Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1492675
M A R C H 2 0 2 3 19 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / T H E B I G P I C T U R E / / / / / / / I t's never too early to start building your class, and it's never too late to finish. Those are perhaps two of the bigger takeaways from Penn State's lat- est recruiting effort, which concluded in February with the Nittany Lions landing the No. 14 class in the On3 Consensus team rankings. The Lions beefed up their offensive line, added speed and athleticism to their linebacking crew, and filled va- cancies in the backfield, secondary and tight end corps, among other spots. ESPN called it "one of the top classes in the Big Ten." The Lions certainly spent plenty of time putting it together. For James Franklin and his staff, the 2023 cycle began with a surprisingly early com- mitment from Virginia tight end Mega Barnwell and ended with one final ad- dition on Feb. 1, the traditional signing day. Did someone say surprisingly early? "As you guys know, Mega committed to us in, like, fourth grade," Franklin cracked during a news conference on Dec. 21, the first day of the early sign- ing period for the 2023 class. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but Barnwell did make school history when he announced for the Nittany Lions on June 8, 2020. It was Penn State's earli- est commitment ever, and not by a lit- tle. At the time of his announcement, Barnwell was still nearly three months from starting his sophomore season at Riverbend High. He was 30 months from being able to sign a letter of in- tent. For perspective, consider that his announcement came six weeks before the first commitment in the class pre- ceding his, the class of 2022. Barnwell's pledge came well before the Lions' coaching staff expected it. Truth be told, it came before they even wanted it. "We tried to convince him not to commit," Franklin recalled. "When he committed, we wanted to make sure he and his family were comfortable, that they truly knew what that was." Franklin's intuition proved correct. Barnwell decommitted in January Many members of Penn State's 2023 recruiting class were in attendance when the Nittany Lions faced Minnesota on Oct. 22 for the team's annual White Out game. Shown here (top row, left to right): defensive end Jameial Lyons, defensive tackle Ty Blanding, unidentified, defensive back Lamont Payne Jr., linebacker Ta'Mere Robinson, offensive linemen Anthony Donkoh, J'ven Williams and Alex Birchmeier, tight end Joey Schlaffer, linebacker Tony Rojas, quarterback Jaxon Smolik, offensive lineman Cooper Cousins (class of 2024) and tight end Mega Barnwell; (bottom row, left to right): safeties Conrad Hussey and King Mack, receiver Carmelo Taylor and defensive back Zion Tracy. Of those 2023 prospects, all but Hussey signed with PSU. PHOTO COURTESY BIRCHMEIER FAMILY