Penn State football legacy, top 100 prospect locks in official visit

As spring practice is quickly coming to an end, James Franklin and Penn State football are busy this week putting together their official visitor list for the summer recruiting circuit. This week, the Nittany Lions locked in an official visit with one of the best in-state prospects still available: top 100 recruit and Penn State legacy Michael Carroll. The Central Bucks East lineman will be in Happy Valley the third weekend in June, just before Sherrone Moore and the Michigan Wolverines make their pitch. 

Michael Carroll sets up Penn State football official visit for June

Even without his ties to the Nittany Lions, Michael Carroll would be one of the most important targets for Penn State football in the 2025 recruiting cycle. At 6-6, 300 pounds, Carroll has quickly shot up the recruiting rankings, now the No. 69 prospect nationally and the third-rated interior offensive lineman in the class, per On3. 

But add in Carroll’s status as one of the top high school players in Pennsylvania and bloodlines as a son of a former Nittany Lion linebacker, and he quickly becomes a “must get” prospect for James Franklin and Penn State. 

Franklin and his staff will soon get the chance to make another impression on the four-star recruit. On Tuesday, Michael Carroll announced that he will be back at Penn State for an official visit the weekend of June 14-16. 

Locked in the Penn State OV 🦁‼️ pic.twitter.com/rpfwZaZy99

— Michael Carroll (@BIIGMIKE_55) April 9, 2024

The trip marks his first official visit to Happy Valley, and his seventh overall. He last visited for a junior day on January 27.

Battle with the Maize and Blue brewing?

It’s been a week of announcements for Michael Carroll. Preceding his official visit announcement on Tuesday was a release of his top 12 schools on Monday. As expected, Penn State football made the cut, along with Michigan, Rutgers, Clemson, South Carolina, and Georgia, to name a few. 

As summer approaches, it appears that James Franklin and the Nittany Lions could be in for a recruiting battle with their Big Ten foe in Ann Arbor for Michael Carroll. The Penn State legacy has already been to Michigan four times, most recently in March. He will take his official visit to Michigan on June 21, the week after his trip to State College. 

I had an amazing spring break at these historic programs! @CBEastFootball pic.twitter.com/iJdKRUkmzY

— Michael Carroll (@BIIGMIKE_55) April 1, 2024

Currently, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Penn State a slight edge, but that has flipped as recently as March. Both the Nittany Lions and Wolverines know that Big Ten football games are won in the trenches, so expect both to continue to make strong pushes for Michael Carroll over the summer and into the fall.

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