Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1488968
5 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M country, he's an accomplished wres- tler, having won the Virginia state championship his sophomore and ju- nior years at heavyweight. He'll enroll at Penn State in January. TYRIQ BLANDING DL | 6-2 | 265 Penn State extended an offer to Blanding, a Middle Village, N.Y., na- tive, in February. By then, the talented defensive tackle already held offers from 10 Power Five programs, a list that included Miami, Michigan, Or- egon, Pitt, South Carolina and West Virginia. By the spring, it looked as though he was less interested in Penn State than some other schools; he had visited seven schools in addition to PSU, all of which were further away from home than State College. That started to change in May. Then, on the weekend of June 10-12, he took an official visit to Penn State. Bland- ing left campus without committing, but he didn't make the Lions wait very long, publicly announcing for PSU on June 17. "I just like the environment there," he explained. "When I got to really see Penn State, it left a good impression on me. I wouldn't say I'd really been there until this last trip. I've been around Penn State, but seeing it this last time, I learned a lot. I thought it was just a bunch of farmland, but it's not like that. [Downtown] is great. The campus is great. It's the right place for me." Blanding holds a three-star rating from On3 and is the second-ranked prospect in New York coming out of Christ The King Regional. ANTHONY DONKOH OL | 6-5 | 315 When Donkoh committed to the Nittany Lions back on Jan. 28, there wasn't much information to be found about the Aldie, Va., native. The Penn State coaching staff had hosted him for just one visit about two weeks prior to his announcement. His high school, Lightridge, had opened only a few years earlier, making him the first FBS prospect to come out of the school's football program. Fast forward to the present day, and Donkoh appears to be one of Penn State's most impressive scouting jobs. Recruited by assistants Ja'Juan Seider and Phil Trautwein, he went from a little-known three-star prospect to a top-20 offensive lineman nationally by the time he signed. "In terms of the actual ability level and improvement, I think he's got some pretty good upside and is show- ing signs of being an ascending player and just continuing to progress," On3 scouting director Charles Power said. "He's in the early stages of starting to really put it together as a player, which I think is really encouraging for Penn State." Donkoh has a four-star rating from On3 and is the No. 273 overall prospect and No. 20 interior offensive lineman nationally, and the No. 5 player in Vir- ginia. He is set to enroll at Penn State in January. KAVEION KEYS LB | 6-2 | 190 Keys earned an offer from Penn State in January. A Richmond, Va., native and standout at Varina High, he took an unofficial visit to State College in the spring but didn't truly emerge as a realistic option for the Nittany Lions until the end of June when he came for an official visit. By that point, Penn State and North Carolina were the favorites, and Keys deliberated for nearly two months be- fore choosing the Tar Heels. The Nittany Lions kept pursuing him, however, eventually getting Keys back on campus for the Minnesota game in October. He stuck with the Tar Heels up until Dec. 8, just less than two weeks from the start of the early sign- ing period. Coming out of Christ The King Regional, defensive lineman Tyriq Blanding is the second-ranked prospect in New York. PHOTO COURTESY BLANDING FAMILY