In recapping this week's camps, I received a lot of good feedback regarding some of the offensive linemen that made the trip, so I reached out to the players to get some of their testing numbers. I also learned some news about Chase Bisontis and 2022 OL Jaylen Early. That's all included below.
Obviously, with Nelson landing an offer Sunday evening, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that he had one of best workouts of the day. At 6-5, 320 pounds, Nelson ran a 5.2-second 40 and added a very good 4.74-second shuttle. He also had a very good triple jump at 26-feet, 8 inches and benched 12 reps at 225 pounds on the bench. Getting him into a Power Five weight program will be important, although I've certainly seen worse from junior college linemen in the past. The shuttle and triple jump are the two numbers that really stood out to the staff. So, that, combined with a good workout with Trautwein, plus the fact that he has four years to play three made this and easy move for Penn State.
You’ll also notice that I logged a FutureCast for Nelson. Obviously, the Lackawanna ties play a big part in this. Although Nelson wasn’t able to tour campus much Sunday, I actually think that works into PSU’s advantage because that should all but guarantee that he makes it back before June 27. I also learned that Nelson, who’s adopted, has four family members on his adopted mother’s side who went to Penn State. So, when you add in Jaquan Brisker, Anthony Whigan, Tyrece Mills, and really just Penn State’s connections with Lack overall, I just see all signs pointing to Penn State here.
I confirmed last night that New Jersey offensive lineman Chase Bisontis is expected to take an unofficial visit to Penn State this weekend. I believe he’ll be on campus Sunday, which is the same day as one of PSU’s camps. I still need to clarify if he’s participating in that or not. I would assume he's not, but I'll work figure it out here soon. I get the impression that Bisontis, Alex Birchmeier and Luke Montgomery are PSU’s top three offensive line prospects for 2023 presently.
There’s been some talk about Penn State hosting 2022 OL Jaylen Early for a visit in the weeks ahead, but I’m being told that they’ve decided to pass. The staff wants to work him out and it appears that the only way to get him on campus is for him to take an official visit. Academics and some injury issues are a concern here. I’ll keep an eye on him to see if anything changes, but as of now, I’m not expecting Early to be on campus this summer.
McNeil is already committed, but his workout only reaffirmed Phil Trautwein’s belief that he’s found a diamond in the rough here. At 6-foot-7, 354 pounds, he ran a 5.65-second 40, which isn’t all that bad when you’re truly 6-7, but the more impressive time to me was 5.1-second shuttle. From what I understand, Penn State would love to get him down to around 320-330 pounds by the time he enrolls. They think there’s a ton of potential here once he gets in the weight room. His workout was one of the things that excited the staff the most this past weekend.
Speaking of big prospects who have a ton of potential, Penn State was very impressed with freshman Fletcher Westphal. With him being so young, I get the impression that the staff wasn’t exactly sure what to expect leading into Saturday’s camp. They liked him previously, but what they found was a player who has similar potential to McNeil at 6-foot-7, 325 pounds. He ran a 5.4 40 time which is really good at that size and age. With the right training over the next few years - and that's key when you're already at that size - he could shave a tenth off of that time ever year, so Penn State felt like they had to get out in front of everyone on this young man, and they think that’ll help them with his recruitment, too. He’s definitely a name to remember moving forward.
Two more up-and-coming lineman that impressed this weekend is Bishop McDevitt prospect Gabe Arena and Malvern Prep’s Peter Jones. Arena ran a 5.2-second 40 and had a 4.9-second shuttle while also posting a 25-foot triple jump at 6-4, 270. One source I spoke with compared him to Drew Kendall, who ended up at Boston College last year. He's definitely an interior prospect moving forward, but with a solid junior season, I could see Penn State offering. Virginia Tech got out in front on him but offers will be coming in as he camps more and adds film this fall.
Jones is already developed beyond his years. He ran a 5.5-second 40 and a 5-second flat shuttle. The impressive number for him was bench pressing 225 13x as a freshman. He checked in around 6-4 1/2, 285. He needs to gain some weight and get stronger of course, but he has real potential to be a four-star prospect.
