Jan. 9, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The Penn State football program welcomed four early enrollees -- hybrid linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden (Greensboro, N.C.), defensive back Lamont Wade (Clairton, Pa.), offensive lineman Mike Miranda (Stow, Ohio) and wide receiver KJ Hamler (Commerce, Mich.) - to campus as the spring semester started Monday.
Biographies for the four early enrollees are below:
Brelin Faison-Walden, LB, 6-1, 200, Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley
Rivals -- 4 star ESPN -- 3 star 247 -- 3 star Scout -- 3 star
Selected Penn State over Alabama, California, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi State, N.C. State, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
High School: A four-year letterman for head coach Darrel Brown at Grimsley High School...Was a team captain his junior and senior seasons...Selected for Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and helped North Carolina to a 17-10 win over South Carolina...Named to USA Today North Carolina All-State first team as a senior...Earned Metro 4-A All-Conference first team accolades as a senior...Registered 75 tackles, 5.0 sacks and one interception his senior season...Selected as Grimsley High School team MVP as a senior...Rated a four-star prospect by Rivals and earned three stars from 247Sports, ESPN and Scout...Ranked No. 20 at his position and No. 6 in North Carolina by Rivals...Ranked as the second-best safety in North Carolina, 18th in the East by Scout and No. 35 in the country at safety...Ranked No. 35 at outside linebacker and No. 18 in North Carolina by 247Sports...Ranked No. 38 at safety and No. 16 in North Carolina by ESPN...Also lettered in track & field and wrestling one time.
Personal: Full name is Brelin Faison-Walden...Son of Angelia Faison and Shawn Walden...Has an older sister, Kendra Bass...Cousin, Jimmy Walden, was a running back at East Carolina in the early 1980s and was on two NFL rosters...Cousin, Keenan Allen, is a wide receiver for the NFL's San Diego Chargers and played collegiately at the University of California-Berkeley...Hobbies include playing football...Intends on majoring in psychology with plans on working for the government...Born January 20, 1999 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
KJ Hamler, WR, 5-9, 165, Commerce, Mich./IMG Academy
Rivals -- 4 star ESPN -- 4 star 247 -- 3 star Scout -- 4 star
Selected Penn State over Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Pitt, Purdue, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin
High School: Played for head coach Kevin Wright at IMG Academy in 2016...Two-year letterman at Orchard Lake St. Mary's, which is also the alma mater of Nittany Lion great Allen Robinson, in Michigan...Missed the 2016 season due to injury, but IMG Academy went 12-0 and won the national championship...Competed at The Opening in 2016...Won the MVP award at the Rivals Camp Series in 2016...Helped Orchard Lake St. Mary's to the Division 3 State Championship in his sophomore and junior years...Guided the Eaglets to the 2014 and 2015 district and regional championships, as well as the 2015 Catholic Prep Bowl title...Earned All-State Division 3 first team accolades as a junior...Rated a four-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and Scout and a three-star prospect by 247Sports...Ranked No. 54 at wide receiver and No. 53 in Florida by 247Sports...Ranked as the seventh-best wide out in Florida, 21st in the South by Scout and No. 52 in the country at wide receiver...Ranked No. 43 at wide receiver and No. 58 in Florida by Rivals...Ranked No. 58 at wide receiver and No. 59 in Florida by ESPN...Ran track for two seasons and was the Team MVP...Earned the Screaming Eagle Award.
Personal: Full name is Kahlee Jacoby Hamler...Son of Latonya Gooding and Thomas Hamler...Has one older sister, Michelle Hamler...Hobbies include drawing...Born July 8, 1999 in Pontiac, Michigan.
