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Penn State Football Recruiting Roundup: June 29, 2016

By Marty Leap

Sep 26, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lion players kneel in the end zone prior to the game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated San Diego State 37-21. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Sep 26, 2015; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lion players kneel in the end zone prior to the game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated San Diego State 37-21. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O /
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Even though the summer recruiting dead period is about to begin, this is still a busy time in the world of Penn State Football Recruiting.

Welcome to our weekly look at all things Penn State football recruiting here at Victory Bell Rings with this week’s recruiting roundup. Even though we are about to enter the summer dead period for recruiting, there is still plenty of Penn State Football Recruiting news to cover.

The Nittany Lions hosted a huge visitor on campus over the weekend, made the top groups of a pair of players, and have commits/targets preparing for next weekend’s The Opening competition in Oregon. So with all that said, let’s dive into this week’s recruiting roundup.

Five Star Running Back Visits Campus

This past weekend, five-star St. Joe’s Prep (Philadelphia) star running back D’Andre Swift visited Happy Valley. This was Swift’s third visit to Penn State since the first of the year. The Nittany Lions are firmly in the mix for Swift, who is arguably the best running back in the country.

The competition for Swift’s services is a five team race between Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, and Penn State. However, Clemson, Georgia, and Penn State seem to have separated themselves from the pack some. That said, I believe the Nittany Lions currently run second at best, with Georgia currently being Swift’s leader. If Swift were announcing his college decision today, I one hundred percent believe it would be Georgia.

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Swift’s recruitment is one that is far from over. He will take an official visit to each of his five finalists this fall, before making a decision after the season. Swift has a lot of ties to Penn State and this will help the Nittany Lions. His former high school teammate John Reid has loved his time at Penn State so far, and the St. Joe’s coaching staff is extremely high on Coach Franklin. Furthermore, many of the people around Swift want him at Penn State.

Ultimately, I believe it comes down to what happens on the field this fall. If the Nittany Lions show an improved offense and win more games, I believe they will land Swift. If this not happen, I believe he goes south.

D’Andre Swift’s recruitment will be an absolute battle, but it is a battle that the Nittany Lions will be in until the end.

Penn State Makes The Cut

Over the course of the past week two of the top players on the Penn State football recruiting board announces their top groups, and the Nittany Lions made each list. Class of 2017 athlete Derrek Pitts announced a top ten that included the Nittany Lions. Meanwhile, Penn State also made the top nine for class of 2018 four-star running back Jaelen Gill.

Pitts, a three-star recruit from Charleston (WV), is listed by most recruiting services as an athlete, but is being recruited by the Nittany Lions to play safety. Over the weekend I said I believe the Nittany Lions have as good a shot as anyone at landing Pitts. He will visit Penn State for the Lasch Bash in July, and I could see this visit making the Nittany Lions the team to beat.

Things are a bit different with Jaelen Gill. While Gill has visited Penn State multiple times already, Ohio State will be nearly impossible to beat for his  services. However, it never hurts to keep getting players the caliber of Gill on campus and to remain in their top groups.

Mullins Checks Out Penn State 

This past weekend three-star defensive tackle Derrius Mullins visited Penn State. This was the first time Mullins visited Penn State after the Nittany Lions began to express interest in Mullins back in the spring.

By all accounts, Mullins had a great visit to Happy Valley. Also, shout out to him for wearing a Captain America shirt on the visit. Derrius Mullins does not yet hold a Penn State scholarship offer, but I could definitely see that changing.

Right now, Penn State appears to be in good shape with Elijiah Conliffe and Dalyn Wade-Perry, if Wade-Perry does not get accepted into Stanford, but that is about it at defensive tackle. Otherwise, the recruiting board is hurting at defensive tackle right now. For this reason, I would not be surprised to see Mullins get an offer.

Next: Penn State Football Sets Home And Home With Auburn

That will do it for this week. Penn State Football Recruiting news may begin to die down some the next few weeks as the summer dead period begins this week. However, it should pick back up shortly there after.

The Opening is next weekend, and it will feature Penn State commits, targets, leans, and Matt Dotson committing to what I expect to be Penn State. Furthermore, the huge Penn State Football Recruiting BBQ, the Lasch Bash, is the weekend of July 16th.

As always, stay tuned here at Victory Bell Rings for all of the up to the minute news in the world of Penn State recruiting.

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