Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1490816
5 2 F E B R 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 W hen the NCAA made Febru- ary a dead period for college football recruiting, it amplified the importance of January. With most schools having only a few scholarships available in their current classes af- ter the December signing period, the first few weeks of the new year have turned into an opportunity for coaches to kickstart their efforts for the next recruiting class. While James Franklin and his staff did host two 2023 official visitors in January in high school offensive line- man Chimdy Onoh and transfer wide receiver Malik McClain, just about all of their remaining efforts were focused on the 2024 class and beyond. Not only did they crisscross the country to visit with high school coaches in person each weekday, they also hosted players on campus each Saturday in January. Penn State's Jan. 14 junior day fea- tured just over 30 players, more than half of whom had already earned a scholarship offer from the Nittany Li- ons. Three-star linebacker Anthony Speca of Pittsburgh Central Catholic grabbed most of the headlines when he committed a few days later, but there was no shortage of top talent. The guest list that weekend included two offensive linemen with four-star ratings from On3: Blake Frazier of Austin, Texas, and Ethan Calloway of Mooresville, N.C. Frazier, who ranks No. 157 nationally according to On3 and plays at Vandeg- rift High, was visiting Penn State for the first time. He's a Michigan legacy pros- pect whose father, Steve, played for the Wolverines during their 1997 national championship season. Many observers expect Frazier to ei- ther stay in the South or sign with the Wolverines. However, he said the trip to State College gave him something to think about. "I had always thought that if I went North, I would go to Michigan," said Frazier, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 260 NITTANY LIONS SHIFT FOCUS TO 2024 CLASS RYA N S N Y D E R | R YA N. S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M FOOTBALL RECRUITING Four-star offensive lineman Ethan Calloway of Mooresville, N.C., was among the visitors for Penn State's Jan. 14 junior day. Calloway was also at PSU for the team's regular-season finale against Michigan State. PHOTO BY GREG PICKEL