Committany Nation: Lasch Bash Preview

It’s the biggest recruiting weekend of the summer, as Penn State will host its annual Lasch Bash. Let’s checkout who’s on the docket to be on hand this Saturday.

(Note: Credit to Greg Pickel of PennLive and Tyler Donohue of Land of 10 for much of the list, with other prospects confirming on Twitter.)

Penn State 2018 Commits

VA RB Ricky Slade

NJ WR Justin Shorter

PA TE Zack Kuntz

MA TE Pat Freiermuth

VA OT Nana Asiedu

MI OL Antwan Reed

IL OL Bryce Effner

NJ DL Dorian Hardy

PA DE Nick Tarburton

PA LB Jesse Luketa

PA LB Charlie Katshir

TX DB Isaiah Humphries

TX CB Trent Gordon

Thirteen of the 14 commits will be in town, with the only member of the class not planning to be in State College is Florida’s Jordan Miner. I imagine the group — along with the coaching staff — will be busy throughout the day, as 10 2018 uncommitted prospects will be on hand.

2018 Uncommitted Prospects

MD WR Daniel George: Just about everybody believes Penn State leads here, as 100% of his 247 Crystal Ball predictions have the Nittany Lions as the choice.

PA WR Shaquon Anderson-Butts: I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what’s going on in Anderson-Butts’ recruitment. But at this point, it seems like Penn State would accept a commitment. I don’t believe it would mean too much in the end, but he is very close friends with five-star Micah Parsons.

MD OT Rasheed Walker: Penn State is the expected leader here, too. Walker has been adamant that he wants to take more visits.

PA OT TJ Bradley (JUCO): Starting to sound like a broken record, but the Nittany Lions probably lead here. West Virginia, Maryland, Pitt, and Virginia Tech all remain in the picture.

NJ DE Jayson Oweh: After blowing up this spring, the New Jersey defensive end has a top three of Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Penn State, according to Sean Fitz of Lions247. Could very well land at any of the three schools, but Larry Johnson SR has the Buckeyes positioned strong here. James Franklin and Co. will need to hit it out of the park this weekend.

MD DT PJ Mustipher: Appeared close to pulling the trigger for Penn State following his visit in May but held off. The Nittany Lions should still have the edge here, but Tennessee hopes to get him on campus again this summer.

OH DT Tyreke Smith: Ohio State is certainly the leader, but Penn State keeps getting him back in Happy Valley for visits. Just chipping away, folks.

OH DT Aeneas Hawkins: Another Ohio defensive lineman, Hawkins was planning on announcing in late spring, but he ended pushing back his decision. Cincinnati is the big leader here with all 17 of his 247 Crystal Ball predictions.

PA DB Isheem Young: The Philadelphia safety is set to announce on July 18. He filmed his announcement video on July 10, and now he’s visiting Penn State just days later. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

PA DB Kwantel Raines: Fresh off Penn State making his Top 5, the Aliquippa defensive back will make his return to Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions have some ground to make up, as Pitt and Florida are probably one and two for him.

Penn State is also set to host a very talented group of underclassmen:

Underclassmen

VA RB Jordan Houston (2019): Landed a Penn State offer last summer, but then his sophomore season was derailed by injuries. Now healthy, he just landed offers from Tennessee and Boston College.

PA WR Julian Fleming (2020): Stud. After earning an offer on June 17, he’s already making his way back to Penn State.

NJ OL Caedan Wallace (2019): Ridiculously massive 17 year old. This will be his fourth visit to Happy Valley since February.

OH DE Zach Harrison (2019): Five-star from Ohio will be making his second visit to Penn State.

VA DE Brandon Smith (2019): Long, rangy kid that blew up this spring. Earned offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Florida State in recent weeks.

NJ CB Nyquee Hawkins (2019): Named Penn State his leader last summer, but has since backed off those claims a bit. Lions still the leaders, even if not publicly.

Commit Watch

It doesn’t take a brainiac to see that Mustipher, George, Anderson-Butts, Walker, and Bradley are the most likely candidates to make the call for Penn State this weekend. I think right now, the over-under for commitments should be set at 1.5. But honestly, I’d probably take the under. I think they get one (leaning towards Mustipher jumping on board), but I don’t think this weekend will have the immediate impact (aka Saturday commitments) some would hope for.