Penn State football recruiting: James Franklin lands commitment from a top 2024 lineman

The recruiting trail has been getting hot for James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions lately. In April, Penn State football has received five commitments across the 2024 and 2025 classes, including two commitments coming out of Blue-White weekend. On Tuesday afternoon, the good news kept rolling as the Nittany Lions landed a commitment from Donovan Harbour, a top 2024 lineman out of Wisconsin.

James Franklin lands top 2024 lineman from Wisconsin

Donovan Harbour is a 6-4, 330-pound interior offensive lineman from Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, Wisconsin. A unanimous four-star prospect, Harbour is currently a top-ten interior lineman and the No. 178 player overall in the 2024 class, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings. In addition, Harbour is the No.1 player in Wisconsin for the 2024 cycle according to 247Sports and ESPN, and is a top-five prospect in the state as ranked by On3 and Rivals.

@coachjfranklin 1000% committed?⚪️ pic.twitter.com/xveTf0TMl4

— Donovan “7D9” Harbour (@donovan_harbour) April 18, 2023

The Nittany Lions beat out several Big Ten opponents for Harbour’s commitment. Ohio State, Michigan, and Wisconsin were all listed as top schools by Harbour in December, along with Florida, Oregon, and Tennessee. This week, Harbour visited Penn State for the annual Blue-White Game on Saturday. “It was amazing. I loved the atmosphere,” Harbour told On3 after the visit.

Several major recruiting outlets either made predictions or had Harbour leaning heavily toward Penn State in the days following the Blue-White Game. On Monday, Harbour announced via Twitter that he would commit on April 18, his birthday.

Is the 2024 Penn State football recruiting class set to make significant rankings jump?

Penn State’s 2024 recruiting class has been red hot in April. Counting Harbour, James Franklin has landed five commitments for the 2024 cycle this month. This includes Quinton Martin, the top player in Pennsylvania, who committed on April 7. Before Harbour’s announcement, Penn State’s 2024 class was firmly in the top ten of 247Sport’s Composite Recruiting Rankings, rated eighth nationally.

Now with his 10th commitment of the cycle, James Franklin’s Lions could easily move up at least one spot in those rankings and make a push for the top five. Such a push would give Penn State two top-five recruiting classes, as Franklin’s 2025 class is currently third nationally, according to On3. Even with the current success, both classes are trending upward. The Nittany Lions have historically gotten hot in the summer recruiting cycle. Barring unforeseen circumstances, that likely will continue as Penn State is expected to land several more highly-rated prospects this summer.

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