Penn State Football Hosts a Key Recruiting Weekend

After two weekends entertaining dozens of prospects, Penn State hosts an important group recruiting tour this weekend. This is official-visit weekend for many of the committed prospects in the Penn State football 2025 recruiting class, a chance for the future Nittany Lions to bond and team-build for the future.

At least a dozen of Penn State's 14 commits in the 2025 class are scheduled to make a collective official visit to State College this weekend. Among them are 4-star prospects D.J. McClary, a linebacker from New Jersey; Alvin Henderson, a running back from Alabama; and Dayshaun Burnett, a linebacker from Pittsburgh. Quarterback Bekkem Kritza will be on campus as well.

As Penn State coach James Franklin looks to grow the 2025 class, he also understands the importance of retention, especially with committed players who won't sign their Letters of Intent until December. This weekend also offers a chance for the 2025 class to get around their position coaches and coordinators in a relaxed environment in their future surroundings.

Further, it's a chance for Franklin to gather the group for conversations about NIL and the opportunities and expectations that come with it.

"I think all these things are really good opportunities when handled the right way," Franklin said this spring. "But I also think there’s an important lesson in all this to still keep the main thing the main thing: getting really good grades and playing good football and putting the team in position to win and to put themselves in position to be able to chase their long-terms goals on and off the field. And I know their brand is part of that, but I don’t think any of them come here because of their brand.

"They come here to get a great education, play big-time football and then have these opportunities and be supported in these opportunities. So we’ve got to make sure we keep things in those categories and in that order: school and football [are] 1a and 1b, and then the brand all that good stuff."

Penn State's 2025 recruiting class recently received its 14th commitment from 4-star California cornerback Daryus Dixson, who took his official visit last weekend. Upon committing, Dixson became the class' highest-ranked player, according to the 247Sports Composite.

But Penn State isn't hosting just commits this weekend. Franklin and his staff will welcome a notable group of uncommitted players for official visits. Leading the group is Andrew Olesh, a 4-star tight end from Pennsylvania's Southern Lehigh High who is among the nation's top-ranked players at his position, according to the 247Sports Composite. Olesh's official-visit calendar this month began at Alabama, continued at Florida, moves to Penn State this weekend and continues next week at Michigan.

Penn State also is scheduled to host cornerback Jahmir Joseph, a 4-star prospect from St. Joseph Regional in New Jersey. Joseph recently visited Stanford and Notre Dame and is scheduled to visit South Carolina next week.

More Penn State Football Recruiting

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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.