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Lions wrap up stressful recruiting season

Shickshinny council mulls hiring police officer

<p>STATE COLLEGE &#8212; They started at a podium, being introduced by none other than Matt McGloin.</p><p>Connor McGovern and his father, Jim, took their turn in the spotlight at Penn State&#8217;s signing day celebration Wednesday.</p><p>McGloin, the former West Scranton and PSU quarterback, called on the family to speak. It was dad who gave the official welcome to the Nittany Lions&#8217; recruiting class.</p><p>&#8220;Wow,&#8221; Jim McGovern said. &#8220;As a Pennsylvania father, educator and coach, there is simply no prouder moment in my life to announce &#8230; Connor McGovern, my son, from Lake-Lehman High School in Lehman, Pa.&#8221;</p><p>Connor has been on the Penn State campus for three weeks, having graduated from Lake-Lehman a semester early to get a head start on his college career. But this was National Signing Day, and the offensive lineman joined in the festivities.</p><p>As the upstairs lobby of the team&#8217;s Lasch Building headquarters cheered, both McGovern men approached Lions coach James Franklin for a hug.</p><p>Then, in one final move, Jim McGovern got to put his son&#8217;s placard on the team&#8217;s recruiting board &#8212; a symbolic end to an incredibly hectic month.</p><p>After the holidays, Connor McGovern and his parents spent a week in San Antonio for a nationally televised football all-star game. From there, it was an early morning flight to Philadelphia.</p><p>Next was a trip up the Northeast Extension back home to Luzerne County, where he had to quickly pack up his life before getting back in the car for another two-hour drive to State College to make it in time for orientation.</p><p>&#8220;This has been crazy,&#8221; McGovern said while still in Texas. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t stopped the past couple weeks.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">A whirlwind month that finally got him to Penn State on Jan. 10 is only the beginning of a year that could see him contributing to the Lions&#8217; offensive line this fall &#8212; very much a rarity for a freshman.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;The fact that he graduated early and is on campus, is going to give him a chance,&#8221; Franklin said Wednesday. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to play on the O-line as a freshman. But the fact that he&#8217;s here six months early and is already a big, physical strong guy, it gives him a shot. He&#8217;s a unique guy.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">Indeed, most high school linemen aren&#8217;t as advanced physically as McGovern is at age 18. Penn State listed him at 6-foot-5, 312 pounds when adding him to the roster.</p><p dir="ltr">Most teenagers don&#8217;t have the advantage of getting into a college training program a semester early to go through winter workouts and spring practice with their new team.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;It&#8217;s tough for anyone,&#8221; said Steve Wiltfong, national recruiting director for the 247Sports network that scouted McGovern in San Antonio. &#8220;But he&#8217;s enrolling early and getting in those 15 practices, getting to know the guys and everything.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;A lot of guys aren&#8217;t as ready physically to play as Connor. They&#8217;re not physically ready to go. He looks ready to go,&#8221; Wiltfong added. &#8220;He needs another semester, getting into the strength and conditioning program at that time. But he&#8217;s close right now, and that should give him the boost he needs to be ready in September.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">If he&#8217;s ready in 2016, McGovern would be the first true freshman offensive lineman to play for Penn State in eight years.</p><p dir="ltr">Of course, much could happen over the next eight months, and there has already been one curveball thrown his way. Offensive line coach Herb Hand left to take a job at Auburn on the same day McGovern started classes. Franklin hired his replacement, Matt Limegrover, less than 48 hours later.</p><p dir="ltr">The next weekend, Limegrover was at the McGovern&#8217;s home in Larksville, where he spent an entire morning talking to the family.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;I think his home visit was four hours,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;And it wasn&#8217;t four hours of recruiting. It was four hours of eating Polish sausage and kielbasa and laughing and (Old Forge) pizza. Just enjoying yourself.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">Helping McGovern is the fact that he&#8217;s not the only one going through this frantic period. Three other recruits in his class also enrolled this month, including his roommate Jake Zembiec, a quarterback from Rochester, New York.</p><p dir="ltr">While McGovern was making his mad dash to get to State College, Zembiec was set to reach campus the day before to begin setting things up.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;We&#8217;re all really close right now,&#8221; McGovern said of his fellow freshmen. &#8220;Especially the guys who are early enrolling. We&#8217;re all close friends and that&#8217;s a big help.