Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
O C T O B E R 2 0 2 3 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State's season opener against West Virginia on Sept. 2 wasn't of- ficially a White Out, but don't tell that to the 100-plus recruits and their families who attended the game. With more than 110,000 fans packed into Beaver Stadium and an opportunity at hand for the Nittany Lions to defeat a regional recruiting rival, coach James Franklin and his assistants squeezed ev- ery last player they could into the stands that night. By our count, Penn State hosted 56 prospects who already hold scholarship offers from the Nittany Lion coaching staff and more than 30 additional players with at least one FBS offer so far. It may not have been the actual White Out game this year, but the overall talent rivaled any big prime-time home game in the program's history. With the 2024 class just about finished, most of the attention was on its succes- sor. According to the On3 Industry Rank- ing, 16 four-star prospects were in atten- dance, and there's a very good chance that number will be even higher when looking back at this list in the months ahead, con- sidering that many players in the 2025 class are still being ranked. The two top-ranked players in atten- dance were athlete Trey McNutt of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and defensive lineman Trent Wilson of Baltimore. McNutt is an Ohio State legacy, a fact that will likely prove difficult for Penn State to overcome, Season Opener Makes Impression On 2025, '26 Prospects RYA N S N Y D E R | RYA N . S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M FOOTBALL RECRUITING Four-star defensive tackle Trent Wilson of Baltimore is one of Penn State's most important targets in the 2025 recruiting cycle. He's been to PSU four times, more than he's visited any other school. PHOTO BY THOMAS FRANK CARR