Some coaches around the country have said they will not actively recruit Penn State players available to transfer due to NCAA sanctions levied against the program.
Others are a bit more forward. One of them was apparently Georgia coach Mark Richt. Dawgs247.com reported Friday that UGA notified Penn State compliance about speaking to 19 current Penn State players.
The list was obtained through an open records request. Those players were:
CB Adrian Amos (Soph.)
DE Deion Barnes (R-Fr.)
WR Justin Brown (Sr.)
CB DaQuan Davis (Fr.)
DB Jake Fagnano (Sr.)
LB Khairi Fortt (Jr.)
DL Jordan Hill (Sr.)
LB Gerald Hodges (Sr.)
DL DeQuan Jones (Jr.)
WR Eugene Lewis (Fr.)
OL Angelo Mangiro (R-Fr.)
DE Pete Massaro (Sr.)
LB Michael Mauti (Sr.)
DL Jamil Pollard (Fr.)
RB Silas Redd (Jr.)
OL Donovan Smith (R-Fr.)
C Matt Stankiewitch (Sr.)
WR Trevor Williams (Fr.)
RB Michael Zordich (Sr.)
However, in a statement released by UGA later Friday afternoon after the list was released, Richt said his program was not currently seeking any PSU players.
“Currently, Georgia is not pursuing any of Penn State’s football players. We wish Coach (Bill) O’Brien and the players the best,” the statement read.
It’s not surprising that Georgia was at least looking at several Penn State players. Offseason attrition and off-the-field issues have been unusually cruel to the Bulldogs and the NCAA’s loosened transfer policy for Penn State would have provided an easy fix.