VISITORS FOR THE WIN OVER INDIANA

A trio of noteworthy underclassmen were on campus to watch the Nittany Lions defeat Indiana and improve to 9-1 on Saturday. One of which was 4-star 2021 quarterback Christian Veilleux.

A native of Canada, Veilleux now attends The Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland. Veilleux is one of Penn State’s top quarterback targets for 2021 and he has been a frequent visitor to campus since the spring. This, however, was his first trip to Happy Valley for a game this fall.

Another big 2021 visitor was athlete TreVeyon Henderson.

This was not the first time that the Hopewell, Virginia, native has been on campus. It was, however, his first visit to campus since being offered in July. The Nittany Lions have been on a great recruiting roll in the Commonwealth of Virginia in recent cycles and they appear to be in a good early spot with Henderson.

There was also 2022 wide receiver Kaden Saunders.

Saunders has become a regular in Happy Valley since the spring. This includes having visited for three games now this season. Following his most recent visit Saunders named the Nittany Lions his leaders. So, the more often they can continue to get him on campus the better.

NEW OFFERS

Last Wednesday, the Nittany Lions extended an offer to 2021 defensive end Kyran Montgomery.

Montgomery is an Indianapolis native and has previously called the Nittany Lions his dream offer. Over the summer Montgomery was on campus multiple times, which included camping for the staff. If Penn State truly is his dream offer, then he could be one to watch closely the next time he is on campus.

Also on Wednesday, the Nittany Lions offered 2021 Cincinnati cornerback Devonta Smith.

After the offer was extended, Bill Greene, who covers recruiting in Ohio for 247Sports, logged a crystal ball prediction in favor of the Nittany Lions for Smith. Like Montgomery, Smith camped for the staff over the summer and caught their attention. He has also visited this season for the victories over Buffalo and Michigan. In addition to Penn State, Louisville, Northwestern, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have all offered the fast rising Smith this month.

The Nittany Lions also offered a visitor to campus this weekend. This visitor was 2023 running back Ike Daniels.

Daniels is a Stafford, Virginia, native. The Nittany Lions join Pitt and Virginia Tech as early offers for the freshman standout.

TOP GROUPS

We’ll start with a very familiar name — 2020 offensive lineman RJ Adams. The former Nittany Lion commit released a top 8 on Sunday night that included Penn State.

In addition to releasing his top 8, Adams will be announcing his college decision on December 18th. Since de-committing from Penn State in September the Virginia native has been to campus twice. December 18th is a day before the Early Signing Period begins. If the Nittany Lions have a spot for Adams, it would not be a shocker to see him end up back in the class. However, the odds of them having a spot seem low.

National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, Maryland) 2021 defensive end Monkell Goodwine released his top 8 schools last week. Unsurprisingly, these group included the Nittany Lions.

Goodwine is one of the top defensive lineman not just in the region, but in the country in the 2021 cycle. He has already visited Penn State multiple times and proximity will always work in their favor. There is a long way to go in his recruitment, but Penn State is in a good spot thus far.

The Nittany Lions also made the top group of 4-star 2021 offensive tackle JC Latham.

Latham attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, which produced current Nittany Lion standouts KJ Hamler and Noah Cain. JaJuan Seider is a coach that has plenty of ties at IMG, that combined with Penn State’s success there should get Latham to campus for a visit. At that point, you can never count James Franklin and his staff out.

TOP TARGET PUSHES COMMITMENT DATE BACK

Tight end Theo Johnson — Penn State’s top remaining 2020 target — was originally slated to announce his college decision this past Monday. Obviously, that did not happen as the Canadian product decided to push his decision date back.

Had he announced his commitment on the 18th the belief is it would have been Penn State. Instead, he will now take more time to think about his decision.

Johnson has a top group of Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, and Penn State. While Johnson delaying his decision is never a good thing for the team that appeared set to land their commitment, as of now at least, the Nittany Lions still appear to have as good a shot as anyone in Johnson’s recruitment.