Blue White Illustrated

March 2023

Penn State Sports Magazine

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2 2 M A R C H 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M / / / / / / / T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 2 3 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / P enn State signed another strong recruiting class in 2023, placing 14th in the On3 Con- sensus team rankings, its fifth top-15 finish in the past six years. PSU didn't have any big surprises in the December signing period, and the Nittany Lions added one final recruit on the tradi- tional signing day in February when four-star offensive lineman Chimdy Onoh came aboard. There was, of course, some bad news mixed with the good. Four-star corner- back Conrad Hussey ended up flipping to Florida State in December, and earlier in the cycle, four-star defensive end To- marrion Parker backed out of his verbal commitment, eventually signing with Clemson. But with Penn State look- ing to maintain the momentum it built up during the 2022 regular season, the positives far outweighed the negatives. Here are a few thoughts on the just- concluded 2023 cycle: 1. An Elite Offensive Line Class I had the opportunity to watch three of Penn State's four offensive line com- mits during the 2022 season. J'ven Wil- liams, Alex Birchmeier and Anthony Donkoh all impressed in different ways, and with that trio already on campus and Onoh set to join them later this year, this is the most impressive offensive line class that Penn State has signed under James Franklin's leadership. During the 2022 season, the Lions made real strides up front. On top of that, we've already seen the impact of last year's class. Drew Shelton and JB Nelson both played more than 100 snaps last season, and while Vega Ioane redshirted as a true freshman, he could end up being the best of the three. This year's signees will need time to adjust, but assistants Phil Trautwein and Ja'Juan Seider both deserve a ton of credit for tag-teaming one of the best offensive line classes in the country. When you consider how much dis- cussion there was a year ago about the importance of offensive line recruiting, I think fans should be very encouraged. 2. Speaking Of Strong Groups … Back before the 2022 season, what was the other area that fans were con- cerned about? Good guess if you said linebacker. The emergence of Abdul Carter as a true freshman makes that room look a lot better than it did six months ago, but this is another position group at which Penn State's 2023 class ranks among the best in the country. Tony Rojas, Ta'Mere Robinson and Kaveion Keys are all four-star players who rank in the On300. Rojas is 92nd, Robinson 246th and Keys 263rd. It's the first time under Franklin that the Nittany Lions have signed a trio of line- backers who are that highly ranked. Robinson hasn't played football in Four-star prospect Andrew Rappleyea initially committed to Michigan but switched his pledge to Penn State last spring. PHOTO COURTESY RAPPLEYEA FAMILY Six Takeaways Here are the biggest storylines of Penn State's latest recruiting effort ANALYSIS BY RYAN SNYDER

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