PENN STATE COMMITS, TARGETS PERFORM AT THE OPENING D.C. REGIONAL

On Sunday afternoon, The Opening held their regional camp in the nation’s capital where multiple Penn State commits and targets participated.

Linebacker commit Curtis Jacobs was named the LB MVP on Sunday’s camp.

It is not a surprise to see Jacobs take home this honor. The Maryland native is freakishly athletic and a Top 100 player nationally, after all.

A pair of Penn State targets took home MVP awards as well. KeAndre Lambert was named the WR MVP, while the RB MVP award went to Marshawn Lloyd.

Both Lambert and Lloyd have visited campus multiple times and both should be back this summer. The Nittany Lions are among the leaders for both players and should be in both recruitments until the end. The same can be said about QB MVP Caleb Williams, who is Penn State’s (and many other programs) top QB target for the 2021 cycle.

It was also a good day for Penn State offensive line commits with Aaryn Parks, Golden Israel-Achumba, and R.J. Adams all competing on Sunday. Israel-Achumba and Adams in particular stood out with both making the OL’s “Final Five,” and Israel-Achumba receiving an invite to The Opening Final.

Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports had good things to say about offensive tackle target Olu Fashanu, too. You can read a full breakdown on the day’s top performers from Wiltfong here.

NEW OFFERS GO OUT

A few notable offers went out from the staff this week. We’ll start with a pair of in state offers for 2021 safety Javon McIntyre and 2022 defensive lineman Enai White.

McIntyre and White both attend Imhotep Charter in Philly. As usual with in-state offers, the Nittany Lions should be big players in both player’s recruitments.

Another notable high school offer went out to 2020 safety Jahvante Royal. Royal attends St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, and is a teammate of linebacker commit Derek Wingo.

Royal has quickly become a player for Nittany Lion fans to keep an eye on. After he received his offer, John Garcia Jr. of 247Sports logged a Crystal Call prediction in favor of the Nittany Lions for the four-star Floridian.

James Franklin and company also extended an offer on both the JUCO and transfer markets this week, offering JUCO defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey and Virginia Tech transfer kicker Jordan Stout.

Winfrey attends Iowa Western Community College. The Nittany Lions have joined Alabama, Baylor, Iowa State, Miami, Mississippi State, Nebraska, and Tennessee as Power Five programs to offer Winfrey.

As for Stout, he was Virginia Tech’s kickoff specialist last season and booted 85% of his kick offs for touchbacks which, in a word, is “good.” Stout is also labeled as a punter according to Virginia Tech’s roster, so it appears that he can do a bit of everything.

While Stout is just a redshirt sophomore and won’t have his degree, he’ll be eligible immediately (should he choose Penn State or elsewhere) because he is a walk-on for the Hokies. Shoutout the NCAA for actually making smart rules.

A BIG 2021 VISITOR ON CAMPUS

Over the weekend, the Nittany Lions had one the top 2021 running backs in the country on campus in the form of Evan Pryor.

This was already Pryor’s sixth visit to campus since February 2018. The more times Pryor makes the trip up from North Carolina to visit campus the better.

TOP GROUPS

Penn State cracked the top group of a pair of 2020 defensive linemen — defensive end Amin Vanover and defensive tackle Bryce Austin.

Vanover attends St. Joseph’s Regional in New Jersey, where he spent this past fall as a teammate of 2019-signee Smith Vilbert. Austin hails from Southfield, Michigan. With the Nittany Lions currently holding just one defensive line commit in their 2020 class, Vanover and Austin could both be players to watch as their recruitments carry on.