I've been chipping away at recapping last week and looking ahead to this upcoming week. Here's where we stand.
- There’s been a lot of talk about Nick Singleton following his Notre Dame visit. I want to see where things stand in a week or so before I put in any predictions or anything like that, but one thing I’m being told is that Notre Dame is using the talk of James Franklin leaving in recent years for other potential jobs against Penn State. That’s something Singleton will have to figure out on his own, but that angle seems to have given him something to think about. Personally, I don’t think Alabama and Texas A&M are serious contenders here, but both programs have a lot to offer, so let’s see how those trips go and then reassess in the final week of the month. Once Ohio State was out of the picture, we expected Notre Dame to be the school that challenged Penn State, so that’s not a total surprise. Notre Dame has a real chance here, but as someone mentioned to me today, it's easy for him to say no to Notre Dame. It's a lot harder for him to say no to Penn State.
- I had a very good talk with Cristian Driver just an hour or two ago. I will get a complete interview up tomorrow. It was either that or this notebook tonight. I figured most of you would want the notebook. Anyway, he reiterated again that he wants to play wide receiver at the next level. I had mentioned Saturday night that it felt like safety may be back in play, but he keeps stressing publicly that wide receiver is where he wants to focus. He also made it clear that he didn’t meet with anyone defensively this past weekend, so that’s notable. Wisconsin is up next and they’ve been open with him for months about wanting him at safety, only to recently start saying that he can play wide receiver if that’s where he truly prefers. With that said, I get the impression that his relationship with Penn State’s staff is on a different level. Wisconsin being home seems like the main draw for him, so I like where Penn State stands still. Oklahoma and Texas A&M have been communicating with him for awhile now, while Miss. State and Michigan State both started contacting him over the past week to push for a visit. That’s something to possibly monitor if this drags out, but I still think a commitment later in July is possible.
- I mentioned Saturday night that Anto Saka and his family clicked well with the coaching staff, and I feel like that was evident in the interview/story I did last night. What I’m really curious to see now is how this Michigan visit goes because academics have always been a major emphasis from his family and their staff is pushing that hard. From talking to people, they feel like this upcoming visit could have a major impact on his parents. I still think this will come down to Penn State and Michigan, and Penn State has a lot working for them, too. It’s hard for me to see him ending up across the country at USC, but we can't rule it out.
- Drew Shelton wants to do an interview tomorrow, so that’s when I’ll get a better feel for his situation. It was mentioned to me that he told members of the staff this past weekend that he just wants to take some “fun visits” to finish out the week, which bodes well to his commitment, but obviously a visit is a visit. I still think he’s going to pop up at Georgia and/or Florida State some time this week, but I’ll ask him about it tomorrow.
- I was informed this afternoon that KJ Winston won’t be taking an official visit to Notre Dame now this upcoming weekend. I get the impression that Notre Dame decided to focus elsewhere. They're in the mix with a few other top safety prospects. That should just about sure up a commitment to Penn State. He's still saying that he's unsure when he'll decide, but I think it's time to start watching him closely.
- I asked about Penn State’s defensive tackle board today after having a discussion about Zane Durant, who checked in at about 6-1, 260 this weekend. That’s a little smaller than they’d like, but there’s enough to work with. They will push for him in the weeks ahead, but the one thing I really took away from that talk is that Alex VanSumeren is the player they're pushing hard for at the moment. I still feel like Penn State sits in a good position with Kaleb Artis, too, and I'm beginning to believe that both players could realistically end up here. Supposedly VanSumeren's parents were very impressed last weekend, and that momentum has continued.
- I haven’t gotten a great feel for Andre Roye or Jaishawn Barham. Roye is incredibly difficult to read. I haven’t spoken with a single person who said they got a genuine feel for what he's thinking during his visit. With Barham, I don’t get the impression he’s in any rush. Personally, if I had to pick a school today, I think it would be Maryland, but again, I can't pretend to have a great feel for what he's thinking.
- I don’t get the impression that Penn State really blew it out of the park with Omarion Hampton. I'm not saying they did poorly or anything like that, but I just get the impression that North Carolina has a sizable edge on everyone else. I was told that they impressed his family, but I still feel like all signs point to Chapel Hill with him. He's saving that fifth official visit for a reason.
- Penn State will host its Lion Strong Big Man Challenge & 7-on-7 tournament on Friday. I expect a bunch of top prospects to participate in that, including Winston playing for DeMatha. 2023 CB Braylon Johnson confirmed this past week that he’ll be there with Highland Springs, as will 2023 OL Josh Miller at Life Christian Academy. I have a ton of players that I still need to check in with, but here are some other notable schools I’m expecting: Central York, Gonzaga, Good Counsel, Imhotep Charter & Neumam Goretti.
- Below is the outlook for the week ahead. The players below have all confirmed already. Another player I’m keeping an eye on for Thursday is 2022 WR Leon Haughton. I’m still waiting for him to respond, but I was told that the staff wanted to put him through a workout later this week. CB Oliver Bridges and OL JB Nelson are both interesting, although for different reasons. Bridges should end up working out for the staff, and I know they wanted to see him weeks ago, so he's still potentially an option. With Nelson, I think it's just a matter of time until he potentially commits, so whenever he's on campus, he's on commit watch. Friday wouldn't surprise me.
