Blessed & Honored: Recapping the Lasch Bash and New Offers

DAVID BELL, ADISA ISAAC HEADLINE LASCH BASH WEEKEND

Penn State wrapped up the summer portion of the recruiting season with its annual Lasch Bash. Like previous installments of the Bash, there was plenty of talent on hand in State College. You can see Twitter reactions from many of the prospects here, but it was a quality group of 2019, 2020, and even 2021 players.

Also, check out Penn State’s new commit Emery Simmons, who flipped his commitment from the Tar Heels to the Nittany Lions Saturday night.

STRANGE OFFER

Three-star West Virginia TE Brenton Strange camped for the staff on Sunday, and by the end of the day, he walked away from Happy Valley with an offer.

Strange had a slow start to the recruiting process, not landing a Power Five offer until Rutgers offered on May 5. But since then, the West Virginia tight end has been on a tear, hauling in offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Louisville, and now Penn State.

At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, Strange has the prerequisite size for tight end, and as his camp offers would indicate, he has the athleticism too. The Buckeyes were the believed leader after offering in June, but after landing a commitment from three-star TE Cormonate Hamilton over the weekend, it seems unlikely that Ohio State would take two tight ends in the class.

Will that open up the path for the Nittany Lions? It sure seems that way. I doubt Strange would have camped at Penn State unless he had high interest in the program, and now with Ohio State probably done at tight end, it makes sense to think the Nittany Lions are the leaders here.

D’VON, GET THE...OFFER

Following a busy recruiting weekend, Penn State stayed busy today, throwing out an offer to three-star Maryland defensive tackle D’Von Ellies.

Ellies, a former teammate of P.J. Mustipher, recently announced a top four of Ohio State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Rutgers, but after a visit to Florida this weekend (where he landed an offer) and now an offer from Penn State, safe to say his top four will most likely be shuffled around.

I think it’s an interesting offer for the Nittany Lions. With Hakeem Beamon most likely destined for the inside, Penn State really only needs one more defensive tackle, and if you pay attention to their actions, they want it to be Jared Harrison-Hunte. Not to take away anything from Ellis because I’m sure this offer is legitimate, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the staff uses this offer to put a little pressure on Harrison-Hunte.

2020 CANADIAN TIGHT END LANDS OFFER

With a number of Canadians already on the roster, Penn State continues to ride the Canadian Express by offering tight end Theo Johnson.

The difference with Johnson and guys like Jonathan Sutherland and Jesse Luketa is that Johnson plays his high school football in Canada (Windsor, Ontario) instead of the states. But regardless of where he suits up, Penn State apparently liked what they saw in camp from the 6-foot-5, 235-pound tight end. The Nittany Lions are just the second Power Five team to offer Johnson, joining Syracuse who did so just a day before Penn State did.

ZINTER IS (MAYBE) COMING

Penn State made another 2020 offer yesterday, offering 6-foot-6, 300-pound 2020 OT Zak Zinter after a standout camp performance.

Ranked as just a two-star by Rivals, and only having offers from UMass, Boston College, and Purdue (who offered today), it seemed like a curious offer from Penn State. But Ryan Snyder of BWI seems super high on the kid, saying that Zinter will rise up the rankings in no time.

LIONS IN CAIN’S TOP SIX

Fresh off his parents’ visit to Penn State, Noah Cain release his final six schools on Sunday evening, and to no surprise, the Nittany Lions made the cut.

I still believe that pulling Cain from Texas or LSU will be difficult, but credit to the staff here for making Penn State a legitimate option. He’ll be back in Happy Valley for an official visit, and from there, we’ll see what happens.