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Penn State Football Recruiting Roundup: October 26, 2016

By Marty Leap

Oct 22, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (center) is surrounded by fans following the conclusion of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ohio State 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Oct 22, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (center) is surrounded by fans following the conclusion of the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ohio State 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O /
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On Saturday night the Penn State Football team defeated the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, and it came in front of 150+ recruits.

Welcome back everyone to VBR’s weekly look at all things Penn State football recruiting. This is the weekly recruiting roundup. And man oh man what a fun one it will be this week.

This past Saturday was one of the biggest nights in the history of the Penn State football program. The 20-point underdog Nittany Lions shocked the college football world by defeating the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in front of 107,000+ fans. On Saturday night Beaver Stadium was absolutely electric.

Saturday night was a great night for both the present and future of Penn State Football. And, hopefully, big pieces of that future were on hand Saturday night. With that said, let’s begin this week’s roundup.

A New Offer

One of the 150+ visitors Penn State hosted on Saturday was running back Johnathan Lovett. The Burlington, New Jersey, native is a three-star recruiting according to 247 Sports. Additionally, he is currently committed to Rutgers.

Prior to visiting Penn State Lovett did not own an offer from the Nittany Lions. However, that changed on Monday night.

The Nittany Lions became the fourth power-five school to offer Lovett. It appears that he is a senior riser. He is having a huge senior season for Cherokee High School, and Penn State may not be his last offer.

Penn State does not have a running back commit in their 2017 recruiting class. However, the coaching staff would like to sign a running back in this class. If the Nittany Lions push for Lovett, I believe they will flip him from the Scarlet Knights.

Lovett is also the cousin of four-star class of 2018 running back Iverson Clement. Clement is one of Penn State’s top targets for 2018, and was also on hand for an un-official visit Saturday.

Effects of the White Out Win

Saturday night truly could not have gone better for the Nittany Lions. They hosted over 150 recruits, these recruits were part of one of the best atmospheres in the history of Beaver Stadium, and the Nittany Lions defeated the number two team in the country in a dramatic comeback. All of this created an absolutely perfect storm for recruiting.

More from Victory Bell Rings

Four-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris was on an official visit to Penn State on Saturday night. After the game he told Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports that this was the best visit he has ever been on. Four-star wide receiver Danny Davis told Wiltfong that “it was crazy.”

Defensive end commit Yetur Matos called it ‘special’ following his official visit. Class of 2018 five-star defensive end commit Micah Parsons was caught on camera after the game running around celebrating screaming “we shocked the world!” Four-star class of 2017 offensive line commit CJ Thorpe is also seen celebrating with Parsons in the video.

Some other important recruits that were on hand include Austin Fontaine, Blaine Scott, Ricky Slade, Anthony McFarland, John Morgan, Jornell Manns, and Evan Gregory.

While Penn State did not earn any commitments over the weekend, I expect this game to play a hand in future commitments. Saturday night’s victory was a program changing victory for the Nittany Lions. And the recruits that were there will not forget this atmosphere any time soon.

An Update On Two Guys Who Did Not Make It

Two of Penn State’s top targets that were scheduled to be there but did not make it are class of 2017 cornerback Lamont Wade and class of 2018 safety Isheem Young. While these two failed to attend, they both enjoyed what they saw at home on T.V.

Wade missed the game due to having a game of his own on Saturday afternoon. I will not post them here due to the profanity they include, however, Wade took to Twitter to express how upset he was in not being able to attend. Luckily for Wade, and the Nittany Lions, he will be on campus for his official visit against Iowa on November 5th. Ultimately, I still expect Wade to sign with Penn State.

As for Young, his ride to the game fell through on Saturday. This is why the Imhotep Institute star could not attend. Young told Sean Fitz of 247 Sports that he watched the game on T.V., though. Additionally, I spoke with a source this week that told me those inside the Penn State program believe they are the current leaders for Young. That comes as great news due to Young being one of the top 75 recruits in the 2018 recruiting cycle.

Next: It's Time To Extend James Franklin

That will do it for this week. Saturday night was a massive win in so many different ways for the Penn State Football program. And that most certainly includes recruiting.

However, the Nittany Lions need to keep their momentum going. They could very easily win out and finish the season at 10-2, which would do wonders for recruiting. At worst, the Nittany Lions need to finish 9-3 to continue the momentum from defeating Ohio State.

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