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DT KELVIN GILLIAM JR. Gilliam has only taken one visit to University Park so far, but he raved about the trip. Following his Jan. 18 visit, Gilliam said that Penn State "stands very high in my recruitment," adding that he plans to visit again this spring. As of the first week of March, he was still working on his visit schedule, although he is planning to see South Carolina in March and Oklahoma in April. As with all the defensive line prospects, a crucial factor in his recruit- ment will be how quickly he becomes comfortable with new position coach John Scott Jr. CB TONY GRIMES The nation's No. 1 cornerback prospect, Grimes has taken three total visits to Penn State, two of which came in December and February. He and his father have always spoken highly of cornerbacks coach Terry Smith, and that relationship should earn the Lions another visit this spring, plus an o;cial visit for the game against Ohio State in October. Clemson and Georgia may be PSU's top competitors, although Alabama, Ohio State and Texas A&M should all host him again at some point. Grimes doesn't plan to decide until De- cember. DE ELIJAH JEUDY Jeudy was previously coached by former Penn State defensive end Deion Barnes, who just recently joined James Franklin's sta: as a graduate assistant. He's also visited Penn State 9ve times since the end of the 2018 season, which is more than he's made to any other school. However, of the seven schools that he listed, 9ve are in the Southeastern Conference, and many believe he's lean- ing that direction. Georgia hosted Jeudy for a visit in January, and he's planning to see a few other SEC programs, notably Alabama, Florida and Texas A&M, this spring. All three of those schools have hosted him before, so it does feel as if the Lions are trying to catch up to some of the SEC's top programs. SAF JAYLEN REED Reed visited for the 9rst time in January and raved about the trip, noting that the Lions moved "to the top of my recruitment." He went on to visit Georgia a few weeks later, and that trip, too, impressed him. I expect Penn State to be one of his top three schools once he narrows his list. Reed wants to decide at some point this summer. Tim Banks has done an excellent job recruiting Reed. LB DEMEIOUN ROBINSON There's plenty of competition here, but Penn State was one of the 9rst big programs to go all-in on Robinson. It was an easy decision for the sta:, as Robinson had one of the best performances of any 2021 prospect dur- ing last summer's Whiteout Camp. Both Maryland and Georgia are expected to host Robinson this month, while Clem- son, Ohio State and Penn State are all working to con9rm a visit date with the Rivals250 prospect. DT TYLIEK WILLIAMS Williams has vis- ited three times in the past year, including a trip for a junior day in January. He made it clear that he was close with Sean Spencer, so his comfort level with Scott should prove to be crucial here, as the Lions were considered to be among the favorites before the coaching change. Williams also visited Alabama, North Carolina and North Carolina State in Jan- uary, while Virginia and Virginia Tech have hosted him for multiple visits. SAF ZAKEE WHEATLEY Safety will be one of Penn State's most important posi- tions in 2021, which is why I have three players at that position on this list. You can also argue that Connecticut prospect Je:rey Davis Jr. should be part of this list, but I'll lean toward Wheatley, who has visited four times already, is expected to be back on campus in April and is set to make an o;cial visit May 29-31. Virginia and Wisconsin have also locked up o;cial visits with Wheatley, and he's expected to decide this summer. The Nittany Lions should be considered the favorites head- ing into the spring. ■ Penn State was back down to just two commitments in its Class of 2021 as of early March. Following an Under Armour Camp in Florida on March 1, tight end Nick Elksnis announced via Twitter that he had decided to open up his re- cruitment, backing out of a previous pledge to Penn State. "After much thought, prayer, and conversation with my family, I have decided to de- commit from Penn State and will be reopening my recruiting," Elksnis posted. A resident of Jacksonville, Fla., Elksnis attended Penn State's Un- derclassmen Camp in July 2019. He not only earned an offer from the staff that day, but went on to an- nounce his commitment just a few days later. He then returned to Penn State for the game against Pitt in September, plus the game against Michigan in October. Elksnis had been expected to come back to Penn State in March, but he visited Florida on Feb. 1, and on March 7 he announced that he plans to sign with the Gators. Penn State added two tight ends in its most recent recruiting class, sign- ing three-star prospect Tyler Warren and four-star player Theo Johnson in December. Johnson is already en- rolled. In addition, four-star tight end Brenton Strange is coming off a redshirt season. This is the second decommitment in Penn State's Class of 2021, as wide receiver Dont'e Thornton previously did the same last August. Three-star athlete Liam Clifford and three-star offensive lineman Nate Bruce remain committed. –R.S. Elksnis decommits, plans to sign with Gators ELKSNIS

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