Blue White Illustrated

also have his interest. Because of that, fans should also pay close attention to Garrett Nussmeier of Flower Mound, Texas, and Christian Veilleux, who grew up in Canada but now plays at the Bullis School in Potomac, Md. Both have visited twice since the summer and have the Nit- tany Lions among their top schools. Veilleux and Williams are expected to de- cide before the summer. RUNNING BACK If no current players transfer out, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Lions were to take just one running back in the Class of 2021. Treveyon Hen- derson of Hopewell, Va., and Evan Pryor of Cornelius, N.C., are the two players fans should be focused on the most. Pryor has already been on campus seven times dating back to February 2018. His sister attends the University Park campus, so that could have a big impact when he's ready to decide. Henderson recently vis- ited Penn State for the :rst time, attend- ing the game against Indiana in Novem- ber. Both players have more than 30 scholarship o;ers from the nation's best programs and sit within the Rivals100. Either one would be a great addition to the class. WIDE RECEIVER The Nittany Lions earned a commitment from Liam Cli;ord in October. Sean Cli;ord's little brother is projected to play wide receiver, but if the sta; is able to land a few more of its top prospects at the position, he could potentially play defensive back. So, who are those other players? If you look across the country, Penn State has ex- tended o;ers to more than two dozen wide receivers. But if you look close to home, particularly in Maryland, there are plenty of talented players who are already very high on the Lions. Among the most noteworthy of those Maryland prospects are Jalil Farooq of Upper Marlboro, Kaden Prather of Germantown, Dont'e Thorn- ton of Baltimore, and Zakee Wheatley of Severn. Farooq, Thornton and Wheatley all sit within the Rivals250, while Prather is a three-star prospect who is on the rise. Over the past few months, he's earned some excellent o;ers, including Alabama and Ohio State. Don't be sur- prised if he moves up in the rankings come spring. At the start of the new year, it felt like both Wheatley and Prather were leaning toward the Lions. Thornton was previ- ously committed and is still seriously considering Penn State, but he's in no rush to make a second commitment. As for Farooq, he's visited Penn State twice in the past four months, but he hasn't re- ally opened up much about his recruit- ment. Consider him the wildcard. TIGHT END Penn State already holds a commitment from Nick Elksnis of Jack- sonville, Fla. If no current players transfer out and Elksnis stays :rm, it wouldn't be a surprise if he's the only tight end in this class. But Penn State hasn't stopped re- cruiting other players. One notable prospect to monitor is Louis Hansen of Needham, Mass. Hansen was on campus in June to attend the Whiteout Camp. He wasn't able to return this season but has stayed in regular commu- nication with Tyler Bowen and other members of the sta;. OFFENSIVE LINE In-state prospect Nate Bruce com- mitted to Penn State during a visit in Oc- tober. At 6-3, 325 pounds, he's expected to be an interior lineman at the college level, which is why most of the sta;'s attention is now focused on tackle prospects. How- ever, one interior lineman to monitor is Jager Burton of Lexington, Ky. The Lions were among his top seven schools when he announced them on New Year's Eve. At tackle, there are four prospects to monitor closely: Tristan Leigh of Fairfax, Va., Wyatt Milum of Huntington, W.Va., Nolan Rucci of Lititz, Pa., and Landon Tengwall of Olney, Md. All four have the Lions among their top two or three schools. Tengwall is expected to make a commit- NEXT GENERATION Rucci, a four-star prospect from Lititz, Pa., is the son of former Nit- tany Lion offensive lineman Todd Rucci. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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