Committany Nation: Rutgers Commit Lands Penn State Offer

Welcome back to Committany Nation! As always, if you have any recruiting questions or (mean) comments, feel free to tweet me at @PatKoerbler.

Rutgers Commit Jon Lovett Visits Penn State, Lands Offer

The Nittany Lions have had a decent amount of success of flipping Rutgers commitments the past couple years — WR Saaed Blacknall in 2014, RB Saquon Barkley in 2015, and K Alex Barbir in 2016. Not surprisingly, Penn State is back at it again trying to poach a Rutgers commit, this year being New Jersey RB Jon Lovett.

The 5-foot-11, 194-pound athlete visited Happy Valley for the Ohio State game, leaving State College with an offer from the Nittany Lions, first reported by Sean Fitz at Lions247. A flip doesn’t seem imminent, but given Penn State’s track record with flipping Rutgers commitments, the Nittany Lions should feel pretty good about their chances with Lovett.

While Lovett is currently being recruited as a running back, he’s a kid that could end up at safety as well. He also just turned 17 years old, making him young for his class and offers some nice upside because of it.

Checkout Penn State Commits’ Senior Season Highlights

With the high school regular season about to wrap-up, a couple of Penn State commits updated their HUDL page with senior season highlights.

OG C.J. Thorpe

Analysis: James Franklin has done a great job rebuilding this offensive line with his 2015 and 2016 classes, and the 2017 class doesn’t look too shabby either with C.J. Thorpe leading the way. He’s everything you look for in an offensive guard — naturally thick, long arms, quick on his feet, and plays through the whistle. Luckily, he’ll be able to redshirt and sit for a couple years, but he looks like a multi-year starter along the offensive line.

DE Yetur Matos

Analysis: Yetur Matos is currently ranked as the 245th player nationally by 247Sports Composite, but man, I find it hard to believe there are 244 better players in the country. Matos is a legitimate 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, he’s productive, and as you can see in the first play of his highlights, runs like a gazelle. He’ll need a redshirt year to add some muscle, but Sean Spencer has to be excited about the thought of Shane Simmons and Matos at defensive end for the next four years.

DT Damion Barber

Analysis: One of the first commits of the 2017 class, Damion Barber will offer Spencer some versatility along the defensive line. Currently slated to play defensive end, Barber has the size potential to end up carrying 285-290 pounds, and could easily slide down to defensive tackle. This isn’t anything new for Penn State, which has recruited bigger defensive ends like Kamonte Carter and Daniel Joseph to potentially play in the interior.