LASCH BASH PREVIEW

This weekend is one of the most important recruiting weekends of every calendar year for Penn State, the Lasch Bash. The Lasch Bash is at the top of the list of important recruiting weekends for Penn State, right alongside weekends such as The White Out and Blue White Game.

Leading the way for visitors this weekend will be a large contingency of Penn State commits. Weekends such as the Lasch Bash are vital for the commits in a class not just continuing to form a bond and relationship with each other, but also for their families to do the same which is often times and underrated, but important aspect of recruiting.

Penn State will also look to get a large contingency of 2024 and 2025 targets on campus this weekend, as well as some remaining 2023 targets. While there is unlikely to be any commitments coming out of the weekend, weekends like the Lasch Bash often times will contribute to eventual commitments for the Nittany Lions.

WHAT’S NEXT AT WIDE RECEIVER?

Monday night wide receiver Yazeed Haynes de-commited from Penn State. This leaves four-star Ejani Shakir as the lone receiver remaining in the 2023 class for the Nittany Lions. So, what’s up next at wide receiver?

This weekend could go a long way toward making that picture more clear. James Franklin and his staff were already looking to get multiple wide receiver targets on campus for the Lasch Bash, but the importance of these potential visits just increased substantially.

Virginia native Carmelo Taylor, Tennessee product Justin Brown, and Florida product Micah Mays are all wide receiver to watch for the Nittany Lions moving forward. This is not to say these three, or any of them, will make it to the Lasch Bash, but they are all wide receivers with offers from the Nittany Lions, with both Taylor and Brown having visited campus previously.

Taylor, Brown and Mays are all likely to see increased attention and pressure from the Nittany Lion coaching staff moving forward. Taylor Stubblefield will also look for new wide receiver targets between now and signing day.

2023 DEFENSIVE LINEMAN’S TOP GROUP

Dylan Gooden is a name that has been discussed in the world of Penn State recruiting for quite some time now. So, it should come as no surprise to see the Nittany Lions end up in his top four.

The four-star Olney, Maryland, native has visited Penn State multiple times in his recruitment, but he has never been at the top of the board for the Nittany Lion coaching staff. Gooden is a recruit that has question about his size, at just 204 pounds, as well as a his twitchiness off the edge.

Right now, it is hard to envision Gooden being a take for the Nittany Lions. Especially if they can close out on Detroit native Jalen Thompson, a recruitment in which Penn State seems to be surging. That said, Gooden could be a guy the coaching staff looks to keep warm into the fall as a back up plan if they miss on Thompson, or happen to lose any current defensive line commits.