Defensive Lineman Has Two New Offers

Walker Ashley, the son of Walker Lee Ashley who spent 7 years with the Minnesota Vikings after helping Penn State win its first National Championship in 1982, now has 5 Big 10 offers including one from Penn State. Who are his favorites?

Name:	Walker Ashley
Position:	DL
Height:	6'5"
Weight:	285 pounds
40-yard dash:	4.9 seconds
School:	Eden Prairie Sr., Eden Prairie, MN

When LionNews spoke with Walker during the Nike Camp at Penn State on May 15, he had scholarship offers from Penn State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Oregon. Iowa and Purdue recently added their names to the list.

"They offered last week," Walker said Wednesday evening. "Both of the coaches called, one right after the other, and just said, 'I want to offer you a scholarship and [we want you to] come to our camp'."

Ashley has finalized his summer camp schedule.

"I'm going to USC in late June, Minnesota in mid-June and Ohio State in early July."

He's been to both Minnesota and Ohio State (camp when he was a freshman) previously. He has never been to USC.

He took his first trip to Penn State by himself last month during the weekend of the Nike Camp.

"It went well. The coaches showed me around. It was really nice. I just got a good feel for the campus and the coaches, and met some of the players. So, I got an overall picture of what it's like."

Are his parents okay with him possibly going to school far away from home?

"My dad is. My mom's not real okay with it. She goes with it, but she doesn't really like it."

Does he have a preference?

"I have no preference for location. Wherever I can go, get a good degree and get some playing time."

Depending on the school, Walker is being recruited as either a defensive-end or defensive-tackle.

"Teams from the south and the east are pretty much looking at me as a d-end, and the north and the west are kind of looking at me as a d-tackle."

Ashley said Penn State is recruiting him to play defensive-end. Has the Nittany Lion coaching staff contacted him since the Nike Camp last month?

"Back in May, about 3 or 4 coaches called me, Coach Paterno, Coach Johnson and Coach Ganter."

What did JoePa talk about?

"How he just signed his new deal and how the team's looking good and that they're just a few players away from making another run. Just how they want me to go there and then he was talking about my dad going there and stuff."

What do his parents think? Does his dad want him to go to Penn State?

"My dad, he likes Penn State, but he's going to leave the decision up to me. Penn State's obviously his preference because he's been there, he knows everyone and he had a good experience there. My mom kind of wants me to stay at home."

When does he plan to make a final decision?

"I don't know. I'm thinking about taking all my visits and when the recruiting process is complete and I pretty much have all my offers, I think I'm going to take time and sit down with my family probably in about December and make a commitment then."

Ashley plans to make his official visits after his senior season.

Who are his current favorites?

"Penn State and Minnesota pretty much stand out the most, but some other teams are recruiting me pretty hard that stand out, but they haven't offered yet. So, you know, I'm just kind of sitting back and waiting."