Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1276571
well picked up two Division I scholarship o2ers before ever playing a down of high school football. Penn State waited to see a handful of games 1rst, but Franklin and his sta2 ultimately decided to make the move in October 2019. It came a few days a3er Barnwell visited for the 1rst time, at- tending Penn State's White Out victory over Michigan. He then returned for the sta2's last big recruiting event, a junior day that took place Feb. 1. Those two trips, plus weekly discussions with the sta2, were enough to earn his commitment. "It's Big Ten football," Barnwell said. "It's also close to home and one of the most competitive programs in the entire country. Penn State also has one of the best atmospheres in the entire country. When you have all of that, plus it's not hard for my friends and family to travel there and come support me, it makes it a great 1t for me." Over the past year, Barnwell has earned 15 scholarship o2ers. Duke, Maryland, Nebraska, Mississippi, Pitt, USC and Vir- ginia all made a push, but his decision ul- timately came down to Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. "Everything about Penn State is just perfect," he said. "The fan base is great, and everybody at Penn State, from the players to the coaches to the fans and stu- dents, is great. Everyone was very nice and very welcoming." The coaching sta2 waited more than a month to pick up its next commitment, but that drought ended July 17 when line- backer Jamari Buddin of Belleville, Mich., picked the Nittany Lions over Michigan State. "I have a great relationship with all the coaches," Buddin said. "My family loves them personally. It doesn't even have anything to do with coaching, it's really like family. I just get a good vibe from all the coaches – Coach [Tim] Banks, Coach [Brent] Pry, Coach Franklin, of course." Buddin earned an o2er from the sta2 in June 2019, just a few days a3er he and his teammates participated in the annual Lion Strong seven-on-seven tourna- NAME POS HT WT RATING HOME SCHOOL Nate Bruce OL 6-3 325 ★★★ Harrisburg, Pa. Harrisburg Jamari Buddin LB 6-2 210 ★★★★ Belleville, Mich. Belleville Liam Clifford Ath. 6-1 190 ★★★ Cincinnati, Ohio St. Xavier Jeffrey Davis Jr. CB 6-0 178 ★★★ West Hartford, Conn. Kingswood Oxford Kalen King CB 5-11 175 ★★★★ Detroit, Mich. Cass Tech Kobe King LB 6-1 230 ★★★ Detroit, Mich. Cass Tech Rodney McGraw DE 6-5 230 ★★★ Elkhart, Ind. Elkhart Central Jaylen Reed Saf. 6-0 190 ★★★★ Detroit, Mich. Martin Luther King Sander Sahaydak PK 6-1 180 ★★★ Bethlehem, Pa. Liberty Landon Tengwall OL 6-6 315 ★★★★ Annapolis, Md. Good Counsel Christian Veilleux QB 6-4 195 ★★★★ Ottawa, Ontario Bullis School Zakee Wheatley Saf. 6-2 180 ★★★★ Severn, Md. Archbishop Spalding Lonnie White Jr. Ath. 6-2 210 ★★★ Coatesville, Pa. Malvern Prep Jerry Cross TE 6-6 220 N/A Milwaukee, Wis. Rufus King Kaden Saunders WR 5-10 170 ★★★★ Westerville, Ohio Westerville South Mathias Barnwell TE 6-5 240 N/A Spotsylvania, Va. Spotsylvania * As of Aug. 2 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 1 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 3 C L A S S O F 2 0 2 2 P E N N S T A T E R E C R U I T S *