Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1476228
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 5 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State's Class of 2023 took a cou- ple of steps backward in the past month when receiver Yazeed Haynes and edge rusher Tomarrion Parker decided to re- open their recruitment. One of the nation's top defensive ends, Parker had committed to Penn State on June 21, which was a few days after the On3 four-star prospect took an official visit to State College. His commitment surprised many ob- servers. Most expected Penn State to be a serious contender, but schools like Florida, Michigan State and Tennessee were considered ahead of the Nittany Lions. Parker, a native of Phenix City, Ala., said so himself in the beginning of June. On3's Chad Simmons broke the news of Parker's decommitment on Aug. 9. Simmons noted that Parker "felt he wasn't 100 percent sure of his commit- ment at this point, and he wants to take more time with his recruiting process after rushing into an early commitment. "The Nittany Lions are not com- pletely ruled out," Simmons added, "but it looks increasingly likely that he will stay closer to home in the Southeast." Haynes, a three-star prospect from Lansdale, Pa., decommitted in late July. The decision came just six weeks af- ter he committed to the Nittany Lions. Haynes removed the "Penn State foot- ball commit" tag line from his Twitter account on July 25, but the buzz had started building the previous weekend that he was having a change of heart. Two days after his decommitment, Haynes announced that he planned to sign with Georgia. He had camped with the Bulldogs in late June, after which he received an offer. Haynes became the second player in the 2023 recruiting cycle to commit to Georgia after previously announcing for Penn State. In June, three-star offen- sive lineman Joshua Miller switched his commitment from the Nittany Lions to the Bulldogs. The Lions also lost quarterback Marcus Stokes to an SEC team, with the three-star prospect renouncing his Penn State pledge in July and later re- vealing that he plans to sign with Flor- ida, his home-state school. — Ryan Snyder 2 0 2 3 H O T L I S T Q U A R T E R B A C K H T W T R A T I N G * H O M E T O W N H I G H S C H O O L Jaxon Smolik 6-1 205 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ West Des Moines, Iowa Dowling Catholic W I D E R E C E I V E R Derrick Bohler 6-2 196 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Miami Palmetto Lamar Seymore 6-0 173 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Miami Miami Central Edwin Joseph 6-0 171 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Hollywood, Fla. Chaminade-Madonna Prep O F F E N S I V E L I N E Nathan Efobi 6-4 282 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Cumming, Ga. South Forsyth Paul Mubenga 6-3 275 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Buford, Ga. Buford Samson Okunlola 6-5 293 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Brockton, Mass. Thayer Academy D E F E N S I V E T A C K L E Daevin Hobbs 6-4 257 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Concord, N.C. Jay M. Robinson Will Norman 6-4 276 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Camden, N.J. IMG Academy (Fla.) D E F E N S I V E E N D Joseph Mupoyi 6-6 220 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Washington, D.C. Archbishop Carroll Jalen Thompson 6-3 240 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Detroit Cass Tech Desmond Umeozulu 6-6 222 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Upper Marlboro, Md. Charles Herbert Flowers L I N E B A C K E R Kaveion Keys 6-2 190 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Richmond, Va. Varina C O R N E R B A C K Zion Tracy 5-11 170 — Oakdale, Conn. St. Thomas More S A F E T Y Rahmir Stewart 6-0 195 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Philadelphia Imhotep Charter * On3 player ratings as of Aug. 11 Nittany Lions Lose Two Verbally Committed Prospects