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over the past month or two? Or was this just about Penn State? CHRIST No, I didn't. I'm sure if I put it out there, some other schools would have contacted me, but I was just fo- cused on Penn State. BWI As you mentioned, your brother Tommy plays for Virginia. I'm sure he wants what's best for you, but that's got to be hard telling him that you're think- ing about switching up your commit- ment. What was that like? CHRIST He's been super cool about it. He was always just saying that I should- n't let him come into this decision. At the end of the day, if I weren't happy there, he wouldn't have been happy ei- ther. We need to do what's best for both of us, and he knows that. It wasn't that hard, mainly just because he was great. It would've been cool playing with him, but all of my other brothers went to dif- ferent schools. You have to create your own path and do what's best for you. BWI Did Penn State's success this sea- son impact you much? CHRIST Not really. It's awesome that they're playing well. I've enjoyed fol- lowing them and I'm happy to see that they're playing great, but it really didn't have a big impact on why I 5ipped. BWI This recruiting class is almost done. They have maybe one more schol- arship le8. How did that impact all of this? Did it speed things up for you. CHRIST Yeah, it did. The coaches were great. They kept me in the loop with everything, but they also made it clear that I can't wait forever. My parents also didn't want me to drag this out long. Originally, I wanted to come on the visit [for the Indiana game] and then see how I felt. Then, as we talked more, I planned on committing on the visit. Then I real- ized during my talk with Coach Franklin that there was no reason for me to wait this out. I told him then that I wanted to commit, but I also had to still tell Vir- ginia before I let anything out publicly. BWI I assume you've talked to Penn State about talking your o7cial visit in December? CHRIST Yeah. Coach Franklin said that basically all of the committed guys are going to come up that weekend and hang out. I'm looking forward to that. It'll be a fun weekend. BWI How much did academics and things outside of football factor into all of this? Virginia is a great school aca- demically and Penn State is also very good. It seemed like you always took ac- ademics very seriously throughout this process. Also, is there any chance you'll enroll early? CHRIST We talked about enrolling early, but I decided not to. Academics were always very important. I'm plan- ning to major in accounting, but I wouldn't say that it had a huge impact on my decision. I always knew that I liked these two schools and both of them were great academically. So I just didn't think about it too much. I knew I'd get a good education. One thing I did think about some was the alumni network. Penn State is great with that. BWI Is there anything you'd like to say to the Penn State fans reading this? I like to give players an opportunity to say something to all the Nittany Lion fans out there. CHRIST I would just say thanks for the kind words on Twitter and that I'm ex- cited to be a Nittany Lion. Coach Franklin and everyone on the sta6 are great people and great coaches. I'm ex- cited to work with them. ■ Following the addition of four-star offensive lineman Jimmy Christ, Penn State's Class of 2020 is all but finished. With 28 players firmly committed and expected to sign next month, it's believed that the Nittany Lions have, at most, only one more scholarship remaining. If the staff does decide to add an- other player, it will most likely be Canadian tight end Theo Johnson. A Rivals250 prospect from Windsor, Ontario, Johnson had originally planned to make a commitment on Nov. 18, but he announced about a week prior that he would be post- poning that decision. As of mid-No- vember, it was still unknown when a decision may come. Johnson told Rivals.com analyst Josh Helmholdt on Nov. 9 that he changed his plans after talking it over with his mother. "We had a long talk and I left that conversation a lot more confused than I was going in," he said. "I'm just trying to clear my mind, and after a week, try to go back to the decision and see how I'm feel- ing. I'll see where it goes from there." Johnson took his final official visit to Michigan on the weekend of Nov. 15- 17. Many expected him to commit to the Nittany Lions the next day, but it was unclear where he stood following his postponement. In addition to the Wolverines, Iowa and Georgia were also under consideration. If Johnson were to end up else- where, it's plausible that Penn State won't add a 29th player to the class. According to sources, the Class of 2020 is already at its tipping point when it comes to available scholar- ships, although like all good re- cruiters, James Franklin and his assistants haven't stopped pursuing others in case something changes. Defensive end Sean Martin of Blue- field, W.Va., is someone to watch, al- though he doesn't plan to announce until February. Martin took an offi- cial visit for the Michigan game last month. Cornerback Darion Green- Warren of Harbor City, Calif., has in- terest in taking an official visit in December, but that will likely depend on whether the Lions have a scholar- ship available. Running back Jalen Berger also has interest in taking an official visit, but as of mid-Novem- ber, it appeared unlikely that he would do so. –R.S. Four-star TE Johnson delays announcement

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