Obviously, with Nelson landing an offer Sunday evening, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that he had one of best workouts of the day. At 6-5, 320 pounds, Nelson ran a 5.2-second 40 and added a very good 4.74-second shuttle. He also had a very good triple jump at 26-feet, 8 inches and benched 12 reps at 225 pounds on the bench. Getting him into a Power Five weight program will be important, although I've certainly seen worse from junior college linemen in the past. The shuttle and triple jump are the two numbers that really stood out to the staff. So, that, combined with a good workout with Trautwein, plus the fact that he has four years to play three made this and easy move for Penn State.
You’ll also notice that I logged a FutureCast for Nelson. Obviously, the Lackawanna ties play a big part in this. Although Nelson wasn’t able to tour campus much Sunday, I actually think that works into PSU’s advantage because that should all but guarantee that he makes it back before June 27. I also learned that Nelson, who’s adopted, has four family members on his adopted mother’s side who went to Penn State. So, when you add in Jaquan Brisker, Anthony Whigan, Tyrece Mills, and really just Penn State’s connections with Lack overall, I just see all signs pointing to Penn State here.
I confirmed last night that New Jersey offensive lineman Chase Bisontis is expected to take an unofficial visit to Penn State this weekend. I believe he’ll be on campus Sunday, which is the same day as one of PSU’s camps. I still need to clarify if he’s participating in that or not. I would assume he's not, but I'll work figure it out here soon. I get the impression that Bisontis, Alex Birchmeier and Luke Montgomery are PSU’s top three offensive line prospects for 2023 presently.
There’s been some talk about Penn State hosting 2022 OL Jaylen Early for a visit in the weeks ahead, but I’m being told that they’ve decided to pass. The staff wants to work him out and it appears that the only way to get him on campus is for him to take an official visit. Academics and some injury issues are a concern here. I’ll keep an eye on him to see if anything changes, but as of now, I’m not expecting Early to be on campus this summer.
McNeil is already committed, but his workout only reaffirmed Phil Trautwein’s belief that he’s found a diamond in the rough here. At 6-foot-7, 354 pounds, he ran a 5.65-second 40, which isn’t all that bad when you’re truly 6-7, but the more impressive time to me was 5.1-second shuttle. From what I understand, Penn State would love to get him down to around 320-330 pounds by the time he enrolls. They think there’s a ton of potential here once he gets in the weight room. His workout was one of the things that excited the staff the most this past weekend.
Speaking of big prospects who have a ton of potential, Penn State was very impressed with freshman Fletcher Westphal. With him being so young, I get the impression that the staff wasn’t exactly sure what to expect leading into Saturday’s camp. They liked him previously, but what they found was a player who has similar potential to McNeil at 6-foot-7, 325 pounds. He ran a 5.4 40 time which is really good at that size and age. With the right training over the next few years - and that's key when you're already at that size - he could shave a tenth off of that time ever year, so Penn State felt like they had to get out in front of everyone on this young man, and they think that’ll help them with his recruitment, too. He’s definitely a name to remember moving forward.
Two more up-and-coming lineman that impressed this weekend is Bishop McDevitt prospect Gabe Arena and Malvern Prep’s Peter Jones. Arena ran a 5.2-second 40 and had a 4.9-second shuttle while also posting a 25-foot triple jump at 6-4, 270. One source I spoke with compared him to Drew Kendall, who ended up at Boston College last year. He's definitely an interior prospect moving forward, but with a solid junior season, I could see Penn State offering. Virginia Tech got out in front on him but offers will be coming in as he camps more and adds film this fall.
Jones is already developed beyond his years. He ran a 5.5-second 40 and a 5-second flat shuttle. The impressive number for him was bench pressing 225 13x as a freshman. He checked in around 6-4 1/2, 285. He needs to gain some weight and get stronger of course, but he has real potential to be a four-star prospect.
