Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1486024
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 5 7 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Melissa, Texas, and Darien Mayo of Ol- ney, Md., were the most notable 2024 prospects in attendance the weekend of the Maryland game. Mayo is an impressive-looking player at 6-8, 240 pounds. A three-star pros- pect from Good Counsel, he has been on campus a few times since the summer. Auburn, Maryland, Michigan, South Carolina and USC are a few notable schools that have offered. Smith is the 77th-ranked prospect in the country for 2024 according to On3. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M are expected to be among his top schools. However, he said that PSU made a strong first impression. "If I had a list of top schools right now, Penn State just jumped up there out of nowhere," he said. For the season finale against Michigan State, the Nittany Lions hosted one of their top 2023 targets in wide receiver Rodney Gallagher. A native of Union- town, Pa., Gallagher has been commit- ted to West Virginia since May, but with Mountaineers head coach Neal Brown on the hot seat, the four-star prospect decided to return to State College to catch up with Franklin and his staff. There were also four notable pros- pects from the 2024 class in atten- dance, including offensive lineman Liam Andrews. A four-star player, Andrews has now taken three visits to Penn State since March 2022. He's one of the staff's most important linemen in the 2024 cycle, but with offers from Florida, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Tennessee, there's no shortage of competition. ■ Penn State's 2023 recruiting class has continued its rise in the most recent update to the On300. Although no additional PSU recruits made the list, which was updated on Nov. 21, no one dropped off, either, giving the Nit- tany Lions a dozen top-300 prospects heading into the early signing period. Four players made substantial moves, jumping 40 spots or more. The biggest move was made by tight end Andrew Rappleyea, a Milton (Mass.) Academy prospect who rose 77 spots to No. 80 overall. He's now On3's second-ranked tight end nationally. Playing in only eight games this season, Rappleyea totaled 499 yards and 6 touchdowns on 23 receptions. He was also a threat rushing the ball, adding another 121 yards on the ground to give him 620 all-purpose yards. Defensively, the New York native had 45 solo tackles and 15 assists. He also had 6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions playing linebacker. "He's just a phenomenal route runner," said Charles Power, On3's director of scouting. "At the tight end position, I think what always stands out is a player's ability to separate within their routes and break off from linebackers and safeties with their change of direction. You can tell he's pretty advanced in that regard, and he prides himself on his route running." Penn State's other tight end commit, Joey Schlaffer, also made a significant move, climbing 48 spots to No. 187 nationally. The Exeter (Pa.) Township prospect finished his season with 888 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. The other two big movers were Philadelphia defensive end Jameial Lyons and Connecticut cornerback Zion Tracy. Lyons is now the fifth-ranked player in PSU's class, having climbed 45 spots to No. 125 nationally. Roman Catholic's season ended with a 14-6 loss to Imhotep Charter on Nov. 18. Lyons finished as Roman's leading tackler with 36 total stops, including 11 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. Tracy has now made significant moves in back-to-back updates. Previously a three-star player, he joined the On300 in September, and now has climbed another 54 spots to No. 200 overall in the nation. "He's an explosive athlete, very twitchy," Power said. "He's mainly just played receiver to this point, so I think once he puts all of his attention into playing corner, he'll just continue to get better and better." EJANI SHAKIR DECOMMITS Penn State's 2023 class lost one of its players Nov. 20 when New Jersey wide receiver Ejani Shakir announced via Twitter that he was no longer com- mitted to the Nittany Lions. A four-star prospect in the On3 Consensus, Shakir had been committed to PSU since May. He earned nearly 20 scholarship offers over the past few years, taking visits to Rutgers and West Virginia in addition to Penn State. Boston College, Maryland, NC State, Ole Miss, Virginia and Virginia Tech were a few other schools in the mix before he announced for the Nittany Lions. "First, I would like to thank Penn State, Coach Franklin, Coach [Taylor] Stubblefield, and staff for taking their time to recruit and host me and my family to an amazing university," Shakir posted on Twitter. "I want to thank the Penn State fans for all the love and support through- out my recruitment process. With that being said, I will be decommitting from Penn State University." This past season, Shakir totaled 42 receptions at Winslow Township, gain- ing 409 yards and scoring 2 touchdowns in eight games. — Ryan Snyder Penn State-Bound Tight Ends Surge In On3 Rankings After averaging nearly 22 yards per catch during his senior season at Milton (Mass.) Academy, tight end Andrew Rappleyea has moved up 77 spots to No. 80 in the On300 rankings. PHOTO COURTESY RAPPLEYEA FAMILY