FRI

High:40 Low:29

40°

29°

SAT

High:34 Low:16

34°

16°

SUN

High:29 Low:18

29°

18°

Subscribe to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and NEPA Garage SalesWilkes-Barre, Scranton and NEPA JobsWilkes-Barre, Scranton and NEPA Cars for SaleWilkes-Barre, Scranton and NEPA Homes
Times Leader FacebookTimes Leader TwitterTimes Leader YoutubeTimes Leader RSS Feeds
View Story As PDFView story as PDF
June 14, 2009

Shrive ready to roar as Nittany Lion

Eric Shrive spent many of his Friday nights last fall playing in the line on both sides of the ball for the West Scranton Invaders.

click image to enlarge

West Scranton’s Eric Shrive has been recruited by Penn State football.

submitted photo

The Saturdays were often reserved for drives to Penn State where, after making an early decision to commit to accepting a football scholarship, he attended all but one Nittany Lions home game. Shrive enjoyed the view a front-row, 50-yard line seat provides, but he looks forward to the day when he sees Penn State football games from a different perspective.

“Running out the tunnel behind coach (Joe) Paterno,” Shrive said when asked what he is looking forward to most. “It gives me the chills just to think about it.”

Shrive, one of Pennsylvania’s most highly regarded recruits and one of the top offensive line prospects in the nation, graduates from West Scranton Thursday. Ten days later, he will be off to State College again, this time to begin the process of trying to land playing time in the storied football program.

“Summer classes start July 1,” Shrive said, “but I have to be there June 28 to start lifting and running.”

Preseason practices begin later in the summer.

“Camp is going to be hard,” Shrive said. “It will be a tough couple of weeks getting ready.”

Shrive, a 6-foot-7, 300-pounder, was a first-team Associated Press Class AAA all-state lineman as a senior. He helped the Invaders to the state playoff as a junior when he played alongside Hubie Graham, another top recruit who received playing time at Illinois as a freshman tight end.

West Scranton graduate Matt McGloin, who is climbing the Penn State depth charts as a walk-on quarterback, combines with Graham to give Shrive feedback on what to expect as a major college football player.

“Matt’s and mine are two totally different perspectives in terms of contact in practice, but he still helps me out a lot with what to expect,” Shrive said. “Hubie helps me out a lot with the mental phase and what to watch out for.”

The anticipation has been building for more than a year after Shrive made the early decision. With help from his former teammates, Shrive is about to embark on his quest to fulfill the potential that so many see in him.







This story also appears on the following websites...
Go Lackawanna - Serving all of Lackawanna County 


Times Leader Commenting Guidelines
Sunday June 14, 2009, 1:00:00 EDT


The Times Leader Directory



Find Local Restaurants, Shopping & Businesses


Place Quick Ads

Blogs