Blue White Illustrated

about every elite program you can think of, including Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M. Once he's able to visit in 2021, we'll have a better feel for PSU's chances. For now, though, we expect that relationship to keep the Nittany Lions among his top schools. JAEDEN GOULD CB, 6-2, 190 Oradell, N.J. Bergen Catholic Gould has been on cam- pus, having attended the 2019 Lasch Bash barbecue. Penn State extended a scholarship o8er that same day, so he's held an o8er from the Nit- tany Lions longer than most on this list. He's also consistently spoken highly of the sta8, notably Terry Smith, who's leading the charge here. "I really like him," Gould said. "I enjoyed hanging out with him when I visited. I thought he was a really cool guy, very genuine. I could de7nitely see him being my coach someday." Aside from Penn State, the schools pursuing him the hardest are Boston College, Michigan, Rutgers, Ten- nessee and USC. SHAWN MURPHY LB, 6-3, 225 Manassas, Va. Unity Reed At this time last year, it felt like Penn State was a lock to make Murphy's top 7ve. I'm not as con7dent now, but he's still high on the Nittany Lions and is a player who could help transform this class from one that's very good to one that's elite. With that said, it does feel like Ohio State is emerging as the favorite here, and it doesn't help that Penn State stopped re- cruiting his high school teammate, Tyleik Williams, who went on to commit to the Buckeyes a few months ago. Mur- phy has been to Penn State twice already and was in attendance for one of the last recruiting events that took place before the pandemic shut everything down. If visits are allowed to resume in late April, you won't 7nd many players whom the sta8 will be more eager to welcome to campus than Murphy. KEENAN NELSON CB, 6-0, 200 Philadelphia, Pa. St. Joseph's The most recent St. Joseph's Prep cornerback to sign with the Nittany Lions – John Reid – turned out to be a pretty good one. Aside from camping with the sta8 back in June 2018, Nelson hasn't taken a true visit to Penn State yet, but Terry Smith has done a good job developing a rela- tionship with him and his father. They've also done a handful of Zoom calls to get to know members of the sta8. His father spoke highly of those experi- ences, too. At the moment, it feels like Notre Dame is Penn State's top competi- tor, but until he's able to see some schools, it's hard to predict which way he's leaning. KEON SABB Saf., 6-2, 195 Williamstown, N.J. Williamstown Sabb is listed by Rivals.com as an athlete. Penn State likes him at safety, and that's the position he's being recruited to play. Both of PSU's defensive backs coaches, Terry Smith and Tim Banks, are pushing hard for Sabb, and all indications sug- gest that theirs is one of his stronger player-coach relationships. He's also opened up about his relationship with former Penn State wide receiver Juwan Johnson, who's from the same home- town, Glassboro, N.J. Even though John- son 7nished his college career at Oregon, Sabb has said he's had nothing but good things to say about his time in Happy Valley. Sabb attended last year's game against Michigan, so he does have some familiarity with the program, but Rut- gers is the only other school he's seen so far. He needs to get out to some schools in the spring to get a better feel for who's truly standing out. At the moment, I see Texas A&M and Clemson as Penn State's top competitors. PSU alum and current A&M defensive line coach Elijah Robin- son has done a great job recruiting throughout Philadelphia and New Jer- sey, and Sabb is now one of his top tar- gets for 2022. ANTHONY SMITH DT, 6-5, 270 Shippensburg, Pa. Shippensburg Smith isn't ranked as highly as the other players on this list, but don't tell that to Franklin and his sta8. The Shippensburg native has his fair share of o8ers – Iowa State, Michigan State, Nebraska, North Car- olina State, Pitt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, among others – but he hasn't blown up yet with some of the East Coast's top programs. Smith has only taken one visit to Penn State so far, at- tending the game against Indiana in 2019. For the most part, he's still in the early stages of his recruitment. In a lim- ited schedule this fall, Smith had 43 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, nine sacks and three forced fumbles. ENAI WHITE DE, 6-4, 225 Philadelphia, Pa. Imhotep Charter I rank Dennis-Sutton as Penn State's top defensive prospect ahead of White, but they could be considered 1A and 1B. The fact that he's from Pennsylvania may give White a slight edge on the staff's board. What's clear is that defensive end is the team's biggest need in 2022, making both players very important. Philadel- phia native Deion Barnes is making a major push with White, as is basically the entire defensive coaching staff. All hands are on deck for this one. Ohio State should be a contender, too, but early indications suggest that he's in- terested in playing in the Southeastern Conference. Let's see how visits go be- fore making any predictions, but I get the impression that Dennis-Sutton is a more realistic add at the moment when it comes to the two elite pass rushers in this class. ■

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