Two Penn State commits listed among 2024’s “freak” athletes

Penn State football has assembled an extremely impressive recruiting class for the 2024 cycle. James Franklin and the Nittany Lions currently sit with the 10th-best class in America, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. If everything holds, Penn State will likely finish with one of the top classes in the nation come signing day. While several future Nittany Lions are already drawing attention with their play to start the 2023 season, two 2024 Penn State commits are making headlines for their abilities off the field. Today, Garrett Sexton and Luke Reynolds were ranked as two of the best “freak” athletes in the nation for the class of 2024 by 247Sports.

Penn State commits Garrett Sexton and Luke Reynolds make 247Sports 2024 “freak” recruits ranking

Today, 247Sports recruiting expert Andrew Ivins published a ranking of the top 50 “freak” athlete recruits in the 2024 cycle. Similar to Bruce Feldman’s “freaks” list, where Penn State football recently had the most athletes ever included, Ivins’s ranking looks at the best athletes among the class of 2024. Two future Nittany Lions were mentioned on Ivins’s list, with OT Garrett Sexton and TE Luke Reynolds coming in at No. 31 and No. 34, respectively.

Out of Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin, Garrett Sexton committed to Penn State back in April. Converting to OT from QB last year, Sexton is one of the top-rated players out of Wisconsin, and one of the Nittany Lions’ highest-ranked recruits in the 2024 cycle.

“He’s still getting a crash course in learning how to anchor the left side of the line, but his 6-foot-6 frame is oozing with potential, especially when you take his multi-sport background into consideration,” Ivins wrote. “This past winter, Sexton doubled as a center down low and helped his school make it all the way to the state semifinals.”

Luke Reynolds shot up the recruiting rankings for his performance on the camp circuit this summer. On May 11, 247Sports had Reynolds as the 1,000th-best player in the class of 2024. By the end of June, Reynolds had propelled himself into the top 50 players in the nation, and is now ranked No. 49 overall, according to 247. Also a former QB, Reynolds, who committed to Penn State in March, impressed evaluators as a TE with his pass-catching skills during the Elite 11 finals this summer.

“Reynolds has gone 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash and broke 4.3 seconds in the pro shuttle,” Ivins wrote of Reynolds, who is the top-ranked player out of Connecticut this cycle. “To top it off? A 38.6-inch vertical jump, which would have ranked third for all the tight ends invited to the most recent NFL Scouting Combine.”

Sexton and Reynolds become just the latest members of Penn State’s 2024 class to make headlines this week. Last Friday, QB commit Ethan Grunkemeyer lit up his 2023 season debut with over 400 yards passing and four touchdowns. Grunkemeyer, Sexton, and Reynolds are just a handful of future Nittany Lions who could continue to climb up the rankings this fall.

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