Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1492675
5 6 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 ranks No. 106 nationally and No. 12 at defensive end, included Penn State in his top 10 in January. Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Tennessee are also still in the mix. The Nittany Lions also made major strides with Philadelphia cornerback Kenny Woseley Jr. A three-star prospect from Imhotep Charter, Woseley had pre- viously been on campus three times, but with those visits being for camps and games, this was his first opportunity to spend an entire day with the staff. "Coach Franklin does a big presenta- tion, and he does a great job explaining what Penn State football is all about. He showed off the accolades that their student-athletes have. He has long-term goals, short-term goals and a lot of posi- tive things going on with the program," Woseley said. "I also got to sit with him after the ju- nior day. He was basically just asking me simple questions about how I felt about the program and the pros and cons about the day. I told him that the pros of the day were seeing the new weight room, which I thought was great, and meeting with the strength and conditioning coaches. "I actually got to meet with my posi- tion strength and conditioning coach, too. That was definitely a good thing. I asked him a few questions. There weren't any cons at all with me. Everything was on good display, and I really liked it." Woseley, who stands 5-11, 165 pounds, will likely take a few more visits this spring. However, the Nittany Lions are considered the team to beat with Penn- sylvania's 10th-ranked prospect. Two other notable visitors were line- backers Jamonta Waller of Picayune (Miss.) Memorial and Kari Jackson of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who plays for West Bloomfield High. Waller is listed at 6-0, 230 pounds and is unranked, but that is expected to change soon. During the 2022 season, he totaled 106 tackles, including 24 for loss and 11.5 sacks. He's earned 15 scholarship offers in recent months. Alabama, Au- burn, Ole Miss and Oregon are among the schools that are pursuing him. Jackson, who stands 6-1, 215 pounds, holds a three-star rating from On3. Shortly after his visit, he announced that Penn State was one of seven schools still in the mix. The others are Cincinnati, Maryland, Missouri, Stanford, Central Florida and Wisconsin. "Just being able to see the campus and see the different facilities for the first time, that was exciting for me," Jackson said. "Also, being able to sit down with the different coaches, talk to them one- on-one, I enjoyed that. Having my family there, too, and having them see all the same things I'm seeing, I thought that was good. I felt like we got the total view of the school, the campus and the city around the campus as well." In addition to the junior day visitors, Penn State has been making progress with four-star wide receiver Keylen Adams of Green Run High in Virginia Beach, Va. The nation's 120th-ranked overall player according to On3, Adams announced in early February that he was down to just four schools: Penn State, Pitt, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. "I feel like those are the schools that are putting in more effort and showing more interest," Adams said. Listed at 6-0, 175 pounds, Adams has visited Penn State and Virginia Tech more frequently than the other two schools. He's been to Blacksburg four times since June 2022 and to State College three times since July. While Adams plans to take more visits before announcing a commitment, the recent hiring of former Virginia assistant coach Marques Hagans, who grew up not far from Virginia Beach, is expected to help the Nittany Lions. "For Penn State to make him their new wide receivers coach is a good thing," Ad- ams said. "I feel like once he gets com- fortable with the system and playbook, they'll have something good going into this upcoming season." ■ C L A S S O F 2 0 2 4 C O M M I T M E N T S * N A M E P O S H T W T R A T I N G * * H O M E T O W N S C H O O L Cooper Cousins OL 6-6 285 HHHH Erie, Pa. McDowell Anthony Speca LB 6-1 215 HHH Pittsburgh Central Catholic C L A S S O F 2 0 2 5 C O M M I T M E N T * N A M E P O S H T W T R A T I N G * * H O M E T O W N S C H O O L Jaelyne Matthews OT 6-5 273 HHHH Toms River, N.J. Toms River North * As of Feb. 11 | ** On3 player ratings as of Feb. 11 Three-star Philadelphia cornerback Kenny Woseley Jr. plans to take more visits this spring but is believed to be favoring the Nittany Lions. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER