Blue White Illustrated

January 2023

Penn State Sports Magazine

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mitting to the Nittany Lions on July 11. "It's definitely a dream come true," he said. "Watching TV, watching Sa- quon [Barkley] and all that — I always wanted to play in front of 107,000 fans at Penn State." Montgomery was forced to miss his senior season this past fall after tearing his ACL in Scranton Prep's final pre- season game. Nevertheless, On3 rates him as the No. 21 running back nation- ally and the No. 8 prospect in Pennsyl- vania for the 2023 class. JOSEPH MUPOYI DE | 6-4 | 235 A native of the Democratic Repub- lic of the Congo, Mupoyi came to the United States to pursue a basketball scholarship. Enrolling at Archbishop Carroll in Washington, D.C., he played that sport for one year before his size and athleticism grabbed the attention of head football coach Robert Harris Jr. and his staff. Playing alongside five-star pros- pect Nykoles Harbor, Mupoyi grabbed the attention of multiple Power Five schools. In addition to Penn State, he received offers from Miami, Michigan, Michigan State and Ole Miss shortly after his first season. Ahead of his senior year, Mupoyi transferred to St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Conn. By then, Auburn, Lou- isville, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech were the main schools pursuing him, but Penn State's academic offerings and proximity to his host family in Wash- ington, D.C., played big roles in Mu- poyi committing on Dec. 12. On3 has graded him as a four-star prospect. "He's just an all-around amazing athlete," said former NFL wide receiver Josh Morgan, who coached Mupoyi at Archbishop Carroll. "He's eager to learn, physically gifted, athletically gifted, and he doesn't have any bad habits, because he's just learning." DAKAARI NELSON S | 6-3 | 194 When Nelson made the 14-hour drive on his own dime from his home in Selma, Ala., to State College to watch Penn State shut out Rutgers in November 2021, his interest in the Nit- tany Lions was evident. He joined the class in June 2022 after his second trip to Happy Valley. Despite late charges from Auburn and Ole Miss, Penn State was able to sign the versatile defensive back, who could eventually be a line- backer. To start out, Nelson will fill the role of a big safety. He was a first-team Class 5A all-state selection following his senior season at Selma High and Penn State inked its latest top-15 signing class of the James Franklin era on Dec. 21. Now, it's time to take a deeper dive with a rundown of the superla- tives from the class of 2023. Head Of The Class The Nittany Lions signed only one five-star pros- pect in this cycle: offensive lineman J'ven Williams. He is the No. 35 overall player nationally in the On3 Consensus rankings and the top player in Pennsylvania. On3's scouts have ranked him No. 6 nationally, and every recruiting service has him inside of the top 10 at his position and in the top 100 nationally. Williams, who stands 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, will start his Penn State career at tackle. Most Impressive 'Get' Let's go with four-star cornerback Elliot Wash- ington of Venice, Fla. A one-time Alabama pledge, Washington backed out of his commitment to the Crimson Tide in July after taking official visits in June to Penn State and Michigan State. The Lions won out in the end. Total Commitment Four-star offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier was the longest-tenured Penn State commit before signing his letter of intent. The Ashburn, Va., stand- out pledged to the Lions two months before any other recruit in the 2023 cycle, announcing for PSU way back on July 15, 2021. A consensus top-100 player nationally, he had no shortage of opportuni- ties to go elsewhere but held firm with Penn State. Signing Day Surprise Not a surprise exactly; there had been abun- dant speculation about Conrad Hussey's status in the days leading up to the December signing period. Still, Penn State's class appeared to suffer a blow when the four-star safety from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., failed to sign on Dec. 21. Hussey's plans were unclear as of the second day of the three-day sign- ing period. Long-Distance Dedication Four-star safety King Mack, one of Hussey's teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauder- dale, lives 1,023 miles from Penn State's campus. Distance was not a factor during his recruitment, though. Four-Star Who Could Play Like A Five-Star We'll go with Fairfax, Va., linebacker Tony Rojas. He was The Washington Post's All-Met Player of the Year on offense and was quite good on de- fense, too — which is where he'll play in college. Don't be surprised if Rojas is a first-year contribu- tor for the Nittany Lions. Road Graders Birchmeier and Williams both belong here. They've put numerous devastating blocks on film throughout their high school careers, and both possess the kind of nasty streak college coaches love to see in offensive linemen. Position Switcher Barnwell is the most straightforward choice here. A onetime tight end recruit, he is now listed as an athlete and projects as a future lineman. Standing 6-6, 245 pounds, he is expected to start his Penn State career on the defensive front. However, a move to offense can't be ruled out. Lead Recruiters Running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider had another outstanding cycle on the recruiting trail. He's listed as the primary recruiter for eight of the team's 22 high school signees and is the secondary recruiter for a ninth player. Seider often worked in tandem with safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, who was terrific as well. So, too, was cornerbacks coach Terry Smith. PENN STATE SIGNING DAY SUPERLATIVES Rounding up the highlights of PSU's December recruiting haul 5 4 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

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