Penn State Football Recruiting Roundup: January 18, 2017

National Signing Day is two weeks from today, and the world of Penn State football recruiting is buzzing with news as signing day approaches.

Welcome back to my weekly look at all things Penn State Football recruiting here at Victory Bell Rings. This is the Penn State Football recruiting roundup.

We are exactly two weeks away from National Signing Day. As signing day approaches, the Nittany Lion coaching staff is looking to finish off the 2017 recruiting cycle strong. However, they are also looking ahead to the 2018 and 2019 recruiting cycles as well.

With all of that said, let’s begin with this week’s recruiting roundup.

Journey Brown Commits To Penn State

Last Thursday, Penn State extended a scholarship offer to running back Journey Brown. Later that night, Brown committed to the Nittany Lions.

Journey Brown was the 19th member of Penn State’s 2017 recruiting class. Additionally, he is the lone running back in the class. You can read more about Brown and his commitment here.

Tariq Castro-Fields Visits

This past weekend the Nittany Lions hosted one official visitor. That official visitor was four-star defensive back Tariq Castro-Fields. Castro-Fields is a native of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and a former high school teammate of Penn State redshirt freshman cornerback Zech McPhearson.

By all accounts, Castro-Fields had a great visit over the weekend. He will announce his college decision on January 23, and will decided between Alabama, Maryland, and Penn State. Additionally, this past weekend was his final official visit.

Tariq Castro-Fields does not talk much to the media. Furthermore, he is a laid back person whose demeanor does not change very often. For these reasons, he is a tough recruit to get a read on.

Personally, I believe the Nittany Lion coaching staff has done all they can with Castro-Fields. The assistant coaches visited him in-home last week, and James Franklin went in-home last night. Coach Franklin was accompanied by Sean Spencer, Terry Smith, Charles Huff, and the Big Ten Championship Trophy.

Penn State is in a good position here. I believe Penn State has a very good chance at landing a commitment from Castro-Fields on January 23.

However, he could chose any of his top three schools without surprising me.

Nittany Lions Fighting To Keep A Pair Of Commits

As signing day approaches, the Nittany Lions are fighting to keep a pair of their commitments in the fold. These two players are wide receiver Mac Hippenhammer and offensive lineman CJ Thorpe. Hippenhammer always dreamed of a Notre Dame offer, and that offer came on Sunday. As for Thorpe, he is slated to officially visit Michigan the weekend of January 27.

After being offered by the Fighting Irish, Hippenhammer took an official visit to Notre Dame on Monday. As of now, he is slated to officially visit South Bend the weekend of January 27. However, he will be in Happy Valley this weekend with the rest of the 2017 recruiting class.

The Nittany Lion coaching staff will do all they can to keep Hippenhammer. He is very close with wide receiver coach Josh Gattis, as well as the other members of the 2017 recruiting class. However, if he officially visits Notre Dame next weekend then, unfortunately, I expect him to flip to the Fighting Irish.

As for Thorpe, I feel much better here. He is a legacy recruit as his dad, Chris, played for the Nittany Lions in the early 1990s. Furthermore, CJ Thorpe has always been arguably Penn State’s most solid 2017 commit.

To be honest, it would not surprise me if Thorpe shuts things down after his official visit to Happy Valley this weekend. But even if he does visit Michigan next weekend, I expect him to sign with the Nittany Lions come February 1.

New Offers Go Out

Once National Signing Day passes, the staff’s attention, obviously, will turn toward the 2018 and 2019 recruiting cycles. But they are already looking ahead. In recent days, James Franklin and company have been very busy extended new offers to class of 2019 recruits.

Three class of 2019 recruits received scholarship offers from the Nittany Lions in the past week. These three recruits are athlete Kameron Brown, offensive tackle Quinn Carroll, and cornerback Tyus Fields have been extended scholarship offers.

Penn State Coaches Hit The Road

In the past week, the Nittany Lion coaches have been out visiting members of the 2017 recruiting class. Players that have received visits include Brailyn Franklin, Donovan Johnson, Fred Hansard, Jonathan Sutherland, Sean Clifford, and Yetur Matos.

I would expect the commits who have not yet received their in-home visits to get them later this week, or next week.

Big Weekend On Tap

This weekend is the big official visitor weekend for Penn State’s 2017 recruiting class. All 15 members of the class that are not already enrolled at Penn State will be in town to visit.

Brailyn Franklin, Fred Hansard, and Yetur Matos used their official visitors during the season. Additionally, Donovan Johnson used his in December. However, these four players will all be in town on un-official visits this weekend.

This weekend is another chance for these young men that play football together for the next 4-5 years to continue to bond and become close. Additionally, they get to experience what campus life is like on the weekends in Happy Valley. Furthermore, it is a chance for the coaching staff to try and lock up and commits who might be wavering.

Next: 2017 Early Enrollee Breakdown: LB Brelin Faison-Walden

Buckle up, folks. It is going to be a wild and crazy two weeks as the sprint to National Signing Day is in full force. As always, stay tuned here at Victory Bell Rings for all of the latest news in the world of Penn State Football recruiting. Especially during this crazy time of the year.