Penn State football LB commit shares special connection with Tom Allen

The Penn State football team has the goal of dominating the state in terms of recruiting. One may argue that the Nittany Lions are falling behind in the 2025 recruiting class in terms of dominating the in-state recruiting. But one prospect who continues to show loyalty is Penn State commit Alex Tatsch. The future of LBU has recently spoken about his growing bond with defensive coordinator Tom Allen.

Alex Tatsch is a four-star linebacker from Latrobe (Pennsylvania). According to On3, he ranks as the No. 3 player in the Keystone State and the No. 4 linebacker in the country. 2025 recruiting class member and Penn State commit Alex Tatsch has recently opened up to On3 about his relationship with Tom Allen.

“It’s been going good, honestly. We’re both coming in at the same time, so that’s kind of something we share. I learned some of the defense this week and he showed me different ways that players have learned visually and how they take notes and stuff. He kind of just walked me through a lot of the defense and how it’s starting to click. It was pretty cool.”

Penn State hosts No. 1 player in PA, Ohio State commit

© David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

While the Nittany Lions may seem behind with their initiative to keep the best players in PA in the state. That narrative could shift if they can flip a commit from Zahir Mathis.

The No. 1 player in Pennsylvania showed up for a surprise official visit this weekend. Dylan Callaghan Croley of Rivals confirmed that the four-star defensive end made the trip to Happy Valley this weekend. From Philadelphia, Mathis made his commitment to Ohio State in early January 2024.

If James Franklin can convince Mathis to see the value in staying close the home, they could turn around the dark cloud that is starting to form around the top in-state prospects leaving to play elsewhere.

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