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radar since his time at Mt. Lebanon High School outside of Pittsburgh. Due to aca- demics, he ended up at Lackawanna Col- lege this past year, and although he played in just two games during the spring, that was enough to grab Penn State's attention. When he performed well at the Whiteout Camp on June 6, it was clear to Franklin and o'ensive line coach Phil Trautwein that they had to extend an o'er. Nelson said Penn State's success at de- veloping previous Lackawanna players was a factor in his decision. Jaquan Brisker is a returning starter in the sec- ondary, while safety Ji'Ayir Brown and of- fensive lineman Anthony Whigan are vying for starting spots this fall. "I know they've been great with Lack- awanna players," Nelson said. "Another part is just that I had a talk with my whole family about it, and they all want me to go there. My mom really liked the school. She really liked the coaches, and we both felt at home there. The coaches were very genuine, and I really liked the campus and everything." Nelson will have four seasons to play three at Penn State, since last year didn't count for junior college players. Penn State's other two recent commit- P enn State did plenty of work in June to build on its Class of 2022, but the past month may have also laid the foundation for the 2023 class. In addi- tion to all the o5cial visitors who made their way to campus, James Franklin and his sta' played host to uno5cial visits from more than 30 rising juniors who already hold a scholarship o'er. That number doesn't include more than 50 addi- tional 2023 prospects who don't hold an o'er but could earn one in the months ahead. That 7rst weekend, June 4-6, saw the largest contingent of 2023 prospects make their way to Univer- sity Park, as the sta' hosted a small junior day that resulted in about a dozen players visiting. It would be hard to say that one of those players stood out from the rest, but if we had to make a pick, we would lean toward o'ensive lineman Alex Birchmeier of Ashburn, Va. A Rivals100 prospect, Birchmeier came to Penn State on his own in August 2020, and he's made it clear throughout the process that the Nittany Lions are high on his list. The 61st-ranked prospect in the nation, he also visited Notre Dame and Virginia Tech last month. Birchmeier has earned 30 o'ers already, and more will surely come. Safety Shawn Battle of Neumann- Goretti in Philadelphia, also made the trip that weekend. Battle even an- nounced Arizona State, Mississippi, Penn State, Rutgers and Texas A&M as his top 7ve schools in the days that followed, hinting that he could be close to making a commitment. He later backed o' of that a bit, but Penn State is considered the favorite, mak- ing him one to watch in the months to come. A few other notable players who vis- ited that weekend include running back Daylan Smothers of Charlotte, wide receiver Christian Hamilton of Harrisburg, N.C., as well as three line- backers: Semaj Bridgeman, who will transfer and play for Archbishop Wood in Warminster, Pa., this fall; Jordan Hall, who plays at IMG Acad- emy in Bradenton, Fla.; and Ta'Mere Robinson of Brashear High in Pitts- burgh. Bridgeman, Hamilton and Robinson are all top-100 prospects in next year's class. The following two weekends weren't as heavy due to the sta' hosting a larger contingent of o5cial visitors in the Class of 2022, but one of Penn State's top o'ensive line targets, Chase Bisontis, visited on June 12. The nation's 20th-ranked prospect, Bisontis took a self-guided tour of campus back in September 2020, but this was his 7rst opportunity to meet with the sta' in person. Bisontis, who plays at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., has already received nearly 40 scholarship o'ers and visited Ala- bama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Rutgers in June. Defensive end Mason Robinson at- tended the junior day that first week- end in June, then came back to Penn State on June 20 to camp with the staff. Although Robinson hasn't earned as many offers as some of the players above, the Baltimore native is starting to grab the attention of schools across the country, with both Georgia and South Carolina recently joining Penn State, Boston College and Pitt, all of whom offered earlier this year. Robinson plays at the Mc- Donogh School, which has become a pipeline to Penn State in recent years. He's already earned a four-star rat- ing. Another player who Penn State hosted twice is cornerback Lamont Payne from Chartiers Valley in Bridgeville, Pa. Payne is just now be- ginning to grab the attention of coaches across the region, with six schools extending o'ers. His per- formance at the Whiteout Camp on June 6 was one of the best among the group of defensive backs, and now it's clear that Franklin and Terry Smith will pursue him hard in the year to come. ■ Penn State coaching staff looking ahead to 2023 cycle A N A L Y S I S B Y R Y A N S N Y D E R

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