Blue White Illustrated

Cole Brevard of Carmell, Ind., and o9en- sive lineman Drake Metcalf of Bell8ower, Calif. Of those players, Fleming has the high- est rating, and he's been visiting Penn State every couple of weeks. However, Clemson and Ohio State are also very much in the mix. The 7ve-star receiver has kept his feelings to himself of late, but the Lions appear to have a real 7ght on their hands to keep him in-state. Brevard, who is the top-ranked prospect in Indiana and a member of the Rivals250, has now taken three uno:cial visits to Penn State. In addition, he's also set to return for the Blue-White Game on April 13 and then again in June for an o:- cial visit. "I like Penn State and their coaching sta9," said Brevard's mother, Rae. "From the moment they o9ered Cole, which was last March, they've been consistent. They've been great at reaching out to him. He's had several FaceTime conversations with Coach Franklin and is in constant contact with Coach [Sean] Spencer, Coach [Tim] Banks and Coach [Kevin] Smith. They've gone out of their way to build a relationship with him, with me, with my ex-husband, all of us. They've just done a great job with that." Dottin and Izzard have also been fre- quent visitors, and we believe Penn State is the team to beat. But Metcalf may have been the most intriguing visitor. Not only does he come from one of the nation's top overall high school programs, California's St. John Bosco, but his interest in the Lions is so high that he and his father 8ew all the way across the country just to spend two days with Franklin and his as- sistants. "Honestly, I don't have any problem coming all the way out here to play in college," Metcalf said. "How many peo- ple get this opportunity, you know? There aren't too many high schoolers who can say they have a scholarship o9er from Penn State University, so that alone puts them very high on my list. Finding that balance between education and football will be very important to me, and Penn State checks o9 both of those boxes." Metcalf wasn't the only prospect to visit from his school. A few days later, on March 18, Penn State hosted six other prospects from St. John Bosco, including safety Kourt Williams and defensive tackle Kobe Pepe. Both players said that the Nittany Lions are now serious con- tenders for an o:cial visit either this summer or in the fall. The staff also left a strong impression on three-star offensive lineman Nicholas Dawkins of Allentown, Pa. Dawkins, the son of former Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins, took an unofficial visit March 23. He had previ- ously visited for the game against Iowa in October, and Franklin and his staff made it clear at the time that he could eventually earn an offer. That is exactly what happened during this most recent visit. "The best part was de7nitely at the end, when I got to go up to Coach Franklin's o:ce and sit down with him and Coach [Matt] Limegrover, Coach Spencer and Coach [Dann] Kabala. That's when they told me they were going to o9er me and that it's important to keep the best play- ers in Pennsylvania." He went on to add, "I grew up watching Penn State. When I was younger and going through the years, a lot of people in my school and family have been Penn State fans, so it's cool. I'm a Pennsylvania kid, so to get a Pennsylvania State [Uni- versity] o9er is great." The Nittany Lions hosted two other top o9ensive line targets a few days later for a midweek visit March 27. Anton Harrison and Golden Achumba, both of whom re- side in Washington, D.C., have made it clear for months now that Penn State is going to be a top contender when they're ready to make a decision. At the moment, Achumba appears to be closer to making Micah Bowens QB 6-1 185 ★★★ Las Vegas, Nev. Bishop Gorman Curtis Jacobs Ath. 6-2 220 ★★★★ Glen Burnie, Md. McDonogh Josh Moten DB 5-11 165 ★★★★ Fort Washington, Md. National Christian Academy Grant Toutant OL 6-6 305 ★★★ Warren, Mich. De La Salle Derek Wingo LB 6-1 215 ★★★★ Fort Lauderdale, Fla. St. Thomas Aquinas Dont'e Thornton Jr. WR 6-4 180 N/A Baltimore, Md. Mount St. Joseph * As of March 31 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 0 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 1 P E N N S T A T E R E C R U I T S *

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