Penn State entered its first official visit weekend, which ended with many of the top targets coming to Happy Valley to get a better look at the program.
As one of the first dates on the calendar for several recruits this crop, this served as an important time for the Nittany Lions to cement themselves at the top of the board or to ensure they are considered as more trips are made.
Even though there is still time to Jaime Franklin and his team continue to work to obtain commitments, ideally they will begin to increase their total of 13 to strengthen the class of 2025.
Since this was such an important weekend, information coming from different prospects who made the trip is key to determining who is a realistic target at this point and who could be taken off the board before the next official visits still on the calendar.
On3’s Sean Fitz was able to gather some information and share what he’s heard so far from the players who came out of this trip (subscription required).
Close to appointment
There has been an expectation for some time that Penn State will eventually land the all-state wide receiver Lex Cyrus who is rated as a four-star recruit. He has made six trips to Happy Valley, the most of any school, and it is one of his top priorities.
Fitz seems to think that will happen, as he said he is close to making an official pick for the Nittany Lions to land the speedster.
Cyrus will be taking an official visit to South Carolina this coming weekend, the other program that is actually interested in signing him, however, Penn State has done a good job throughout this process and could earn another receiver commitment soon .
Feeling good
Some of the Nittany Lions’ top defensive targets arrived on campus this weekend, and reports are emerging that they managed to stay in good standing as the recruits left.
Four-star cornerback Brandon Finney has become a priority and it looks like Penn State is in good shape after this weekend, even though it has more travel on its calendar.
Fitz said that the visit from Antonio branch It went very well and the Nittany Lions are still on top of his board saying a decision could come soon and that he is close to making a commitment to Penn State.
What may have been the most important development is regarding the four-star Texas linebacker Max Granville. Fitz reports that the Nittany Lions are feeling “pretty good” about where they are in their recruiting right now. It will be a battle to stop USC, Oklahoma and Texas A&M while he visits those campuses, but they like where they are after his visit.
Positive Buzz
Consensus Four-Star Corner Graceson Littleton It seemed a little unlikely going into this official visit, but it looks like they made another good impression on the Florida native before he headed out to see Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa.
Elite Wide Receiver Quincy Porter made his way to an important visit, and despite some pessimism that he actually sees Penn State as a viable option, with Michigan and Ohio State recruiting him heavily, this trip seemed to have worked out well for the No. 46 player in this class .
One of his other top wide receiver targets Corey Simms reportedly had a “really good weekend” as he likes the team and enjoyed his trip to Happy Valley. He was always seen as a long shot, but this certainly helped his chances.
Final considerations
Overall, there wasn’t much to suggest the Nittany Lions would secure commitments in the coming days, but that rarely happened on this program during the first major official visit weekend.
Outside of Cyrus and Branch, who already seemed close to choosing Penn State, there’s no certainty they’ll land many of the recruits that were on campus.
However, they certainly made a good impression on many of their top targets, one of the main goals whenever the Nittany Lions host prospects in an official capacity, and one that could have great importance throughout the rest of their proceedings.
