TOP GROUPS

A trio of highly ranked 2022 prospects released a top group this past week that includes the Nittany Lions. One member of this trio is four-star New Jersey defensive back Jaedan Gould.

Gould attends regional power Bergen Catholic and he has long been high on the Nittany Lions. While late in the fall it appeared that Gould could be close to committing to Michigan, that never happened. Penn State appears to solidly be in the top two or three for Gould and he is high on their defensive back board. Gould could be a cornerback or a safety in college and is a name for Nittany Lion fans to keep an eye on.

Texas defensive end Curlee Thomas has watched his recruitment start to take off in recent weeks, including a recent scholarship offer from the Nittany Lions. Thomas has now released a top 11 which includes the Nittany Lions.

While defensive end remains a huge need for Penn State in the 2022 cycle, they also appear to be in a great spot with many of their top targets. Now, yes, this was the same story we heard about Penn State and top targets in the 2021 cycle, but that cycle continues to look more and more like an abberation. There are players ahead of Thomas on the defensive end board for Penn State, he will be a player to keep monitoring if Penn State misses on any of their higher targets and/or get him to campus for a visit.

Finally, there is four-star running back Gi’Bran Payne.

Payne attends LaSalle High School in Cincinnati. The talented rusher is one of Penn State’s top three or four running back targets in the 2022 cycle, a cycle in which they plan on taking a pair of running backs. Payne has had high interest in Penn State since being offered by the Nittany Lions last March, this combined with Penn State’s high interest in Payne and the recruiting prowess of JaJuan Seider should keep the Nittany Lions among Payne’s top group throughout his recruitment.

NEW OFFERS

A pair of in region lineman picked up offers in the past week from the Nittany Lions. One of these linemen was Anto Saka.

Saka attends Loyala Blakefield High School in Towson, Maryland. Saka’s recruitment has started to take off in recent months having added 12 Power 5 offers since the first of the year. With Penn State’s need at defensive end and Saka being an in region player, this recruitment will be one for Nittany Lion fans to watch.

The other in region lineman offer that went out was to legacy offensive tackle Ryan Brubaker.

Brubaker attends Cocalico High School in Denver, Pennsylvania. He is also a Penn State legacy. Any time a legacy offer is extended it’s noteworthy, but especially when it is also an in state offer. If the Nittany Lions push for Brubaker it is hard to imagine them not landing him.