16 Tyler Smith and No. 18 Sal Conaboy, and Syracuse received commitments from No. 21 Dom Timbers and No. 29 Myles Davis.

The clear positions of strength this year in Pennsylvania were along the line of scrimmage. Floyd, Wilkins, Royer, Donald, Jordan Paskorz, Trevor Demko and Khaynin Mosley-Smith are defensive linemen. Ricketts, Dieffenbach, Betancourt, Conaboy, Graham, Jack Deboef and Arthur Doakes are talented offensive linemen.

In addition to the final Pennsylvania state rankings for the class of 2010, we also released the postseason rankings for Georgia, Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Nevada and the Rocky Mountain States today.

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