Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1187122
F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G CHANGE OF HEART After reconsidering his options, Jimmy Christ finds the right fit with Penn State P enn State's Class of 2020 is just about complete, but James Franklin and his assistants found room for one of their top o5ensive line targets on Nov. 8 when Rivals250 prospect Jimmy Christ announced that he was going to join the Nittany Lions a7er having previously been committed to Virginia. A 6-foot-7, 295-pound o5ensive tackle from Sterling, Va., Christ emerged on the sta5's radar following a strong junior season in 2018. He then visited for the 4rst time last November for the Nittany Lions' game against Wisconsin and received an o5er just over a month later. Christ went on to visit Penn State two more times in Feb- ruary and March. However, he also had a close relation- ship with Bronco Mendenhall and his sta5 at Virginia. Christ's older brother, Tommy Christ, plays defensive tackle for the Cavaliers, so it wasn't a complete surprise when he announced his com- mitment to Virginia on April 30, shortly a7er returning from an o6cial visit to Charlottesville. But like all good recruiters, Franklin and his sta5 stayed in contact. Through- out the season, Christ had been speak- ing with not only assistant coaches Tyler Bowen and Matt Limegrover, but also regional recruiter Ja'Juan Seider and Franklin himself. Over the course of his recruitment, Christ earned 40 scholarship o5ers from some of the nation's best programs. Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma were just a handful of the schools that pursued him. Recently, BWI's Ryan Snyder caught up with Christ to learn more about his decision. BWI What made you want to switch to Penn State? CHRIST Obviously, I liked Virginia a lot. But when I look back on it, I felt like I may have pressured myself into mak- ing that commitment. It came right a7er I took my o6cial visit, plus my brother is there. I liked Penn State a lot. I like Coach Franklin and the whole coaching sta5 there. They recruited me as hard as anyone. The more we started talking, I just felt more and more com- For daily and breaking news updates on Penn State football recruiting, visit bwi.rivals.com. NEW COMMITMENT Christ, a four-star lineman, an- nounced for the Nittany Lions in early November. Photo courtesy of Christ family