B/R Recruiting Notebook: 4-Star Suffers Injury, Latest 2016 Commitments

Injuries, unfortunately, are a part of the game of football. Injuries become even more frustrating when they occur early during a player's senior season.

During a kickoff return, Chandler, Arizona, 4-star athlete Chase Lucas suffered a right knee injury and did not play the rest of Saturday's game against Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman. According to USA Today, Chandler coach Sean Aguano told reporters that Lucas was scheduled to have an MRI on Monday.

Lucas, the nation's No. 13 athlete and the No. 4 player from the state of Arizona, has offers from Washington, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oregon State and in-state schools Arizona and Arizona State. As he awaits the results of his MRI, Lucas delivered a quick message to the recruiting world Saturday evening.

"I want to let everyone know that I will come back better than ever," said Lucas, who also thanked those who sent condolences via phone or social media.

Lucas, who measured 6'0" and 170 pounds at The Opening Los Angeles regional, rushed for more than 1,126 yards and 13 touchdowns, and caught 28 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns last season for Chandler. He's expecting to make a full return from the knee injury and be ready for college play.

Penn State lands 4-star safety, legacy

Penn State picked up its 20th pledge Saturday when 4-star safety Andrew Pryts gave his verbal pledge to coach James Franklin. The commitment did two things for the Nittany Lions.

First, it gave Penn State its first safety commitment of the 2016 class. Second, it kept the Pryts name home. Pryts is the son of former Penn State linebacker Ed Pryts, who played for the Nittany Lions from 1978-81.

"Being a legacy is pretty cool thing, and I'm excited to embrace that," Pryts told Jeff Rice of 247Sports, "but to be honest it had no impact on my decision. My dad never pushed me in any direction; he encouraged me to find the right fit for me. Both my parents were very supportive through the whole process but it just turned out that it was the case."

Pryts will team up in the secondary with 4-star Lavert Hill and Zechariah McPhearson, two 4-star cornerbacks who committed in January and April, respectively.

Canada school becoming talent hotbed?

Now in its second year of existence, Canada Prep Football Academy, Canada's only high school football program to play a full United States schedule, has become a reliable stop for college coaches to find talent. Players like defensive tackle Neville Gallimore (Oklahoma) and wide receiver Brendan Orange (Nevada) were a part of the 2015 class.

Canada Prep's 2016 class is off to a good start, as safety Tosan Agbeyegbe verbally committed to play for Yale on Saturday. A 6'0", 196-pound defensive back, Agbeyegbe chose Yale over another Ivy League offer, Dartmouth.

Athletically, Agbeyegbe had 40 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception last season. Academically, Agbeyegbe carries a 4.0 grade-point average and has a 28 ACT score.

Agbeyegbe is one of a few players expected to play college ball either at the FBS or FCS level from Canada Prep. Offensive tackle Sage Doxtater and athlete Nick DeLuca are two players to keep an eye on from now until February's signing day.

Texas A&M gets help at key position

Texas A&M had 13 commitments entering the weekend but was still lacking a quarterback and running back pledge for the 2016 class.

The Aggies resolved their running back issues Saturday in picking up 3-star Rakeem Boyd from Houston's Stratford High School. They also landed a back who knows how to get yards on the ground.

Boyd picked up the offer on Aug. 23. He rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on Thursday, hinted toward making the commitment on Friday and made it public on Saturday.

What the Aggies are getting is a back who is near 6'0" and 200 pounds, and someone who rushed for 2,519 and 29 touchdowns last season. He averaged better than 10.2 yards per carry.

Pitt lands in-state pledge, gets win versus rival

Pittsburgh reached double digits with its 2016 class and kept one of its own in the city, as 3-star cornerback Therran Coleman announced his decision Sunday to play for the Panthers on KDKA-TV, CBS' local television affiliate in Pittsburgh.

Coleman, from Pittsburgh's Brashear High School, chose the Panthers over Wisconsin, Virginia Tech and Arizona State. He also had Backyard Brawl rival West Virginia high on his list.

An unofficial visit to the campus last week helped Coleman ultimately make his decision, according to Chris Peak of Rivals.com.

"At first, my mom wanted me to get out of the city, but now she's all for it," Coleman told Peak. "After she came back from that visit, she didn't have a problem with Pitt."

National sleeper watch: 2017 WR shines

As a sophomore, Gavin Holmes had 25 catches for 266 yards and two touchdowns for the year. At this rate, all of last year's totals will be eclipsed by this time next week.

Holmes, a 6'0," 175-pound receiver for Northwest High School in Justin, Texas, opened his junior year in monster fashion, catching 15 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

Holmes said he has early interest from Texas Tech, Colorado State, Kansas, San Diego State, North Texas and Tulsa.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles