THE SKINNY
Hometown/High School/JUCO: Great Mills, MD (Lackawanna C.C.)
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 290 pounds
Ranking: Four-Star (0.8939 247Sports Composite — No. 13 JUCO Overall)
Offers: Maryland, South Carolina, Louisville, Nebraska, and Pitt
HIGHLIGHTS
THE TALE
Penn State doesn’t go after JUCOs too often, but when they do, they usually come from Lackawanna C.C., and Whigan is no different. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive tackle is originally from Maryland, but has spent the last year at Lackawanna, which has produced a number of Division-I offensive lineman — Jermaine Eluemunor, Paris Palmer, TJ Bradley, Chase Brown, and Isaiah Hardy are just a few of the names in the last couple years.
Penn State joined the fray for Whigan on March 13, and became major players for the JUCO product following an unofficial visit on May 12. Whigan’s Lackawanna teammate Jaquan Brisker — who accompanied him on the visit — actually committed to Penn State just a week later on May 18, but Whigan held off, taking official visits to South Carolina and Louisville the following month.
While the Gamecocks made things close, in the end, Whigan made the call for the Nittany Lions, committing to the Penn State staff just a week after the Lasch Bash weekend.
THE OUTLOOK
James Franklin and his staff put a premium on offensive linemen so it’s not surprising that they would dip into the JUCO waters for more help. With Robert Martin leaving the program in May and Nana Asiedu retiring for health reasons, it only made more sense to bring in a more experienced offensive lineman like Whigan.
At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds with good athleticism, Whigan’s has the size and ability to play just about anywhere on the offensive line. He’ll help with depth immediately, and if Penn State loses both Ryan Bates and Conor McGovern to the NFL (which is unlikely at this stage), he’s someone who could compete for a starting job right away.
Welcome to Penn State, Anthony!