Tuesday
DE Micah Wing
CB Lamont Payne (2023)
DE Kion Wright (2023)
Wednesday
OL Koby Keenum (2023)
Thursday
CB Oliver Bridges
Ath. Rodney Gallagher (2023)
Friday
OL JB Nelson (unofficial)
Sunday
DT DJ Samuels (2023)
- There’s been a lot of talk about Nick Singleton following his Notre Dame visit. I want to see where things stand in a week or so before I put in any predictions or anything like that, but one thing I’m being told is that Notre Dame is using the talk of James Franklin leaving in recent years for other potential jobs against Penn State. That’s something Singleton will have to figure out on his own, but that angle seems to have given him something to think about. Personally, I don’t think Alabama and Texas A&M are serious contenders here, but both programs have a lot to offer, so let’s see how those trips go and then reassess in the final week of the month. Once Ohio State was out of the picture, we expected Notre Dame to be the school that challenged Penn State, so that’s not a total surprise. Notre Dame has a real chance here, but as someone mentioned to me today, it's easy for him to say no to Notre Dame. It's a lot harder for him to say no to Penn State.
- I had a very good talk with Cristian Driver just an hour or two ago. I will get a complete interview up tomorrow. It was either that or this notebook tonight. I figured most of you would want the notebook. Anyway, he reiterated again that he wants to play wide receiver at the next level. I had mentioned Saturday night that it felt like safety may be back in play, but he keeps stressing publicly that wide receiver is where he wants to focus. He also made it clear that he didn’t meet with anyone defensively this past weekend, so that’s notable. Wisconsin is up next and they’ve been open with him for months about wanting him at safety, only to recently start saying that he can play wide receiver if that’s where he truly prefers. With that said, I get the impression that his relationship with Penn State’s staff is on a different level. Wisconsin being home seems like the main draw for him, so I like where Penn State stands still. Oklahoma and Texas A&M have been communicating with him for awhile now, while Miss. State and Michigan State both started contacting him over the past week to push for a visit. That’s something to possibly monitor if this drags out, but I still think a commitment later in July is possible.
- I mentioned Saturday night that Anto Saka and his family clicked well with the coaching staff, and I feel like that was evident in the interview/story I did last night. What I’m really curious to see now is how this Michigan visit goes because academics have always been a major emphasis from his family and their staff is pushing that hard. From talking to people, they feel like this upcoming visit could have a major impact on his parents. I still think this will come down to Penn State and Michigan, and Penn State has a lot working for them, too. It’s hard for me to see him ending up across the country at USC, but we can't rule it out.
- Drew Shelton wants to do an interview tomorrow, so that’s when I’ll get a better feel for his situation. It was mentioned to me that he told members of the staff this past weekend that he just wants to take some “fun visits” to finish out the week, which bodes well to his commitment, but obviously a visit is a visit. I still think he’s going to pop up at Georgia and/or Florida State some time this week, but I’ll ask him about it tomorrow.
- I was informed this afternoon that KJ Winston won’t be taking an official visit to Notre Dame now this upcoming weekend. I get the impression that Notre Dame decided to focus elsewhere. They're in the mix with a few other top safety prospects. That should just about sure up a commitment to Penn State. He's still saying that he's unsure when he'll decide, but I think it's time to start watching him closely.
- I asked about Penn State’s defensive tackle board today after having a discussion about Zane Durant, who checked in at about 6-1, 260 this weekend. That’s a little smaller than they’d like, but there’s enough to work with. They will push for him in the weeks ahead, but the one thing I really took away from that talk is that Alex VanSumeren is the player they're pushing hard for at the moment. I still feel like Penn State sits in a good position with Kaleb Artis, too, and I'm beginning to believe that both players could realistically end up here. Supposedly VanSumeren's parents were very impressed last weekend, and that momentum has continued.
- I haven’t gotten a great feel for Andre Roye or Jaishawn Barham. Roye is incredibly difficult to read. I haven’t spoken with a single person who said they got a genuine feel for what he's thinking during his visit. With Barham, I don’t get the impression he’s in any rush. Personally, if I had to pick a school today, I think it would be Maryland, but again, I can't pretend to have a great feel for what he's thinking.
- I don’t get the impression that Penn State really blew it out of the park with Omarion Hampton. I'm not saying they did poorly or anything like that, but I just get the impression that North Carolina has a sizable edge on everyone else. I was told that they impressed his family, but I still feel like all signs point to Chapel Hill with him. He's saving that fifth official visit for a reason.
- Penn State will host its Lion Strong Big Man Challenge & 7-on-7 tournament on Friday. I expect a bunch of top prospects to participate in that, including Winston playing for DeMatha. 2023 CB Braylon Johnson confirmed this past week that he’ll be there with Highland Springs, as will 2023 OL Josh Miller at Life Christian Academy. I have a ton of players that I still need to check in with, but here are some other notable schools I’m expecting: Central York, Gonzaga, Good Counsel, Imhotep Charter & Neumam Goretti.
- Below is the outlook for the week ahead. The players below have all confirmed already. Another player I’m keeping an eye on for Thursday is 2022 WR Leon Haughton. I’m still waiting for him to respond, but I was told that the staff wanted to put him through a workout later this week. CB Oliver Bridges and OL JB Nelson are both interesting, although for different reasons. Bridges should end up working out for the staff, and I know they wanted to see him weeks ago, so he's still potentially an option. With Nelson, I think it's just a matter of time until he potentially commits, so whenever he's on campus, he's on commit watch. Friday wouldn't surprise me.
Tuesday
DE Micah Wing
CB Lamont Payne (2023)
DE Kion Wright (2023)
Wednesday
OL Koby Keenum (2023)
Thursday
CB Oliver Bridges
Ath. Rodney Gallagher (2023)
Friday
OL JB Nelson (unofficial)
Sunday
DT DJ Samuels (2023)
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