Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1495456
A P R I L 2 0 2 3 5 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M The On3 Industry Ranking has him listed as the second-best athlete in the country and the top overall prospect in the state. Most believe his recruitment is shaping up to be a battle between Penn State and Ohio State. Other targets who will bear watching in the months ahead including four- star Jordan Lyle of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the No. 5 ball carrier in the land and No. 8 player in Florida according to On3; three-star Peyton Lewis of Salem, Va.; three-star Sam Williams-Dixon of Millersburg, Ohio; and four-star Duke Watson of Forsyth, Ga., the nation's No. 29 running back according to On3. Of those players, Williams-Dixon has been the most frequent visitor, having traveled to State College three times. He also announced in February that Penn State, Kentucky, Ohio State, Rutgers and Tennessee are his top five schools. Lyle has visited twice, while Lewis earned an offer during his one and only visit in January. Watson hasn't been on campus yet but is expected to take an of- ficial visit in June. If Penn State could land at least one of those four out- of-state players, then add the in-state star in Martin, it would be another great class for running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider. Wide Receiver Projected Take: 3 or 4 Penn State has extended of- fers to 60 wide receivers so far. That's an eye-catching num- ber, and more than a dozen of those players have visited at least once. PSU recently made a coach- ing change, dismissing Taylor Stubblefield in January and bringing in Marques Hagans from Virginia to take charge of the wideouts. With Hagans settling in at his new school, it won't be clear until this spring which of those players are likely to emerge as the Lions' top targets. Few of them have had an op- portunity yet to meet Hagans in person. We do feel confident that two four- star players — Chance Robinson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Keylen Adams of Virginia Beach, Va. — will be high up on the Nittany Lions' recruiting board. Adams, On3's No. 22 wide receiver in the land and No. 2 prospect in Vir- ginia, is planning to check out a few new schools this spring and will likely take an official visit to Penn State in the summer. Robinson, who On3 ranks as the No. 25 pass catcher in the country, has already confirmed that Auburn, Georgia and Penn State will receive of- ficial visits in June. In addition to those two, there are a handful of players who will bear watch- ing. Jerrae Hawkins, a four-star wideout who grew up in West Virginia but now plays at IMG Academy in Florida, has admitted that the Lions are early favor- ites. On3 rates him as the No. 40 wideout in the country. Four-star receivers Jaylan Hornsby of Camden, N.J., and Josiah Brown of Hicksville, N.Y., have both visited twice, including recent visits in January. Other names to watch include Rico Scott of Harrisburg, Pa.; Chanz Wiggins of King George, Va.; NiTareon Tuggle of South Bend, Ind.; Brandon Rehmann of Philadelphia and Elijah Moore of Olney, Md. All five currently hold three-star ratings. Tight End Projected Take: 1 This is one of the deepest positions on Penn State's 2023 roster. There's plenty of returning talent on hand, and the staff has also been encouraged by what they've seen from early enrollees Joey Schlaffer and Andrew Rappleyea. With bigger needs elsewhere, this is likely a year in which we see just one tight end added. Who exactly that will be is hard to say at this point. Four-star prospect Brady Prieskorn of Roch- ester, Mich., has long been considered one of the staff's top targets, but many believe he'll end up staying closer to home. He is considered the nation's No. 4 tight end and the best prospect in Michigan by On3. Assistant coach Ty Howle has locked up an official visit from four-star Caleb Odom of Carrollton, Ga. Odom is the third-ranked tight end na- tionally and has a host of top schools pursuing him. He's never visited Penn State be- fore, so that visit will be a big one for the staff. One other notable tight end who has visited is Max LeB- lanc. A four-star prospect from Chattanooga, Tenn., the country's No. 16 tight end came to campus Jan. 28 and later included the Nittany Lions in his top eight. The other seven schools on the list he announced in February were Duke, Kentucky, Miami, Three-star Maryland defensive end Jaylen Harvey is believed to be leaning toward Penn State. He's made six visits to campus so far but does not appear to be in any rush to commit. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER