I've been working to collect some info over the past two days. This is where I stand.
1) I confirmed two more official visits Thursday night. IMG Academy safety Keon Sabb has locked in an official visit to Penn State for June 11-13, while Rivals250 running back and Georgia native Damari Alston confirmed that he has an official visit locked in for June 18-20.
Sabb is obviously the name that’ll get most of the attention here. The New Jersey native has been trending towards a few southern schools for awhile now, especially since making the move to IMG Academy. His only other official visit currently is locked in with Georgia, June 18-20. He’s been telling colleagues that he plans to announce his top five later this month, so that’s when I would expect the other three schools to come to light, but regardless of who it is, Penn State will have some serious competition. Alabama, Clemson and LSU are the schools to watch. Either way though, this is great for Penn State to lock in an official. That's a big one for them.
As for Alston, he’s still very much in the mix with no running backs committed yet. I still have players like Nick Singleton and Omarion Hampton at the top of the board, but there are a host of players that Penn State would accept a commitment from at this stage for that first running back scholarship, including Roman Brown, Quinshon Judkins and a few other national players who the staff would love to get on campus for a visit. After they get that first commitment at running back, then they’ll go from there. A second isn't a guarantee if they get Singleton or Hampton, but I think it's still more likely than not.
2) There are a handful of players that we should be monitoring for a visit announcement in the weeks to come. I was informed this week that two offensive linemen, Maleek McNeil and Gunner Givens, as well as defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren should all be close to announcing visit dates to Penn State. I’m hearing that all three of these guys should be coming that third weekend, June 18-20, but I’m still waiting for either side to 100 percent confirm those dates before I mark profiles and type up stories that people can read nationally. For now, we’ll keep that info in the Lions Den. Another player to monitor is Austin Firestone. PSU believes they're close with him, but he's saying he wants to evaluate things more, so I'm not sure if he'll announce anything in the next week or two, but Penn State feels good about their chances.
3) There are two date changes to announce. First, offensive line commit Drew Shelton will take his visit June 18-20 instead of the following weekend when the rest of Penn State’s committed players are on campus. He just has a previous family commitment. Also, Oregon wide receiver Darrius Clemons has switched his official visit date to June 25-27, which is notably the same weekend his good friend Kaden Saunders will be on campus. Currently, Clemons, Alston and Amil Wagner are the only uncommitted players confirmed for that final weekend. More will come.
4) I also did some digging last night following the NCAA’s announcement regarding the end of the dead period and what this summer will look like. I polled three contacts to get a feel for how often they think players will be on campus this summer and the popular answer was that they think, realistically, we’ll see at least one recruit and his family on campus probably five out of the seven days each week. A bunch of 2023 players are already reaching out to the staff to get a feel for whether they can take a personal visit during the week when school lets out. For example, I know guys like Antonio Tripp, Chase Bisontis and Alex Birchmeier have already had talks with PSU about that. I could actually see all three of those guys taking a visit at some point in June, then returning in July for the Lasch Bash, but it’s still a little too early to get into dates and visits with 2023 prospects.
5) One other popular topic following the NCAA’s announcement is how these on campus evaluations will work. It’s important to note that they can only take place during unofficial visits, so Penn State won’t be able to test all the official visitors while they’re here. That’s honestly not that big of a deal. These guys are taking officials because Penn State already knows they want them. If those players pay to participate in one of Penn State’s camps, then they will be able to workout for the staff, but that won’t be common. So, you’ll really see this used mainly for the 2023 players who come onto campus for unofficial visits in June.
But one thing that still has to be worked out is who exactly will be able to participate in these evaluations. For example, during a camp, Penn State’s strength and recruiting staffs are all out there working with players. Will that be allowed for these individual evaluations? That’s something I know schools wants to get figured out. Franklin and his assistant coaches are already very busy during visits, so the hope is that they allow people like Dwight Galt, Andy Frank and all their support staff to help with these evaluations. If they’re able to do that, it’ll go a long way in collecting the information they need. If it’s specifically just the coaches though, they’ll have to be a bit more selective and, more importantly, find the time to make it all work. I’m also working to figure out how much time these schools will be allotted to work individual players out. That’s another key to all of this.
