OFFENSIVE TACKLE TARGET TO COMMIT ON FRIDAY

This Friday, 2021 offensive tackle Diego Pounds is set to announce his college decision. All signs seem to point toward the Nittany Lions being the choice.

Pounds is a three-star prospect from Millbrook, North Carolina. While it has seemingly been one body blow after another for Penn State’s 2021 recruiting class lately, it appears this will change when Pounds announces on Friday. Penn State holds all five crystal ball predictions for Pounds on 247Sports.

The addition of Pounds would bring some much needed good news and momentum on the recruiting trail for 2021. He would join Nate Bruce and Landon Tengwall as offensive linemen in Penn State’s class.

2021 WIDE RECEIVER COMMIT EARNS FOURTH STAR

Anyone who reads ‘Blessed & Honored,’ or ‘Commits in Action,’ each week knows that I am a huge fan of Liam Clifford. He is a crisp route runner, sneaky explosive, has great hands, and could be physically ready to make an impact early in his collegiate career. Well, this past week 247Sports started to take notice as well. The future Nittany Lion receiver was bumped to a four-star by 247Sports.

So far this fall, Penn State’s longest standing 2021 commit is off to a terrific start for the St. Xavier Bombers in Cincinnati. This performance has helped him earn that well deserved fourth star. Liam continues to prove that he is much more than just Sean Clifford’s little brother.

TOP GROUP OF TWO 2022 FIVE-STARS

A pair of five-star prospects in the 2022 cycle have recently released their top groups, and the Nittany Lions have found themselves in the top group for each player. The first of the two is cornerback Will Johnson.

Johnson is a native of Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Penn State has had a lot of momentum in Michigan in recent cycles, highlights by their four commits from the state in their 2021 class. Hopefully, this along with the ties safeties coach Tim Banks has to the state will help the Nittany Lions be a contedner in this recruitment.

Penn State also made the to gorup for five-star offensive tackle Gunner Givens. In fact, Givens is rated as the top offensive tackle in the 2022 cycle by the composite rankings of 247Sports.

Givens is a native of Virginia, where Penn State has always recruited well under James Franklin. Penn State appears to be in a good spot early on in this recruitment, as Givens has raved about his relationship with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. This recruitment will be a war for every program involved, but Penn State appears to be in as good a spot as anyone early on.

NEW OFFER

Defensive end will be a huge need for the Nittany Lions in the 2022 cycle. They appear to be in a great position early on for some highly touted defensive ends in the cycle. However, this has not stopped Franklin and John Scott Jr. from expanded their defensive end board.

Last Wendesday, the Nittany Lions extended an offer to four-star 2022 defensive end Bryson Jennings.

Jennings attends Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, Virginia. As we discussed above, in recent cycles the Nittany Lions have had a ton of recruiting success in Virginia. It would not be a surprise to see them become a top contender in this recruitment, especially if Jennings makes it to campus for a visit, whenver visits start back up again.