Mike Miranda, OL, 6-3, 295, Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls
Rivals -- 3 star ESPN -- 4 star 247 -- 3 star Scout -- 3 star
Selected Penn State over Boston College, Colorado State, Illinois, Iowa State, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest
High School: Four-year letterman for head coach Mark Nori at Stow-Munroe High School...Was a team captain his senior year...Selected as Offensive Player of the Year in the Suburban League as a senior...Earned All-State first team honors as a senior and second team accolades as a junior...Was named Beacon Journal Top 25 in 2015 and 2016...Selected All-Ohio Inland Division first team as a junior and senior and was a second team choice as a sophomore...Helped Stow-Munroe Falls to a 10-2 record and a state playoff appearance as a senior...Guided the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record and a bid in the state semifinals as a junior...Had a 41-7 record in four years of high school football...Rated a four-star prospect by ESPN and a three-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals and Scout...Ranked 281st among the ESPN300...Rated as the 10th-ranked player in Ohio and 21st-ranked offensive guard by ESPN...Ranked No. 4 at center and No. 20 in Ohio by 247Sports...Ranked as the fifth-best offensive guard in Ohio, 11th-best guard in the Midwest by Scout and No. 39 in the country at guard...Ranked No. 16 in the country at offensive guard and No. 14 in Ohio by Rivals...Played baseball as a freshman and sophomore and was a letterman on the basketball team as a freshman.
Personal: Full name is Michael Ray Miranda...Son of Teresa and Raymond Miranda...Has one brother, Chris...Hobbies include video games and cooking...Intends on majoring in business management...Born March 14, 1999.
Lamont Wade, DB, 5-9, 190, Clairton, Pa./Clairton
Rivals -- 5 star ESPN -- 4 star 247 -- 4 star Scout -- 5 star
Selected Penn State over Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Pitt, Temple, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, UCLA, West Virginia, Wisconsin
High School: A four-time letterwinner for head coach Wayne Wade at the Clairton High School...Two-time team captain...Led the Bears to the Pennsylvania State Championship game with a 14-1 record as a senior...Returned interceptions for touchdowns in three consecutive playoff games to lead the Bears to the 2016 WPIAL Championship...Guided Clairton to three consecutive WPIAL titles...Posted a 51-5 record in four seasons in high school...Participated in the 2017 Under Armour All-American game...Was selected as a captain of Team Armour...Invited to the 2017 Army All-American game...Participated in The Opening...Selected as the 2016 Pennsylvania Sports Writers Class A Player of the Year...Named Pittsburgh Post-Gazette WPIAL Co-Player of the Year...Selected All-State first team for three consecutive seasons...Named USA Today All-State first team as a senior...Is a three-time All-Region first team choice his final three years and was a second team selection as a freshman...Ran for 2,368 yards and 40 touchdowns as a running back and grabbed four interceptions as a cornerback in his senior season...Finished his career with 7,079 rushing yards, which is third in WPIAL history, and a WPIAL-record 117 career touchdowns...Had 14 career interceptions...Rated a five-star prospect by Rivals and Scout and four-star prospect by 247Sports and ESPN...Ranked No. 9 in the country by Rivals...Rated as the No. 1 cornerback in the 2017 recruiting class, as well as the No. 1 prospect in Pennsylvania...Ranked No. 17 overall, No. 3 cornerback and No. 1 in Pennsylvania by Scout...Ranked No. 74 overall, No. 7 at cornerback and No. 2 in Pennsylvania by 247Sports...Ranked 168th among the ESPN300...Rated as the fifth-ranked player in Pennsylvania and 16th-ranked cornerback by ESPN...Multi-sport athlete, participating in basketball, baseball and track and field for two seasons apiece...Was the 2016 WPIAL long jump champion...Helped the Bears to the Eastern A Championship in basketball in 2016.
Personal: Full name is Lamont Carlton Wade...Son of Joy and Carlton Wade...Has one older brother, Carlton Wade Jr., and one younger sister, Iyanna...Cousin, Courtney Fisher, attends Penn State...Hobbies include playing and listening to music...Born January 14, 1999 in Clairton, Pennsylvania.
Penn State won its first Big Ten Championship since 2008 and fourth overall with an 11-2 record and an 8-1 mark in Big Ten play. The No. 5 Nittany Lions also made their fourth Rose Bowl appearance (1923, 1995, 2009, 2017) in program history.
Penn State season ticket renewals and Nittany Lion Club membership renewals also are underway for the 2017 campaign. The ticket invoice and Nittany Lion Club renewal deadline is Feb. 1, 2017. There will not be any increase in the price of Penn State football season tickets or Nittany Lion Club donation levels for next season.
More than 1,600 new season tickets have been sold for the 2017 campaign. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club and purchasing new 2017 season tickets, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.PSUnrivaled.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.