1) I confirmed two more official visits Thursday night. IMG Academy safety Keon Sabb has locked in an official visit to Penn State for June 11-13, while Rivals250 running back and Georgia native Damari Alston confirmed that he has an official visit locked in for June 18-20.
Sabb is obviously the name that’ll get most of the attention here. The New Jersey native has been trending towards a few southern schools for awhile now, especially since making the move to IMG Academy. His only other official visit currently is locked in with Georgia, June 18-20. He’s been telling colleagues that he plans to announce his top five later this month, so that’s when I would expect the other three schools to come to light, but regardless of who it is, Penn State will have some serious competition. Alabama, Clemson and LSU are the schools to watch. Either way though, this is great for Penn State to lock in an official. That's a big one for them.
As for Alston, he’s still very much in the mix with no running backs committed yet. I still have players like Nick Singleton and Omarion Hampton at the top of the board, but there are a host of players that Penn State would accept a commitment from at this stage for that first running back scholarship, including Roman Brown, Quinshon Judkins and a few other national players who the staff would love to get on campus for a visit. After they get that first commitment at running back, then they’ll go from there. A second isn't a guarantee if they get Singleton or Hampton, but I think it's still more likely than not.
2) There are a handful of players that we should be monitoring for a visit announcement in the weeks to come. I was informed this week that two offensive linemen, Maleek McNeil and Gunner Givens, as well as defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren should all be close to announcing visit dates to Penn State. I’m hearing that all three of these guys should be coming that third weekend, June 18-20, but I’m still waiting for either side to 100 percent confirm those dates before I mark profiles and type up stories that people can read nationally. For now, we’ll keep that info in the Lions Den. Another player to monitor is Austin Firestone. PSU believes they're close with him, but he's saying he wants to evaluate things more, so I'm not sure if he'll announce anything in the next week or two, but Penn State feels good about their chances.
3) There are two date changes to announce. First, offensive line commit Drew Shelton will take his visit June 18-20 instead of the following weekend when the rest of Penn State’s committed players are on campus. He just has a previous family commitment. Also, Oregon wide receiver Darrius Clemons has switched his official visit date to June 25-27, which is notably the same weekend his good friend Kaden Saunders will be on campus. Currently, Clemons, Alston and Amil Wagner are the only uncommitted players confirmed for that final weekend. More will come.
4) I also did some digging last night following the NCAA’s announcement regarding the end of the dead period and what this summer will look like. I polled three contacts to get a feel for how often they think players will be on campus this summer and the popular answer was that they think, realistically, we’ll see at least one recruit and his family on campus probably five out of the seven days each week. A bunch of 2023 players are already reaching out to the staff to get a feel for whether they can take a personal visit during the week when school lets out. For example, I know guys like Antonio Tripp, Chase Bisontis and Alex Birchmeier have already had talks with PSU about that. I could actually see all three of those guys taking a visit at some point in June, then returning in July for the Lasch Bash, but it’s still a little too early to get into dates and visits with 2023 prospects.
5) One other popular topic following the NCAA’s announcement is how these on campus evaluations will work. It’s important to note that they can only take place during unofficial visits, so Penn State won’t be able to test all the official visitors while they’re here. That’s honestly not that big of a deal. These guys are taking officials because Penn State already knows they want them. If those players pay to participate in one of Penn State’s camps, then they will be able to workout for the staff, but that won’t be common. So, you’ll really see this used mainly for the 2023 players who come onto campus for unofficial visits in June.
But one thing that still has to be worked out is who exactly will be able to participate in these evaluations. For example, during a camp, Penn State’s strength and recruiting staffs are all out there working with players. Will that be allowed for these individual evaluations? That’s something I know schools wants to get figured out. Franklin and his assistant coaches are already very busy during visits, so the hope is that they allow people like Dwight Galt, Andy Frank and all their support staff to help with these evaluations. If they’re able to do that, it’ll go a long way in collecting the information they need. If it’s specifically just the coaches though, they’ll have to be a bit more selective and, more importantly, find the time to make it all work. I’m also working to figure out how much time these schools will be allotted to work individual players out. That’s another key to all of this.
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