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Retailers grow, give back on Small Business Saturday in and around Wilkes-Barre

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Telecom Pioneer Club donates crocheted items to Meadows

<p>Penn State&#8217;s surge back onto the national stage figures to pay the biggest recruiting dividends down the road. But there&#8217;s still a few months left in the 2017 cycle and still a few scholarships left to give.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s having an effect, I think, with visits and things like that,&#8221; coach James Franklin said of the Nittany Lions&#8217; seven-game winning streak and No. 7 ranking. &#8220;Guys calling us and showing more interest and things like that. But I think where it will have its biggest impact is in &#8216;18. Because the &#8216;17 class is pretty much done. We&#8217;ve got a few spots left.&#8221;</p><p>As it is, two high-profile senior defensive linemen announced on Twitter that they will be heading to Happy Valley for official visits this weekend &#8212; Maryland&#8217;s Josh Kaindoh and New Jersey&#8217;s Fred Hansard.</p><p>Kaindoh is rated as a five-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings, checking in as the No. 26 overall prospect in the country and the No. 2 strong-side defensive end. The 6-foot-6 pass rusher verbally committed to Maryland in the spring but has since taken an official visit to Florida State before scheduling this trip to Penn State.</p><p>A Baltimore native, Kaindoh played his senior season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.</p><p>Hansard is a 6-3, 310-pound tackle from the Hun School in Princeton, N.J. He has a verbal commitment to Florida and is rated in the top 200 overall nationally and the No. 11 defensive tackle.</p><p>With only a handful of seniors on this year&#8217;s roster, Penn State has a limited number of scholarships that will open up in the offseason. As it is, the Lions have 14 players pledged to the class, led by Ohio quarterback Sean Clifford.</p><p>Penn State is also a finalist for the No. 2 prospect in Pennsylvania, Clairton defensive back Lamont Wade, who has set a date of Dec. 17 to announce his choice.</p><p>As Franklin said, the Lions are already off to a strong start for the 2018 class. They have commitments from four top-300 recruits, including Wyoming Valley West offensive lineman Chris Bleich and Harrisburg defensive end Micah Parsons, the No. 5 overall prospect in the country among juniors.</p><p>&#8220;Seventy-five percent of the recruiting process is done based off the junior or sophomore years,&#8221; Franklin said. &#8220;So (winning) will have an effect. How significant the effect is, I don&#8217;t know. I think it will show up more in years to come, especially in the &#8216;18 class.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Moorhead recognized</strong></p><p>Penn State has gotten immediate results from the hire of Joe Moorhead as offensive coordinator. The former Fordham head coach has helped boost the Lions&#8217; offense by 12.6 points (23.2 to 35.8) and 68.2 yards per game (348.4 to 426.6) from last season.</p><p>This week, Moorhead was nominated for the Broyles Award, given to the nation&#8217;s top assistant coach. He is one of 40 to be recognized out of roughly 1,500 assistants working for FBS programs.</p><p>Moorhead is one of six Big Ten assistants to be nominated along with Indiana&#8217;s Tom Allen, Nebraska&#8217;s Trent Bray, Michigan&#8217;s Don Brown, Ohio State&#8217;s Kerry Coombs and Wisconsin&#8217;s Justin Wilcox.</p><p><strong>Palmer&#8217;s goodbye</strong></p><p>Paris Palmer&#8217;s Penn State career ended early because of a knee injury suffered two weeks ago at Indiana.</p><p>On Thanksgiving, the senior tackle reflected on his two years with the Lions after transferring from Lackawanna College.</p><p>&#8220;I am thankful today for being a part of this team, school and organization,&#8221; Palmer wrote on Twitter. &#8220;I have always felt part of something bigger than myself here.&#8221;</p><p>The North Carolina native will be honored during senior day ceremonies before Saturday&#8217;s game against Michigan State.</p><p>Palmer, Von Walker and Nyeem Wartman-White are all seniors who will not be able to play because of season-ending knee injuries.</p><p>&#8220;I see big things for Penn State, deservedly so, and I will miss the support and love I have received from everyone, especially our fans,&#8221; Palmer wrote. &#8220;As I transition into my next phase in life, I will always remember and have deep admiration and pride for Penn State.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">James Franklin and Penn State are scheduled to get official visits from some top defensive line recruits this weekend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_franklin-clap2016112416544467.jpg</photo0><caption0>James Franklin and Penn State are scheduled to get official visits from some top defensive line recruits this weekend. </caption0><photoCredit0>Michael Conroy | AP photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>UP NEXT</strong></p><p>Michigan State at Penn State</p><p>3:30 p.m., Saturday, ESPN</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Penn State starting to see recruiting boost from winning streak