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Penn State Football Recruiting Roundup: September 2, 2016

By Marty Leap

Apr 16, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; A general view of Beaver Stadium prior to the Penn State Blue White spring game. The Blue team defeated the White team 37-0. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren- USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; A general view of Beaver Stadium prior to the Penn State Blue White spring game. The Blue team defeated the White team 37-0. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren- USA TODAY Sports /
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With Penn State Football season just one day away, the coaching staff is beginning to prepare for in-season recruiting. That will start with visits this Saturday.

Welcome back to Victory Bell Rings’ weekly look at Penn State football recruiting. Each week I bring you the latest Penn State football recruiting news here at Victory Bell Rings.

Penn State Football is back, yay! At 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon the Nittany Lions will host the Kent State Golden Flash in their 2016 season opener. For a variety of reasons there is a lot of excitement around this game.

On Saturday, the Nittany Lions will be debuting a new offense. Fans and recruits alike are excited to see the new offense. Also, Penn State will host some recruits this weekend. So, let’s begin with this week’s recruiting roundup.

D’Andre Swift Commits

On Thursday afternoon four-star running back D’Andre Swift committed to Georgia. The Philadelphia native is arguably the best running back recruit in the nation for the 2017 recruiting cycle. He chose the Bulldogs over his other four finalists; Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, and Penn State.

While he did commit to Georgia on Thursday, Swift’s recruitment is far from over. I expect the St. Joe’s standout to take official visits this fall. I expect the Nittany Lions to be one of the schools that receives an official visit from Swift.

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If Penn State puts a good product on the field this fall, Georgia struggles, and the Nittany Lions blow Swift away on his official visit, then the Nittany Lions will have a chance to flip the four-star running back.

Swift is also cousins with four-star wide receiver Mark Webb who may end up at Penn State and would help the Nittany Lions’ cause. While flipping D’Andre Swift will be an uphill battle, it is one James Franklin and his staff are ready to fight.

Weekend Visitors

The Nittany Lions won’t have the biggest visitor list in the world or this weekend’s game with Kent State. However, a slew of players will be in Happy Valley this weekend. The players Penn State is hosting this weekend will be a mixture of current commits and un-committed targets.

Three class of 2017 commits will be on campus this weekend. They are linebacker Brailyn Franklin, linebacker Brelin Faison-Walden, and offensive lineman Michael Miranda. The Nittany Lions will also host a pair of class of 2018 commits in wide receiver Justin Shorter and defensive end Micah Parsons. It is great to get Parsons back on campus because his final visit of the summer was to USC, and he has a visit planned to Florida State in October. Make no mistake about it, the Nittany Lions will be in a dog fight to keep the nation’s fifth-ranked prospect on board.

One big target that will be on campus this weekend in class of 2018 quarterback Justin Fields. The Georgia native also holds offers from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech, among others. This will be Fields’ second visit to Penn State and he intends to announce a college decision before the end of October. The Nittany Lions are firmly in the mix here.

Lamont Wade Sets His Official Visit

Penn State continues to lead for four-star cornerback Lamont Wade. The Clairton superstar is one of the 50 best players in the country and is arguably the best cornerback in the country for the 2017 recruiting class.

Right now the battle for Wade’s services is primarily a four team race. These four teams are Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, and Tennessee. However, I still fully expect Wade to end up a Nittany Lion.

According to Blue White Illustrated, Wade’s official visit to Penn State will be for the Iowa game on November 5. Wade has previously said that he plans to take all of his official visits and announce after the season ends. However, it would not surprise me at all if he committed to Penn State following his official visit.

Based off a source I have been in steady contact with, Penn State remains the team to beat for Wade. For a long time Ohio State appeared to be in the driver’s seat. However, Penn State started to gain momentum with Wade during the winter and they took over as his leader in the spring. This has not changed at all, and Lamont Wade is Penn State’s to lose.

Next: Three Players To Watch On Saturday

That will do it for today. Make sure to check back in here at Victory Bell Rings for all of the latest news in the world of Penn State Football recruiting. Especially now that the season has begun and we are firmly in visit season.

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