Blue White Illustrated

Pennsylvania's strong 2022 class boosts Lions' outlook P enn State is o> to a great start with its recruitment of the Class of 2022. As of late September, Rivals.com ranked the Nittany Lions third in the country, with their six verbal commit- ments – tight ends Jerry Cross and Holden Staes, quarterback Beau Pribula, wide receiver Kaden Saunders, o>ensive lineman Drew Shelton and athlete Ken Talley – averaging 3.67 stars. As of this writing, Penn State had is- sued more than 200 scholarship o>ers to prospects in the Class of 2022. It appears that there is a consensus forming that the Lions have an opportunity to land a recruiting class similar to the one they welcomed in 2018. That 23-member class, headlined by Micah Parsons, ended up being rated =@h in the nation by Rivals. One reason to believe that Penn State is well-positioned to bring in an outstand- ing class in the next recruiting cycle is that Pennsylvania's Class of 2022 is very strong. For the =rst time since the 2018 cycle, Pennsylvania has 10 prospects ranked among Rivals' top 250 players in the country. Those 10 players are: out- side linebacker/defensive end Enai White of Imhotep Charter in Philadel- phia (76th), cornerback Keenan Nelson Jr. of St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia (84th), Shelton of Downingtown West (110th), running back Nicholas Singleton of Governor Mi?in in Shillington (112th), athlete Mehki Flowers of Steelton-High- spire (164th), Talley of Northeast in Philadelphia (169th), middle linebacker Anthony Johnson of Neumann-Goretti in Philadelphia (217th), receiver Kevin Thomas of Neumann-Goretti (232nd), receiver Anthony Ivey of Manheim Township in Lancaster (237th) and run- ning back Samuel Brown of LaSalle Col- lege High in Wyndmoor (243rd). Shelton and Talley have already committed, and Penn State has extended o>ers to six of the eight remaining players. Thomas and Brown are the only ones who haven't re- ceived a PSU scholarship o>er. It should also be noted that Penn State has extended an o>er to four-star out- side linebacker Abdul Carter of LaSalle College High, who is ranked by Rivals as the 11th-best prospect in the state, and the Lions have already received a com- mitment from Pribula of York Central, who is ranked 13th. One other Pennsyl- vania standout who has received a PSU o>er is defensive lineman Anthony Smith of Shippensburg. Here's a closer look at the 12 prospects listed above who are either being re- cruited by Penn State or have already committed to the Lions: ENAI WHITE The 6-foot-5, 225-pound White has 42 scholarship o>ers and is rated by Rivals as the 10th-best outside linebacker in the country. Penn State, which is recruiting him as a defensive end, is in competition with Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Virginia Tech and Washington. White reportedly isn't close to making a decision. KEENAN NELSON JR. Nelson, who is listed at 6-0, 190 pounds, has 21 schol- arship offers and is rated by Rivals as the 13th-best cornerback prospect in the Class of 2022. In addition to Penn State, he has offers from Arizona State, Georgia, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ten- nessee, Virginia Tech and West Vir- ginia. It appears that Penn State and Notre Dame are in excellent shape. DREW SHELTON The 6-5, 275-pound Shelton is Pennsylvania's top-ranked offensive line prospect in the Class of 2022 and the No. 14 offensive tackle na- tionally. Before choosing Penn State on Sept. 4, he had collected 22 scholarship offers. Other schools that were pursu- ing him included Arizona State, Michi- gan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford, Virginia Tech and West Vir- ginia. MEHKI FLOWERS Flowers has 21 schol- arship o>ers and is rated by Rivals as the 11th-best safety in the Class of 2022. I believe the 6-2, 235-pounder is capable of playing wide receiver or safety at the college level. He is the best skill position player to come out of Steelton-High- spire since tight end Troy Drayton in the early 1990s. Drayton starred at Penn State and went on to play nine seasons in the NFL. Penn State is considered the leader for Flowers over Arizona State, Nebraska, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. NICHOLAS SINGLETON Listed at 5-11, 191 pounds and considered by some to be the state's best running back prospect since Miles Sanders, Singleton has 28 scholarship o>ers. He's rated by Rivals as the sixth-best running back in the Class of 2022. Singleton's top o>ers are from Penn State, Arizona State, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, USC, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin. This could turn into an Ohio State-Penn State battle, but it's also possible that Clemson will join the fray. KEN TALLEY The 6-2, 220-pound Tal- ley had amassed 21 scholarship o>ers before choosing the Nittany Lions on Sept. 8. Expected to be a Sam outside linebacker at the college level, he picked the Nittany Lions over Arizona State, Michigan, Rutgers and Tennessee. ANTHONY JOHNSON The 6-2, 235- pound Johnson has 19 scholarship o>ers and is considered by Rivals to be the sev- enth-best middle linebacker in the Class of 2022. He lists his =ve favorites as Penn State, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Rutgers. Oregon, Nebraska, Ten- nessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia have also o>ered. ANTHONY IVEY Ivey missed =ve games last season due to a leg injury, so he's one A N A L Y S I S B Y P H I L G R O S Z

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