TOP GROUPS

We will start with the big fish, five-star cornerback Tony Grimes.

Grimes is ranked as the top cornerback in the country according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Grimes has visited Happy Valley in the past, and is currently scheduled to take an official visit for the White Out Game this fall. While Penn State is trialing in this recruitment, it is one that appears to be rather wide open. The Nittany Lions should be in this one until the end.

Another notable top group the Nittany Lions made this week was that of cornerback Jeffrey Davis Jr.

Davis Jr. is a West Hartford, CT, native, and has already made multiple visits to Penn State. The Connecticut product has an interesting top group. Rarely, do you see a top group with Princeton, Yale, Rutgers, and Penn State. It is not uncommon for players from the state of Connecticut to be underrated and under-recruited, just ask current Nittany Lion defensive backs Marquis Wilson and Tyler Rudolph, that appears to be the case with Davis Jr. He possesses a lot of the tools needed to be a big time cornerback at the collegiate level. Right now, the Nittany Lions appear to be the team to beat in his recruitment.

Sticking with cornerbacks, there is the top 9 of Philadelphia native Tyreek Chappell.

With Kalen King now on board, other than for Grimes who will always be a take, there may only be one more cornerback spot left in this class. It could prove to be a race between Davis Jr. and Chappell to claim this final spot.

Finally, there is the top 10 of tight end Landen King.

Penn State did not offer King until last week, but they have already shot up his list of schools. This should come as now surprise since Penn State has recruited the tight end position as well as any school in the country in recent years. If Penn State can get the Texas native on campus for a visit when the coronavirus induced recruiting dead period ends, they could quickly become one of the teams to beat in King’s recruitment.

NEW OFFERS

In addition to King, tight ends coach Tyler Bowen extended two other offers to 2021 tight ends in the past week. These two players were Arkansas native Erin Outley and Colorado native Gunnar Helm.

Again, Penn State should not be overlooked in the recruitment of any tight end right now. Few schools, if any, have been as productive at the tight end position as Penn State has the past four season. Combine that with Bowen being a dynamite coach and recruiter, and any tight end that is offered is likely to have high interest in Penn State.

Two other 2021 offers that went out were on the defensive line. These offers were extended to defensive ends Khristian Zachary and Max Llewellyn.

Zachary is a prospect that has been blowing up a bit in recent weeks. Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, and now Penn State have all offered since the first of the year.

Some schools are recruiting Llewellyn as a tight end, but the Nittany Lions offered him as a defensive end. The Iowa native is an intriguing prospect as a defensive end. At 6-foot-5 he brings good length at the position, and has the athleticism to be disruptive.

Whenever recruiting visits start back up again, look for the Nittany Lions to attempt to get both Zachary and Llewellyn to campus.

On Monday night, the Nittany Lion coaching staff sent out an offer to West Virginia commit Andrew Wilson-Lamp.

The Ohio native is currently committed to West Virginia as a wide receiver, but some schools are recruiting his as a cornerback. This was the third Big 10 offer in the last two weeks for Wilson-Lamp, as both Michigan State and Wisconsin offered on March 31.

Due to their current cornerback recruiting board, odds are, Penn State is recruiting him as a wide receiver. Wilson-Lamp could be a player to watch for a potential visit when the coronavirus induce dead period comes to an end.