Penn State football beat out by USC for in-state DL prospect

June was an extremely successful month of recruiting for Penn State football. Spurred by seven new commitments, the Nittany Lions have capitulated into the top 10 of most national recruiting rankings for the 2024 cycle. With several significant targets set to commit in the coming weeks, the program was looking to start July on an equally high note. However, Penn State took a notable setback Saturday afternoon, losing out on in-state DL prospect Deyvid Palepale to USC.

USC beats out Penn State football for in-state DL Deyvid Palepale

Originally from Alaska, Deyvid Palepale is a three-star DL prospect out of Hempfield High School in Landisville, Pennsylvania. Depending on the recruiting service, Palepale is anywhere from a top 25 to top 60 DL recruit in the class of 2024. On3 and 247Sports have Palepale as a top 20 player in Pennsylvania for this cycle.

Penn State was considered the favorite to land the in-state prospect after his official visit to Happy Valley at the start of June. On3 and 247Sports predicted Palepale to become a Nittany Lion, even after he visited Michigan on June 9. But things changed after Palepale traveled out west to visit USC last weekend. Following the visit, most experts across the major recruiting services flipped their predictions from the Nittany Lions to the Trojans. Palepale made it official Saturday afternoon when he picked USC over Penn State and Michigan.

The road ahead for the Nittany Lions

Despite missing out on Palepale, Penn State football has had a recent string of success on the recruiting trail. The Nittany Lions landed seven commitments in June, including three-star DL De’Andre Cook on Friday evening.

Moving forward, many will be looking for Penn State to address DL recruiting in a similar fashion to that of the WR position in June. Losing Palepale puts the position even further under the microscope for James Franklin’s staff. The Nittany Lions are still the favorite to land four-star edge prospect Jaylen Harvey, who is set to announce his decision on the 4th of July. Penn State was also the leader for top recruit Benedict Umeh, but things appear to have shifted since Umeh visited Stanford last week. In light of Palepale’s decision, expect Penn State to make a new push for Umeh before he commits next weekend.

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