Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1492675
2 0 M A R C H 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 / / / / / / / T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 2 3 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / 2021, lending some drama to his recruiting saga. But the three-star prospect ended up returning to the class eight months later. He signed his letter this past Decem- ber and enrolled in January. Standing 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, Barnwell is listed as a tight end on Penn State's spring roster but could end up at a mul- titude of positions. "He's the tallest guy in this class," Franklin said. "We think he could play defensive end. We think he could play defensive tackle. We think he can play tight end, for sure. I think there's also a chance he could play on the of- fensive line. "Now, most high school kids don't want to hear that they're being projected to move to the offensive line until you show them how many first-round draft choices on the offensive line started at tight end. That's usually a pretty good story to tell." LINEMEN, LINEBACKERS AMONG PSU'S PRIORITIES A number of players in Penn State's class aren't going to need any convincing that the offensive line is an advantageous spot for them to spend their college ca- reers. One of the strengths of this class is the offensive front, with PSU having landed three four-star linemen, as rated by On3, and one five-star player. The five-star prospect is J'ven Wil- liams of Reading, Pa. Williams earned Class AAA all-state honors on Wyo- missing High teams that went 27-2 the past two seasons. The four-star players are Alex Birchmeier of Ashburn, Va.; Anthony Donkoh of Aldi, Va.; and Chimdy Onoh of Baltimore. Birchmeier was an early arrival. Though not as early as Barnwell, he was the player who stayed continuously committed for the longest stretch, hav- ing announced for PSU on July 15, 2021. So firm was his pledge that Birchmeier and his parents told Penn State's coaches not to come visit him in northern Vir- ginia. The Birchmeiers wanted Franklin and his staff to spend their time and ef- fort pursuing the rest of the class. "He made his decision," Franklin said. "He stuck to his process, and he never wavered." The 6-5, 275-pound Onoh was the last player to join Penn State's class. He had been committed to Old Dominion, but reopened his recruitment in mid- December and received an offer from Penn State a few days later. The Nittany Lions got him on campus for an official visit in mid-January, and with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein leading the way, they ended up beating out Michigan State for his signature in February. "I think Coach Traut and Coach Franklin did an excellent job with just being themselves, being genuine," Dundalk (Md.) High coach Tom Abel said. "They were never trying to sell Chimdy on a dream. "More importantly, they recruited Chimdy as a young man and as an indi- vidual. I think that really paid dividends in their recruitment for him. I think they did a great job." Even before Onoh joined at the end, Franklin was pleased with the versatil- ity of the new linemen, noting that Williams, Birchmeier and Donkoh can play all five positions if neces- sary. Donkoh is expected to start out at guard and will likely stay there, while Williams and Birch- meier will begin at tackle but could end up anywhere. Said Frank- lin, "That experience [outside], whether they stay there or not, will be valuable." Flexibility is also a key facet of the linebacker trio that Penn State landed. Kaveion Keys of Richmond, Va., Ta'Mere Robinson of Pittsburgh and Tony Rojas of Fairfax, Va., all received four-star evaluations from On3. Robinson and Rojas committed within 24 hours of each other last July, while Keys was a late flip, joining PSU's class in December after having previously been committed to North Carolina. Because defensive speed is such a high priority, Franklin said Penn State's staff tends not to recruit traditional middle linebackers. Instead, PSU fo- cuses on landing outside linebackers, then figures out once they get to cam- pus which ones are best suited to the Mike position. Of the three new additions, the 6-3, 230-pound Robinson figures to be the most natural fit in the middle, but noth- ing is assured at this early juncture. "The good thing is that we have flex- ibility with all three of those guys," Franklin said. "All three have really good tape. All three of them are really good students. I know they're excited about the opportunity of coming here, com- ing in and competing in what's going to be one of the better linebacker rooms in the country, especially the way we've been able to get Abdul [Carter] to de- velop in his first year on campus. "It's going to be a fun position to watch over the next year." A SHOW OF CONFIDENCE While they finished 14th nationally, down seven spots from the previous year, the Nittany Lions were second among Big Ten teams in the On3 Con- 2023 ON3 CONSENSUS TEAM RANKINGS Rk. Team 5-star* 4-star* 3-star* Total 1. Alabama 7 19 2 28 2. Georgia 4 18 4 26 3. Texas 4 11 9 24 4. Ohio State 0 19 1 20 5. LSU 1 17 7 25 6. Miami 2 13 10 25 7. Oklahoma 3 12 11 26 8. Oregon 1 17 11 30 9. Notre Dame 0 19 5 24 10. Clemson 1 16 9 26 11. Florida 0 16 4 20 12. Tennessee 1 11 13 25 13. USC 2 9 10 21 14. Penn State 0 14 9 23 15. Texas A&M 1 11 7 19 16. South Carolina 1 11 12 24 17. Auburn 0 8 13 21 18. TCU 0 8 16 24 19. Michigan 0 8 16 24 20. Florida State 0 9 9 18 * Star ratings listed here reflect players' On3 Consensus grades and may differ from On3's grades