For Penn State Recruiting, Another Impressive July
In July of 2021, Penn State went on a remarkable recruiting run that led to 13 commitments (not all of whom stuck) across two classes. Though July 2022 won't match that for numbers, the month has been impressive for the Lions. In particular, Penn State had a week to remember.
Three players, including two of Pennsylvania's highest-ranked prospects, joined Penn State's 2022 class last week. The latest, defensive standout Ta'Mere Robinson, did so on the one-year anniversary of lineman Alex Birchmeier's commitment that got the class restarted.
As Penn State catches its recruiting breath, let's recap the past few weeks and explore where the program is headed.
Penn State's July run
Recruiting is a perpetual game of runs and setbacks. Consider what happened on July 15, 2021, when Virginia lineman Alex Birchmeier joined the Lions' class. Technically, Birchmeier was the second player to commit to Penn State's 2023 class, after Mathias 'Mega' Barnwell in 2020.
However, Barnwell decommitted before rejoining the class in September 2021). So things always can change.
That said, Penn State celebrated Birchmeier's anniversary with the commitment from Robinson, a 4-star prospect from Pittsburgh. Robinson capped a week in which the Lions received commitments from three 4-star recruits, each with a unique pedigree.
London Montgomery is the top-ranked running back in Pennsylvania, and Tony Rojas is the No. 1 linebacker in Virginia. Robinson delivered the 2023 class' 19th commitment and fourth of July.
Will Penn State go on a run similar to that of July 2021? That's unlikely, considering last year the Lions received a blizzard of July commitments, 13 in all from players in seven states across two classes. But the two years have a common denominator.
In 2021, Penn State benefitted from the restart of on-campus recruiting visits, allowing the coaching staff to perform its in-person magic. These recent commitment run has followed a similar course, as seven players who made official visits in June have committed.
Penn State is recruiting better in Pennsylvania
In its 2021 recruiting class, Penn State signed just one of 247Sports' top-10 Pennsylvania players, Lonnie White, Jr., who went on to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The last two classes have improved substantially, as coach James Franklin and his staff recalibrated their approach to Pennsylvania recruiting.
Penn State signed six of the top 10 of Pennsylvania's 2022 class, including top-ranked Nicholas Singleton. And Robinson became the fifth top-10 player of Pennsylvania's 2023 class to commit to the Lions.
"Everybody is saturating the state and placing an emphasis on that," said Andy Frank, Penn State's director of player personnel, said in 2020. That's key, since Penn State has to hold in-state talent as much as possible.
Staying strong in Virginia
When former Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry became head coach at Virginia Tech, he promised "to be competitive" recruiting the commonwealth against his former team. So far, Penn State has held serve.
Rojas became the fourth player in Virginia's top 20 to commit to Penn State. The Lions have more Virginia top-20 commits than any other program. The commonwealth always has been firm recruiting ground for Penn State, and Franklin is continuing that.
Increasing its presence in the South
Five of Penn State's 19 commits are from either Florida or Alabama, representing another large percentage of recruits from the South. Not all have stuck around over the years, but Penn State still remains committed to sourcing talent from a highly competitive recruiting territory.
The addition of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz will improve those prospects, said John Garcia, Jr., Sports Illustrated's director of football recruiting.
"I think the combination of [running backs coach Ja'Juan] Seider and Diaz in the South is something to be reckoned with," Garcia said.
What's next for Penn State's 2023 class?
The Lions still need a quarterback after Marcus Stokes switched his commitment to Florida. That's a substantial requirement since, as of now, the program will have just three scholarship quarterbacks for 2023: Christian Veilleux, Drew Allar and Beau Pribula.
During the time of the Transfer Portal and NIL, Penn State can't assume it will hold any quarterback from year-to-year. Watch for the Lions to get aggressive in an attempt to recruit an already committed quarterback.
Where is Penn State's 2023 recruiting class ranked?
Following Robinson's commitment, the Lions jumped to No. 3 in the 247Sports rankings behind Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Rivals: No. 5
ESPN: No. 5 (before the commitments of Rojas and Robinson)
On3: No. 8
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
