Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544665
M A Y 2 0 2 6 51 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 6-3, 300-pound defensive lineman also visited Kentucky and Texas A&M this spring. It's believed that new Wildcats head coach Will Stein and his staff were in the best position to challenge Penn State, although Montgomery also has official visits set to Northwestern and Virginia in the second half of May. "At the spring scrimmage, Coach Malloe's technical coaching stood out," Montgomery said. "It showed in the D- line's play. I spoke with Coach Camp- bell, Coach [D'Anton] Lynn and Mal- loe about fit, development and building relationships. They made it clear how strongly they believe in me." Zahmar Tookes of Rochester, N.Y., is another coveted four-star prospect to keep an eye on. In addition to his April 4 visit to Penn State, he checked out Flor- ida, Georgia and Nebraska this spring. As of late April, Penn State and Florida were the two schools slated to receive official visits. The 6-3, 260-pound de- fensive lineman had a breakout season in 2025, totaling 85 tackles, including 15 for loss and 5 sacks, along with 20 quar- terback hurries. He's listed by Rivals at No. 181 nationally, No. 20 among de- fensive linemen and No. 1 in New York. Malloe's West Coast ties and Polyne- sian background have also given Penn State a real shot at a few intriguing pros- pects. That group includes George Toia, a four-star defensive tackle who grew up in California before moving to the Dallas suburbs. The 6-2, 300-pound lineman has a longstanding relationship with Mal- loe, who coached his brother Jay at UCLA the past two seasons. Toia is the nation's No. 184 overall prospect, No. 21 defensive lineman and No. 25 player in Texas. Two other three-star prospects to keep an eye on are Anitoni Tahi of Basha High in Chandler, Ariz., and Aniti Paiva of Skyline High in Draper, Utah. Ranked No. 89 among defensive linemen and No. 22 in Arizona, Tahi was planning to visit Penn State during Blue-White Weekend but was forced to cancel due to a family event. He's expected to take an official visit to PSU June 19-21. Paiva, ranked No. 93 at his position and No. 11 in Utah, did visit Penn State this spring and is now locked in for an official visit the weekend of June 12-14. "They welcomed my family and made sure that my parents were good the whole time," Paiva said. [A family atmosphere] is preached at a lot of cam- puses, but not everyone actually deliv- ers the package like Penn State just did by showing me how, as a unit, they're one big family." ■ C L A S S O F 2 0 2 7 C O M M I T M E N T S * Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Rating** Home School Blake Betton LB 6-3 205 HHH Shakopee, Minn. Shakopee Carter Blattner DE 6-5 245 HHH Allendale, N.J. Northern Highlands Ka'ron Ceaser CB 5-11 180 HHH Penns Grove, N.J. Winslow Township Landon Blum WR 6-4 210 HHHH Woodbine, Iowa Woodbine Jonathan Galette S 5-11 170 HHH Montvale, N.J. St. Joseph Regional Zachary Gleason CB 6-0 170 HHH Pittsburgh, Pa. Central Catholic Owen Reilly IOL 6-4 290 HHH Bel Air, Md. Bel Air Ryan Robbins OT 6-7 280 HHH Pittsburgh, Pa. Upper St. Clair Semajay Robinson CB 6-1 185 HHHH Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Dillard Jon Sassic IOL 6-7 280 HHH Pittsburgh, Pa. Central Catholic Kei'shjuan Telfair CB 5-11 160 HHHH Euclid, Ohio Euclid Cooper Terwilliger TE 6-4 215 HHHH Pierre, S.D. T.F. Riggs * As of April 27 |** Rivals player rating as of April 27 Three-star defensive tackle Aniti Paiva was forced to cancel a trip to Penn State on Blue-White Weekend due to a sched- uling conflict, but he's planning to be back for an official visit in June. He said he likes PSU's family atmosphere. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS