Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543434
M A R C H 2 0 2 6 6 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M stock is on the rise. Last summer, the 6-3, 290-pound defensive tackle camped at Penn State twice but didn't immediately walk away with an offer from the former staff. He went on to commit to Syracuse just weeks later, but his interest in the Nittany Lions never faded. Now, following a strong junior sea- son, Montgomery has nearly doubled his scholarship count, with Penn State join- ing the mix on Jan. 15. Campbell visited with the three-star prospect at his school a week later, and the meeting prompted a junior day visit in which Montgomery got to observe his potential position coach at PSU, Ikaika Malloe. Three days later, he decommitted from Syracuse. Many ob- servers now believe the Nittany Lions are the team to beat. "It was a really good visit," said Mont- gomery, who is listed by Rivals as the No. 59 defensive tackle nationally and No. 20 player in Pennsylvania. "I got a thorough tour of the facilities, and they were great. I had conversations with coaches about establishing a relationship with this new staff. I really liked them and everything they had to say. I was able to sit in a meet- ing with Coach Malloe and learned a bit." He went on to add, "I feel pretty good about PSU. It's definitely somewhere I'd want to go for the next phase of my foot- ball career." Betton and Montgomery may be rising three-star players to monitor, but there were also two recruits on campus that final weekend who already hold four-star ratings from Rivals. Both also have strong ties to Campbell dating back to his time at Iowa State. Linebacker Case Alexander of Wash- ington, Okla., is the younger brother of redshirt sophomore tight end Cooper Al- exander, who transferred to Penn State following the coaching change. Ranked No. 153 nationally by Rivals, Alexander is also considered one of the 10 best line- backer prospects in the class, checking in at No. 9 overall after racking up 276 tack- les, including 28 for loss, in his first three varsity seasons. The son of Stephen Alexander, who played for Oklahoma and later in the NFL, Case was once believed to be leaning to- ward the Sooners. But following his visit to Penn State, multiple national recruiting analysts changed their previous predic- tions in the belief that Alexander was now leaning toward following his brother to State College. "[They're] some great people, and they definitely put relationships first," Alex- ander said, referring to Campbell and his staff. "They do things the right way." Offensive lineman Will Slagle of Grin- nell, Iowa, was previously the lone com- mit in Iowa State's 2027 class. He's also a legacy prospect, with both his father and uncle having played for the Cyclones. And yet, despite his ties to the school, the Rivals three-star interior lineman has admitted on multiple occasions that his loyalty to Campbell and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton rates as high, if not higher. "My goal was to walk out of the visit and be able to say that Coach Camp- bell and Coach Clanton's values never changed, and I was able to do that," said Slagle, who is listed 18th among interior offensive linemen nationally and third overall in Iowa. "They still want guys with the right character that they can also develop. They don't want to bring a bad apple into the program only because they're highly recruited or ranked, which is exactly what brought them success at Iowa State." He went on to add, "After this Penn State visit, they're definitely contenders. It would be impossible to say they aren't, since I thought only two months ago that these would be my coaches." Moving forward, Penn State fans should expect recruiting to pick back up in late March. Technically, Campbell and his staff could host prospects as soon as March 2, but with the campus shut down for spring break from March 8-14, the first two weekends of the month won't feature any recruiting visitors. Just like last year, Penn State will begin spring practice in late March. That would make March 28 the most likely date for the next big re- cruiting weekend. ■ Listed by Rivals as the nation's No. 9 linebacker prospect, Case Alexander is the younger brother of tight end Cooper Alexander, who transferred from Iowa State to PSU in January. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS