COACHES HIT THE ROAD

This past week James Franklin and his staff took advantage of their bye week to hit the road recruiting. Out on the road the staff checked in on both targets, as well as 2022 and 2023 commits.

One of the biggest visits of the week came when James Franklin and offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Mike Yurcich hopped across the border into Ohio to check out quarterback commit Drew Allar.

Allar continues to make a push for five-star status. There is no denying that Allar is one of the best quarterback prospects in the country, regardless of class, and is the most talented quarterback the Nittany Lions will have signed during the Franklin Era.

The coaching staff was also busy in the Pittsburgh area over the weekend, checking in on 2023 cornerback commit Lamont Payne and top-100 athlete Rodney Gallagher.

Payne appears to be solid with the Nittany Lions, while Gallagher is one of the Nittany Lions top 2023 targets. Gallagher continues to pop up on campus for visits and the staff continues to cultivate a relationship with Gallagher and his family. At this point, the Nittany Lions have to be viewed as the potential early leaders for the talented two-sport star.

Wide receiver coach Taylor Stubblefield flew south to Texas to check in on 2022 athlete commit Cristian Driver.

It should be noted that Stubblefield has since fixed his belt game. For those who may remember Stubblefield was the victim of #BeltGate when he first came to Penn State and visited Parker Washington while still wearing a Miami belt. Now that Stubblefield is permitted to be back on the road recruiting he is doing it with a shiny new Nittany Lions belt buckle.

Franklin and Florida recruiting ace JaJuan Seider also popped up at Lehigh Senior High School in Lehigh Acres, FL.

Lehigh Senior is the home of five-star 2023 running back Richard Young. Dating back to landing Saquon Barkely in 2015 Penn State has recruited the running back position as well as almost any program in the country. While pulling Young out of Florida would be a monumental haul for the Nittany Lions, Seider has proven time and time again that he can never be counted out when it comes to recruiting running backs AND when it comes to recruiting in Florida.

NEW 2023 DEFENSIVE LINE OFFER

In the state of Maryland a new name is starting to emerge in the 2023 recruiting cycle. This player is defensive lineman Devan Houstan who picked up an offer from the Nittany Lions over the weekend.

Houstan attends St. James School in Hagerstown. In addition to the Nittany Lions, Houstan has also added offers from Notre Dame, Maryland and Wake Forest in the last week. With Houstan’s recruitment starting to take off combined with him being an in-region player, his name is one that Nittany Lion fans will likely start to see pop up frequently on the recruiting trail in the coming weeks and months.