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and Je:rey Davis Jr. Davis is the lone New England prospect in the class, attending Kingswood Oxford in West Hartford, Conn. The cornerback prospect earned an o:er while on campus for the game against Indiana in November 2019. He then attended Penn State's 8nal true re- cruiting event, a junior day back on Feb. 1, before the NCAA shut down on- and o:- campus visits. Davis wound up commit- ting to the Nittany Lions in April. In addition to being a two-time All-League selection, he also earned All-New Eng- land honors in track and 8eld, running the 100- and 200-meter races. Buddin, who plays linebacker, attended Belleville High School outside Detroit. He earned an o:er a;er attending Penn State's seven-on-seven camp in June 2019, then came back for two additional visits, including the same junior day that Davis attended in February before every- thing shut down. In the end, Buddin chose the Nittany Lions over Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota. McGraw is the only defensive lineman who signed early. He earned an o:er from Penn State in September 2019, and he visited a month later, attending the White Out game against Michigan. He wound up committing to Indiana in January but continued to stay in contact with Penn State's sta: throughout the spring. Then, following a coaching change on Tom Allen's sta:, McGraw 9ipped his com- mitment to the Nittany Lions in May. If all goes to plan, McGraw won't be the only addition to the defensive line before the class is all said and done. George Rooks, a four-star defensive tackle from St. Peter's Prep in New Jersey, has Penn State among his top three schools, along with Boston College and Michigan. Rooks and his family drove up to State College on Dec. 17 to tour the town on their own, so there's reason for Penn State fans to feel good, although a lot can happen be- tween now and Feb. 3. Meanwhile, Deonte Anderson of Fort Meade, Fla., and Keith Cooper of Dickin- son, Texas, are Penn State's top high school defensive end prospects, although we also expect the sta: to consider trans- fers for this position given the potential depth issues for 2021. Franklin said that the sta: will also look at defensive backs in the transfer portal. ■ P enn State will welcome seven early en- rollees from its Class of 2021 when the spring semester begins. The group will feature quarterback Christian Veilleux, offensive linemen Nate Bruce and Landon Tengwall, defensive end Rodney McGraw, linebacker Kobe King, and defensive backs Kalen King and Jeffrey Davis Jr. Due to cancellations this season, three of those prospects – Davis, Tengwall and Veilleux – haven't played since the 2019 season, as their re- spective schools and/or states decided to sit out this fall due to the pan- demic. For Tengwall, that may have actu- ally been a blessing in disguise. A student at Good Counsel in Olney, Md., he hadn't originally planned to enroll in January, as schools in the Washington Catholic Ath- letic Association had never previously al- lowed their pupils to graduate early. However, that began to change when the school shifted to online classes this past spring. With Tengwall already meeting the credit requirements, his principals allowed him to leave a semester early. "Initially, I wasn't going to be able to enroll early, but Good Counsel decided to help me out and allow me to do this, so a big thank you to them," Tengwall said. "I want to come in and compete for a start- ing job. Enrolling early definitely helps me to be able to achieve that goal. I just can't wait to get to campus. I can't remember a time in my life that I've been more ex- cited." This will be the smallest group of midyear enrollees since 2018, when Penn State welcomed six players in January. James Franklin and his staff saw a major jump the past two years, with 11 players enrolling in 2019, followed by another 12 in last year's class. Still, even with just seven enrolling early this year, it's nearly half of the players who signed during the early period. During a video conference on Dec. 16, Andy Frank, Penn State's director of player personnel, was asked about the ad- vantages of enrolling early this year with the unknowns surrounding COVID-19. "Whether we have spring ball or not – we're obviously hoping that we do – they're going to gain experience in the weight room," Frank said. "It's a chance to get on campus and get trained like they've never been trained before. Re- gardless of how classes have been, it's going to be a different experience. COVID has been a different experience for everybody." Frank went on to add, "We feel real con- fident in our development staff here. Coach [Dwight] Galt and his crew do a great job with these guys, both from a weightlifting standpoint, but also a run- ning standpoint. They'll be in better con- dition than they've ever been in their life, and they'll be closer to being able to play for us. It's still a challenge, even for midyear enrollees, to play as true fresh- men, but these guys will definitely have a leg up on the rest of the class in terms of being able to play early." Penn State's spring semester is set to begin on Jan. 19. Due to the rise in COVID cases, the university announced in De- cember that the first four weeks of classes would be conducted online. While stu- dents have been discouraged from re- turning to State College before Feb. 15, the university is allowing those with special circumstances to come back. That was the case this past summer when athletes returned to campus before the general student body. –R.S. Seven prospects in Class of 2021 slated to enroll early FRANK

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