By Todd Bradley, DCSportsFan.com
MaxPreps.com
When Good Counsel senior Mike Wallace talks about his accomplishments over the past four years, he mentions being an honor roll student, a three-year starter on one of the area's best football teams and, finally, making a commitment to Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Wallace, a 5-foot-10, 183-pound wide receiver/defensive back, took an official visit to Penn State earlier this month and committed shortly thereafter, which ended a lengthy recruiting process and officially made him a Nittany Lion.
"It's a dream come true," Wallace said. "It was so surreal."
Wallace visited Penn State with teammate Jelani Jenkins (undecided) and Westlake's Devon Smith, who verbally committed back in September. Wallace was prepared to leave Penn State without an offer, but he was notified during his final moments of the trip by Larry Johnson Sr. that he would receive an offer.
"I was stepping foot outside the hotel when coach Johnson asked me to sit down for a second," Wallace said. "All the formal things were out of the way, and I was feeling a little bummed out at the time because I didn't think I was getting an offer, but it really was a dream come true."
But Wallace's road to Penn State didn't come without its challenges. He wasn't a four- or five-star recruit, he didn't have the big schools knocking down his door and he didn't receive the attention players need until his senior year. In fact, he was a relative unknown until Stanford came calling just a week before his senior season was set to begin.
"All the good [Division I] schools called me late," Wallace said. "I got better over the summer and they saw my highlight tape after this season. Penn State was actually visiting Good Counsel to recruit Jelani when they saw my highlight tape."
With schools like Michigan State, Stanford, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Vanderbilt and New Mexico offering or showing great interest, Penn State moved quickly and scheduled an official visit with Wallace. When Penn State offered, Wallace didn't waste any time committing, and the fact that Paterno is under contract for the next three years made the decision much easier.
"[Coach Paterno] is actually really entertaining and funny," Wallace said. "He was making announcements during dinner and cracking jokes. He also had all the recruits' family members at his house, and my parents had a ball."
Another factor into Wallace's decision was location. When Stanford first offered back in late July, Wallace could have made a quick decision, but he decided to be patient and let the recruiting process play out.
"When you go off to college, the school becomes your home," Wallace said. "Stanford was just too far. Even with New Mexico, I wanted to be able to see my parents. My dad has never missed one of my football games, and I wanted him to be able to keep the streak alive."
If it sounds like Wallace is a mama's boy, he is and he's not afraid to say it.
"[My parents] mean everything to me," Wallace said. "I'm a mama's boy, and my dad spends more time talking to coaches than doing his actual job."
And with Penn State playing at Illinois, Michigan, Northwestern and Michigan State next year, Wallace's father may just have to quit his job to keep the streak alive.
