Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1430714
5 6 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M One other player Nittany Lion fans need to know is safety Moussa Kane from Blair Academy in New Jersey. A three-star prospect according to the On3 Consensus, Kane holds 11 offers so far from schools like Boston College, Clemson, Ole Miss, Pitt, West Virginia and Virginia Tech. Safeties coach Anthony Poindexter was the first coach to offer Kane, do- ing so while he was still a member of Purdue's staff. In fact, Kane's brother, Sanoussi, is currently a member of the Boilermakers' secondary, so Kane and his family have close ties with Poind- exter, and that should help the Nittany Lions. This was his third visit to Penn State since the summer. Two other important visitors were ath- lete Rodney Gallagher of Uniontown, Pa., and linebacker Tony Rojas of Fairfax, Va. Gallagher is one of Penn State's most important prospects in next year's class. A top-100 prospect and the second- ranked player in Pennsylvania, Galla- gher has been a frequent visitor since the summer, traveling to Penn State on four occasions. Pitt and West Virginia also have hosted him a few times, but the Nittany Lions should be considered the team to beat. Rojas emerged as a top prospect this past summer when he camped with the staff and put up some impressive num- bers, including a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and a 4.3-second shuttle. Mary- land, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech also have hosted him for visits, although Penn State's three visits are the most of any school so far. ■ Penn State's class of 2022 is mostly full, and the class of 2023 is starting to come together, too. With less than a month to go before the December signing period for the 2022 cycle, coach James Franklin's focus is on ensur- ing that the team's committed players remain on board. "I'd say the priority for us is keeping the '22 class intact with the guys who are doing what they need to do to come to Penn State," Franklin said on Nov. 9. "We obviously have some early enrollees, a large number of early enrollees, as well." Penn State had received verbal commitments from 25 players as of Nov. 14. In addition, the Nittany Lions have a pledge from Harvard offensive line- man Spencer Rolland, who will be transferring in to the program ahead of the 2022 season. It's a big class already, and that means there is little room left for any other additions. Franklin said he does see the potential for "a little bit of movement in the '22 class," adding that "we want to have a little bit of flex- ibility for some possible transfers." At this point, it's truly a numbers game. Penn State would like to add as much talent as possible, of course. But it also needs to keep space available to add players from the transfer portal this offseason while still staying un- der the 85-man scholarship cap. As of mid-November, BWI knew of 11 players who intend to enroll in January. Those players are quarterbacks Drew Allar and Beau Pribula, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, wide receivers Kaden Saunders and Omari Evans, offensive linemen Drew Shelton and JB Nelson, tight end Jerry Cross, defensive line- man Zane Durant and cornerback Cam Miller. For comparison's sake, Penn State had 11 early enrollees in both the classes of 2019 and 2020 but just seven in the 2021 cycle. Recruiting never stops, despite the occasional dead periods on the calendar. There is always more work to be done, so while Penn State might like where it stands with the group that will soon sign, there is still plenty to be accom- plished. "Our focus is keeping the '22 class intact, and those guys have a really strong relationship, not only with each other, but also with our staff and their parents," Franklin said. "And then, obviously, [it's important to keep] doing a great job in the '23 class. We've got a pretty good start on that already, and we're going to need to continue building. "I think that obviously a major focus for us is continuing to recruit at a high level. We've had some really good recruiting classes, but we need to be able to stack them up, one after an- other. That will be a big focus. We've got to be able to balance finishing the season the right way and recruiting at the same time." — Greg Pickel Franklin: Nittany Lions Focused On Keeping Class Intact Defensive lineman Zane Durant from Orlando (Fla.) Lake Nona High is one of 11 Penn State commits who intend to enroll early in January. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER