http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/
JOHN STEGEMAN wrote
Portsmouth’s Nate Cadogan (front, center) signs a national letter of intent to play college football at Penn State University. Also pictured are PHS head coach Curt Clifford (back, left), line coach Ted Newsome (back, center), line coach John Born and Maureen Cadogan (front, left).
slideshow Five years ago, a Portsmouth High School senior named Cadogan signed a national letter of intent to play college football at Penn State University.
Wednesday was deja vu.
Portsmouth senior Nate Cadogan signed with Penn State on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of his older brother All-Big 10 lineman Gerald.
Nate Cadogan though, is his own style of player and made his own decision to go to Penn State.
"Even though his big brother has been there and done it, it doesn't mean anything because Nate is Nate," Portsmouth head coach Curt Clifford said. "He's not following his brother. He's going to Penn State because that's where he wants to go."
Cadogan talked about why he likes Penn State.
"The atmosphere up there is so great," Cadogan said. "It’s like a real big family up there. They push you as a football player and they drive you academically to be even better in the classroom than on the field."
What attracted Penn State to Cadogan, according to his position coaches at PHS, was a skill set unmatched by many other top players.
"I don't know that we've ever had a player that can combine his size, strength and speed and agility and possess all those things on the level he has them," offensive line coach Ted Newsome said.
"Nate is a one of a kind player," line coach Jon Born said. "He's big, fast and agile.
"I'll be rooting for him every week except for the Ohio State week," he laughed. "I'm proud of him."
Clifford said Nate has the ability to not only succeed, but to achieve greatness.
"How many guys do you see that go into the shot and disc throw in a track meet and turns around and runs the 110 high hurdles? That's a testament to his athleticism," he said.
"They're going to move him to the offensive side," Clifford added. "I believe that if Nate will embrace the offensive side of the football, that four years from now he could be, in my opinion, the most athletic lineman in the Big 10. The potential is there."
Cadogan's mother, Maureen, said Nate will have some advantages in going to Penn State, not the least of which is a free education.
"He knows the coaches very very well," she said. "He's been to all their houses and kicked it with them. He knows a lot of the players from last year and the year before and everybody who didn't graduate this year."
For Cadogan, signing with Penn State is an achievement, but also a new beginning.
"To me signing today means I'm starting a new chapter in my life," he said Wednesday. "I went from the top of a mountain, to the bottom of a bigger mountain and I have to climb my way all the way back up again."
At Penn State, Cadogan will play for one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football in Joe Paterno. Despite Paterno's resume, Cadogan isn't intimidated.
"JoePa is a heck of a guy," Cadogan said. "He's the only person I know that's older than my grandparents that still gets out there on the field yelling and screaming lie any other coach. It's more of an honor (to play for him) than it is intimidating because I've been yelled at by many coaches. It just takes a little while to get used to switching from coach to coach."
While Cadogan will miss his time as a Trojan, he understands that the time ahead can offer him even more opportunities.
"I made a lot of alliances with a lot of my teammates and buddies and saying goodbye to them is going to be hard but there's a lot more friends to make in the upcoming years.
"There's bound to be lots of pressure to live up (Gerald's) expectations," he added. "Then again it will be easier because I know what to do, I know what they're about and I know how hard I have to work. I just have to do it."
