Penn State Football Commit Breakdown: DT Judge Culpepper

The verdict is in, and Judge Culpepper has ruled in favor of Penn State football.

Penn State football’s 2018 recruiting class now has 15 members, including its first defensive tackle. Three-star defensive tackle Judge Culpepper committed to Penn State on Friday afternoon.

This decision from Culpepper comes on the heels of a two-day visit to Penn State on Wednesday and Thursday. These visits occurred after he last visited Penn State in April. With Culpepper’s commitment, Penn State’s 2018 recruiting moves up a spot to the  third-best nationally according to 247 Sports.

The Tampa Bay native chose the Nittany Lions over offers from Alabama, Florida, LSU, Nebraska, and Tennessee, among others. At 6-foot-4, 260 pounds Judge Culpepper already has great size. Once he gets into Dwight Galt’s workout program his size and strength will become an even bigger asset to him.

However, he is also very quick off the ball. He has an explosive first step which allows him to be a real terror for interior offensive linemen. This should only continue to improve with time.

Culpepper is also a high-motor player. He sentences opposing offensive linemen to four quarters of terror when he is on the field. He is a player that reminds me a lot of former Nittany Lion, and current Detroit Lion, defensive tackle Anthony Zettel.

Culpepper attends Plant High School in Tampa Bay. At Plant, he plays one of the most difficult high school schedules in the state of Florida. Considering Florida is arguably the most talent rich state in the country when it comes to high school football players, this is saying a lot.

Landing Culpepper is just the latest of great recruiting efforts by James Franklin and company. He is a Florida legacy that held a Gators offer, he also held offers from plenty of other southern powerhouses. However, he has picked the Nittany Lions.

This gives Penn State’s 2018 recruiting class two commits from the state of Florida. Culpepper joins the last player to commit before him, cornerback Jordan Miner, as Sunshine State standouts in Penn State’s class. Culpepper is slated to be an early enrollee in January.

Next: Lasch Bash Weekend Preview

Judge Culpepper is the first commit of Lasch Bash weekend, however, he most certainly will not be the last. You can watch Culpepper’s film here. Welcome to Happy Valley, Judge!