Penn State Recruiting: Philadelphia's Ken Talley Commits to Nittany Lions' 2022 Class
Penn State continues to build a strong 2022 recruiting class, as four-star prospect Ken Talley of Philadelphia announced his commitment Tuesday
Talley revealed his decision on Twitter.
A 6-3, 230-pound defensive end at Philadelphia's Northeast High, Talley is the sixth player to join Penn State's 2022 class. He is a four-star prospect, according to 247Sports, and among the top 10 players from Pennsylvania for 2022.
Talley had whittled his list of scholarship offers to Penn State, Arizona State and Tennessee. After a breakthrough sophomore season, Talley also received scholarship offers from Baylor, Florida, Michigan, Pitt and Nebraska, among others.
Talley has a strong tie with one of Penn State's staff members. Deion Barnes, a former Penn State defensive end, was the defensive coordinator at Northeast High last season.
Barnes joined Penn State's staff as a graduate assistant this year and has made an immediate impact, even though the team has practiced so little. Defensive coordinator Brent Pry said that Barnes' relationships in Philadelphia (he went to Northeast High) have helped the team's recruiting efforts.
"It was a great hire for us," Pry said of Barnes. "I was very proud of Deion, of the coach he's become. He's always been well thought of by our staff and everybody in our program.
"... I'm proud that he wanted to come back to his alma mater. It was very important to him. He obviously has goals and aspirations to become a big-time coach, but he also wanted to give back to Penn State and the student-athletes in this program."
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