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Dominique Easley watched with great interest as his older brother, David, tailback Shaahiyn Alston and quarterback Dominick LeGrande and the rest of the veterans on the Curtis High School (Staten Island, N.Y.) football team led the Warriors to a 13-0 season and the New York Public Schools Athletic League city title in 2007.

States of Recruiting: New York/New Jersey

To read more about Dominique Easley and the heralded recruits in New York and New Jersey, check out Billy Tucker's look at the state's top prospects and how the FBS schools are faring in the recruiting battle. Story

• N.Y. prospects: Seniors | Juniors
• N.J. prospects: Seniors | Juniors

"Everybody was experienced, had football smarts, athletic. Our team was just full of talent," Easley said. "I guess it just rubbed off on me. I started to play at their level after being around them so much and seeing how bad they wanted to win."

Easley did a little playing of his own that year. In a midseason game against rival Tottenville, he helped erase a 20-6 deficit by blocking a punt his brother returned for a score, then by scoring himself on an 80-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.

He finished the year with 49 tackles and eight sacks and launched himself onto the "must-get" list for a number of major college programs.

Two years later, the senior defensive end is an Under Armour All-American, the fifth-rated defense end in the ESPNU 150, arguably the top recruit in New York state and one of 20 commitments in a deep and talented Penn State recruiting class.

The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Easley has played both defensive end and defensive tackle -- "I move myself around," he said -- and displayed explosive ability off the snap. He followed up his strong sophomore season with 51 tackles, 10 sacks and two fumble recovery returns for touchdowns as a junior. This season, he burst out of the gate with four sacks in the season opener against Lincoln.

Curtis High SchoolDominique Easley is the No. 5 DE in the ESPNU 150.

Not bad for a guy who didn't start playing football until his freshman year and described himself as a "fat" youngster. Easley attributes his good feet and instincts to his background in baseball and basketball.

He's been working to improve his speed, but his strength and explosion -- in addition to his willingness to experiment with a number of moves -- make him difficult to block.

"I just mix it up," he said. "But I like to use the spin move a lot. I would say that's my favorite move. Then I like to come back with something different."

Easley, who collected nearly two dozen scholarship offers, also gave serious consideration to Miami, Florida and Oregon. But he liked what Penn State had to offer from an academic standpoint, and his rapport with defensive line coach Larry Johnson led him to State College.

"We clicked from the first time I met him," Easley said. "He's a real good person, as everybody knows, and his coaching speaks for itself."

Easley also likes the way Johnson's defensive linemen play.

"I'm real into stunts," he said. "I like that about Penn State. And their defensive line is always on the go."

Current Penn State defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu, who played his high school ball at nearby St. Joseph by-the-Sea before spending a year at Milford Academy, is the cousin of one of Easley's former teammates. The two knew each other well before Easley started playing football, and he has since talked to Ogbu about what he can expect during the next few years.

"He tells me basically it's going to be a new learning experience," Easley said. "You're going to have a great time as far as school, you're going to grow up to be a man."

He will also play for another New York native: 82-year-old Penn State head coach Joe Paterno.

"He's real cool," Easley said. "He's a down-to-earth person. I can't wait to play for somebody like that."

Easley knows there's a possibility that he might finish his Penn State career under a different coach. He's confident that coach will come from Paterno's current staff.

"He basically built the Penn State program," Easley said. "I'm pretty sure that the next coach is going to have the same motto as him, the same type of coaching."

Easley will return to the Warriors' lineup this week against Bayside after missing the past two games with a case of turf toe.

"It's a injury that I didn't think much of until I got it," he said. "But I'm playing on it."

Call it a lesson he learned from the 2007 Warriors.

"When I'm into the game," Easley said, "I don't feel pain."

Jeff Rice is a senior writer for ESPN affiliate Nittany Network.