Penn State football poised to continue recent success on recruiting trail

Penn State football recruiting is coming off a massive week. James Franklin and the Nittany Lions addressed a significant need of the 2024 class at wide receiver, landing commitments from Tyseer Denmark on Wednesday and Josiah Brown and Peter Gonzalez on Friday night.

Now as June official visits are coming to an end, several notable prospects will be looking to make their college choices before the start of their senior seasons. Trending in the right direction for several top targets, Penn State appears poised to continue its recent success on the recruiting trail.

Lions could still add top wide receivers to the 2024 class

Although Penn State added three wide receivers to the class over the course of 49 hours this week, there are still several key names on the board for James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. Chief among them is four-star Nick Marsh, a top-five overall player in Michigan for 2024. There are several predictions in for Penn State to land Marsh, although 247Sports has crystal balls in for Marsh at Penn State and Michigan State. Marsh is expected to announce his commitment in early July.

There is also a pending commitment from four-star wideout Jerrae Hawkins. Hawkins, who is currently on Penn State’s campus for an official visit this weekend, plays for IMG Academy and is a top-40 prospect in Florida for the 2024 cycle. Although no predictions are in for Hawkins yet, On3 has him as a Penn State lean. Hawkins is set to choose between the Nittany Lions, Miami, and Florida on July 1.

4-star WR Jerrae Hawkins tells @ChadSimmons_ he's pushed his commitment date from June 26 back to July 1.

Will he pick Florida, Miami or Penn State?👀

Read: https://t.co/OOrdkHjFEs pic.twitter.com/cwIC9f0kP3

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) June 21, 2023

Defensive line is about to come into focus for Penn State football recruiting

In the coming weeks, defensive line recruiting could become what wide receiver recruiting has been for Penn State the last three days. Earlier this week, we reported that several recruiting services had predictions for the Nittany Lions to land four-stars T.A. Cunningham and Benedict Umeh, as well as three-star De’Andre Cook. All three were on campus for visits last weekend (June 17). Cook has a commitment date set for Friday, while Cunningham and Umeh have yet to announce one.

what we thinkin @benedict_umeh #WeAre #PennState pic.twitter.com/VJZxdp6tA2

— T.A. CUNNINGHAM (@_getlikealex) June 19, 2023

Penn State could land a second defensive line commitment on next weekend in the form of three-star Deyvid Palepale. Brian Dohn of 247Sports has a crystal ball for the Nittany Lions to get the Landisville, PA prospect. However, Michigan’s 247 reporters also predict Palepale to become a Wolverine. In addition, Palepale is currently visiting USC this weekend.

Finally, Penn State appears to be in good position to land four-star Maryland edge rusher Jaylen Harvey. Harvey released his top five list this week, which included Penn State, Maryland, Florida, Tennessee, and USC. Although there are no predictions made to date, On3 has Penn State as the heavy favorite to land Harvey.

dreams to reality pic.twitter.com/uPucsbC8r0

— Jaylen harvey (@JaylenHarvey_) June 19, 2023

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at [email protected] or direct message us on our social media. It’s due to your support that we can become one of the market’s fastest-growing Penn State sports outlets!