&#8221;</p><p dir="ltr">Regardless of how long it takes McGovern to see the field, his new coaches were thrilled that he played a large role in keeping his 2016 recruiting class together.</p><p dir="ltr">With the Lions losing games &#8212; and assistant coaches &#8212; from November to January, Penn State saw a half-dozen recruits switch their pledges and sign with other schools on Wednesday.</p><p dir="ltr">McGovern, meanwhile, showed up at all seven of the Lions&#8217; home games in the fall, making the two-plus hour trip regardless of kickoff time.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;He&#8217;s one of the leaders in this class,&#8221; said Penn State assistant Josh Gattis, who oversees recruiting on offense. &#8220;Connor never wavered one time from his commitment. He committed to us. His family committed to us.</p><p dir="ltr">&#8220;We&#8217;re excited about Connor. Just a great kid from a great family.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Since graduating from Lake-Lehman, Connor McGovern, left, has had a hectic ride just to get to Penn State where he hopes to see the field this fall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Lake-Lehman-Mid-Valley-ftbl-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Since graduating from Lake-Lehman, Connor McGovern, left, has had a hectic ride just to get to Penn State where he hopes to see the field this fall. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Lake-Lehman-Mid-Valley-ftbl-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lake-Lehman grad Connor McGovern, center, was rated the No. 3 high school center in the country according to recruiting services. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Lake-Lehman-Mid-Valley-ftbl-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Lake-Lehman grad Connor McGovern, center, was rated the No. 3 high school center in the country according to recruiting services. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Lake-Lehman-Mid-Valley-ftbl-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern, right, played on both sides of the ball at Lake-Lehman but will play offensive line at Penn State. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Lake-Lehman-Mid-Valley-ftbl-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Connor McGovern, right, played on both sides of the ball at Lake-Lehman but will play offensive line at Penn State. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_mcgovern-arrives.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Connor McGovern, far right, arrived at Penn State recently to begin classes along with three other recruits, including new roommate, quarterback Jake Zembiec, second from right. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_mcgovern-arrives.jpg</photo3><caption3>Connor McGovern, far right, arrived at Penn State recently to begin classes along with three other recruits, including new roommate, quarterback Jake Zembiec, second from right. </caption3><photoCredit3>Penn State athletics </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_mcgovern-jersey.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Two days before he arrived at Penn State, Connor McGovern played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, making for one interesting weekend of travel. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_mcgovern-jersey.jpg</photo4><caption4>Two days before he arrived at Penn State, Connor McGovern played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, making for one interesting weekend of travel. </caption4><photoCredit4>U.S. Army All-American Bowl </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_mcgovern1_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lake-Lehman&#8217;s Connor McGovern bypassed the second half of his senior year in high school to begin a career at Penn State University. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_mcgovern1_faa.jpg</photo5><caption5>Lake-Lehman&#8217;s Connor McGovern bypassed the second half of his senior year in high school to begin a career at Penn State University. </caption5><photoCredit5>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>A busy start to a busy year for Lehman&#8217;s McGovern</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>INSIDE</strong></p><p>For full coverage of Penn State&#8217;s recruiting class as well as write-ups on each new player, see Sports, <strong>Page 1B.</strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoID:</td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> 8672b29ab833338f04a94376bf12328194b2dd0d</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">VideoType:</td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> BIMVID</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">URL:</td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> Connor McGovern discusses playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> Bowstring Studios</td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="margin-top:10px;font-size:70%;color:#555;">(use the &#8220;for files&#8230;&#8221; link above to associate attached files with this source)</p></videoMeta></div>

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From All-American football game to Penn State, Connor McGovern has had a busy start to the new year