Blessed & Honored: Penn State Makes Top Group for Pair of 2019 Prospects

FRANKS DOWN TO FOUR

Recently offered three-star OT Zachary Franks is down to his final four schools with Penn State, Duke, Northwestern, and Rutgers making the cut.

The Nittany Lions offered the Maryland big man after a camp performance on June 23, and during the time, Penn State has clearly made a strong impression on Franks. As Tyler Donohue now of Lions247 reported, Franks will be back in Happy Valley this weekend for the Lasch Bash, and a commitment does not appear out of the question.

LIONS MAKE CUT FOR PORTER JR

Pennsylvania’s No. 1 prospect DB Joey Porter Jr. also narrowed his list down, coming out with a top five of Penn State, LSU, Pitt, Miami, and Nebraska.

The Nittany Lions certainly aren’t hurting for defensive back options with four secondary players already committed, and other guys like Lewis Cine, Noa Pola-Gates (will be officially visiting for the Ohio State game), and Cam’Ron Kelly still in the picture. But if things fall the right way, I think Porter Jr. could become a viable option.

JARRETT SLOWING THINGS DOWN

Four-star 2020 wideout Rakim Jarrett came out with a final four of Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama, and Florida State earlier this month, but since then, he’s backed off that top four. In an Instagram post last week, Jarrett announced that he was open to all schools, and that his top four was no more.

I don’t think this hurts or benefits Penn State all too much. Even if Jarrett had made a commitment to Ohio State like his 247 Crystal Ball is trending, his recruitment probably wasn’t going to end a year before National Signing Day. Good for him for probably recognizing that and wanting to slow things down.

QUICK HITTERS

• Lions247 has a VIP ($) full-list of Lasch Bash visitors which you can checkout here, but they’ve also previewed for free JUCO OT Anthony Whigan, the aforementioned Franks, and 2020 No. 1 overall prospect Bryan Bresee. As I continue to say about Bresee — it is still very, very early, but Penn State has positioned itself about as well as it could have to this point.
• Catching up on other 2020 prospects, Penn State made the top groups (13 and 25, respectively) of WR Dwight McGlothern and RB Zachary Evans, both five-stars from Texas. Doubtful either comes too far North for school, but hey, I like it when Penn State makes these lists.