Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1488968
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State inked 22 players on Dec. 21, the first day of college football's early signing period. As in previous years, there were few sur- prises on signing day. Only one of the 23 prospects who had been committed to PSU ended up not signing that day — safety Conrad Hussey of Fort Lauder- dale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas. Hussey was still undecided heading into the second day of the signing period. The class was 14th in the On3 Con- sensus Team Rankings and second in the Big Ten behind No. 5 Ohio State. Here's a player-by-player look at the newest Nittany Lions: MATHIAS BARNWELL ATH. | 6-6 | 245 A native of Fredericksburg, Va., Barnwell made history when he be- came the youngest player to ever com- mit to Penn State back in June 2020. Just a sophomore at the time, the Riv- erbend High prospect knew early on how well he fit in with the Nittany Lion football program, but pressure from other schools to look around, coupled with the departure of NFL-bound as- sistant coach Tyler Bowen, prompted Barnwell to reopen his recruitment in January 2021. In the months that followed, he saw his offers nearly double. Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Or- egon all extended offers, but it was Vir- ginia Tech that challenged Penn State the most. The Hokies hosted Barnwell on campus four times. In the end, his ties with Penn State's coaching staff proved too strong to overcome. Barnwell recommitted to the Nittany Lions in September 2021. Listed as an athlete by On3, Barnwell could play tight end or somewhere on the offensive or defensive line. He's the 23rd-ranked athlete nationally and holds a three-star rating. Barnwell will enroll at Penn State in January. ALEX BIRCHMEIER OL | 6-5 | 280 It's rare to see a player commit 18 months before he's able to sign his let- ter of intent and then actually stick to that pledge for the duration of the recruiting cycle. Plenty of players make their decisions early in the process, but most end up visiting other schools at some point. That's not the case with Birchmeier. An On3 four-star prospect from Broad Run High in Ashburn, Va., Birchmeier announced for Penn State in July 2021, becoming the first pros- pect to join the Nittany Lions' class. Considering that he's the fourth- ranked interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 66 recruit overall, assistant coaches Ja'Juan Se- ider and Phil Trautwein deserve plenty of credit for keeping him in the fold; there were plenty of schools trying to steal him away. Having earned more than two dozen offers, Birchmeier could have attended just about any school he wanted. Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State were just a few of the schools that pushed hard, but by the summer of 2021, it was clear to Birchmeier and his family that Penn State was the school for him. He was an Adidas All-American and was named to USA Today's All-USA Team. In addition to ranking among the top offensive line prospects in the Mathias Barnwell is a versatile three-star prospect who could fit in on the offensive or defensive line, or at tight end. PHOTO COURTESY BARNWELL FAMILY PENN STATE COMMITMENT BIOS Profiling the 22 recruits who are set to join the Nittany Lion football program RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N. S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M