Blue White Illustrated

PSU's national efforts continue Lions welcome California, Texas prospects as staff works to assemble 2019 class | P enn State's biggest recruiting week- end of the spring may be a few days away with the arrival of the Blue- White Game, but March and April have already proven to be two very busy months for James Franklin and his assis- tants. In addition to overseeing spring practice, the coaching sta5 has hosted more than 80 prospects for uno6cial vis- its since the start of March, 30 of whom either held a scholarship o5er previously or earned an o5er from the sta5 during their visit. The Nittany Lions also hosted their 4rst o6cial visitor since the NCAA's rule change, which now allows prospects to take o6cial visits from April to June. Tight end Isaiah Foskey of Concord, Calif., was on campus April 6-8. While Foskey was unable to be reached before BWI's print date, the fact that Penn State hosted him for one of his 4ve o6cials shows that the Rivals250 prospect has se- rious interest in Franklin's program. In the days leading up to his o6cial visit, Foskey, who stands 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, took uno6cial visits to Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Tennessee. He has no plans to make a commitment in the near future, so we're not expecting much news to follow in the coming weeks. But just hosting one of California's top 2019 prospects is another positive sign that Penn State's e5orts to attract national recruits are moving in the right direction. Another example of the sta5's push to become a national player in recruiting came March 24, as Texas o5ensive line- man E.J. Ndoma-Ogar took his 4rst un- o6cial visit to Penn State. Attending the second junior day of 2018, Ndoma-Ogar made it clear that he was impressed with what he saw. "Overall, the visit went extremely well," he said. "I spent time with Coach Franklin, Coach [Matt] Limegrover and several other members of the sta5. We started with observing practice. Since it was the 4rst day of contact, there was a lot of energy on both sides of the ball. We also toured the facility and spoke to aca- demic advisors. Walking through the en- trance of the stadium was impressive." He added that Penn State is "a place I can de4nitely see myself attending for the four to 4ve years I'm in college." Ndoma-Ogar already holds 40 scholar- ship o5ers, so he won't be an easy pull. Oklahoma is believed to be the favorite with the Rivals250 prospect, but he did inform BWI that he plans to return to Penn State in the summer. The presence of players like Ndoma- F O O T B A L L R E C R U I T I N G LONE STAR STATEMENT Texas prospect Ndoma-Ogar said he was impressed with Penn State after taking an un- official visit in March. Photo courtesy of Rivals.com

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