Meet The 2018 Class: Three-Star CB Trent Gordon

Penn State isn’t known as a hub for Texas prospects. The Nittany Lions had not landed a player from Texas since kicker Anthony Fera signed with the program in 2009, but James Franklin changed that with the 2018 class, landing safety Isaiah Humphries and cornerback Trent Gordon from the Lone Star state.

Highlights

Scouting Report

Although Trent Gordon played safety in high school, he’ll be starting out his Penn State career at cornerback. Due to his background at safety, Gordon plays an aggressive style for a defensive back, and is already a sound tackler. He showed good run-or-pass play recognition skills from his safety spot, but there will be an adjustment being on an island at corner. Fortunately, Gordon is a pretty good athlete, which should help in his transition to his new position.

Gordon has good size at 6-foot-0 so if cornerback doesn’t work out, a move back to safety isn’t out of the realm of possibility. But whether he starts at corner or safety, he’ll need some serious time in the weight room to bulk up.

Outlook

With John Reid, Amani Oruwariye, Lamont Wade, Tariq Castro-Fields, and Zech McPhearson back, the Nittany Lions are set at cornerback, meaning Gordon will definitely redshirt in 2018. While he’ll need some time to develop physically, Gordon enrolled early, giving him an head start on much of the rest of the 2018 class. That could prove crucial down the line.