TUESDAY COMMITMENTS

On Tuesday, a pair of in-state prospects will announce their college decisions. One of these players is from 2021 cycle and the other is from 2022. In the 2021 cycle, it will be five-star offensive tackle Nolan Rucci.

Rucci hails from Warwick High School. He is also the son of former Nittany Lion and NFL offensive lineman Todd Rucci. For a lot of Rucci’s recruitment the Nittany Lions appeared to be the team to beat, however, in recent motnhs the momentum has swung toward Wisconsin.

Rucci’s brother Hayden is a tight end for the Badgers. The 247Sports crystal ball heavily favors Wisconsin. There is no way around it, this would be an inexcusable recruiting miss for James Franklin and company. A strong argument can be made that this would be the biggest recruiting miss of Franklin’s tenure. An in-state five-star legacy player at a premium position is the type of recruit schools can NOT let get away.

Now, for some good news. Four-star 2022 defensive athlete Ken Talley will also announce his commitment on Tuesday. He will choose from a top three of Penn State, Arizona State and Tennessee.

Penn State holds every 247Sports crystal ball prediciton for Talley who attends Northeast High School outside of Philadelphia. At Northeast, Talley’s defensive coordinator last season was former Nittany Lion defensive end and now graduate assistant Deion Barnes.

Talley could play outside linebacker or defensive end at the next level. With the Nittany Lions, he would almost assuredly be a linebacker. While there appears to be bad news coming with Rucci, it also appears Penn State’s hot start to their 2022 recruiting class will continue.

VISITORS TO CAMPUS

Over the weekend, Virignia defensive end Aiden Gobaira visited Happy Valley. Following the visit, 247Sports crystal balls immedaitely started to roll in projecting Gobaira to the Nittany Lions.

Gobaira is a native of New York City, and he has expressed interest in playing close to NYC in college. With Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class off to a strong start, Gobaira appears to be yet another high end player for Nittany Lion fans to keep an eye on.

2023 McDonogh School offensive lineman Antonio Tripp spent his Labor Day holiday visiting Happy Valley.

In recent cycles, McDonogh has become a big of a pipeline for Penn State. Defensive tackles PJ Mustipher and D’Von Ellis, as well as linebacker Curtis Jacobs are all McDonogh graduates. Penn State is one of 11 Power 5 offers that Tripp already holds. With Tripp shaping up to be one of the top offensive linemen in the region for 2023, the Nittany Lions getting an early edge in his recruitment, as well as him being a McDonogh product, should put Penn State in a great spot.

NEW OFFER

Late last week, the Nittany Lions offered four-star cornerback Bobby Taylor Jr.

Taylor Jr. attends Katy High School in Texas. This was an offer from the Nittany Lions to try and gauge Taylor Jr.’s interest in the program. If he reciprocates the interest, look for the Nittany Lions to look to get him to campus when visits resume.