Penn State ready for recruiting push as NCAA dead period is lifted
This is a monster week on the college football recruiting schedule. For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, official visits will once again be permitted by the NCAA. Penn State is among the many powerhouse programs ready to take full advantage of the opportunity to return to some sense of normalcy in recruiting.
Penn State’s Class of 2022 has already been coming along nicely despite the NCAA restrictions on recruiting out of caution amid the pandemic. According to the latest team composite rankings from 247 Sports, Penn State currently has the No. 6 class in the nation with 11 commitments currently on board. But now that the recruiting game is about to open up, Penn State must work even harder to keep a top 10 class as the competition really heats up.
Penn State has a couple of official visits lined up for this week with Florida running back Kaytron Allen scheduled to visit Happy Valley on Friday. The four-star recruit out of IMG Academy would be a big win for Penn State, who was unable to secure a commitment out of Florida in its scaled-back Class of 2021. Four-star offensive tackle Ryan Brubaker, from Denver, PA, is also scheduled for an official visit that same day.
After the official visits at the end of the week, James Franklin and members of his coaching staff are flying down to Tallahassee to participate in Florida State’s premier football camp. A summer after football camps were prohibited due to the pandemic, this is yet another opportunity to create some interaction with recruits from a fertile football area. Franklin knows the value of Florida recruits, and getting a chance to work with a program like Florida State in this environment could benefit the Nittany Lions moving forward.
Next week, on June 11, will be a significant day for Penn State as 12 players are currently scheduled to make an official visit, including four-star players in Maryland defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton, Philadelphia cornerback Keenan Nelson Jr., Florida linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, New Jersey cornerback Jaeden Gould, Indiana defensive lineman Joe Strickland, Reading running back Nicholas Singleton, and Florida athlete Keon Sabb.
Penn State has 13 more players visiting Happy Valley the following week, including Florida commitment and cornerback Julian Humphrey, from Texas. Penn State commits Drew Shelton (offensive tackle) and Alex Bacchetta (punter) will also be in town. So will Virginia four-star running back Ramon Brown, who previously listed Penn State in his top seven, although Penn State could have some ground to make up in his recruiting process. As of now, Penn State has nine players scheduled to make an official visit to the campus on June 25.
So yes, June is a big month for James Franklin and his staff. But it will also be a challenging one because the NCAA recruiting restrictions are lifted for everybody, from Ohio State and Michigan to Florida and Georgia, and Oklahoma and Texas and beyond. And like Penn State, all of those programs are looking forward to returning to a more standard method of recruiting and sales-pitching.
Game on.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
List
Penn State Nittany Lions 2021 Football Schedule
