Penn State Football Recruiting Roundup: March 22, 2017

Spring practice is ready to begin for Penn State football. Due to this, the Nittany Lions are about to become extremely busy in the recruiting world.

After a few slow weeks, the world of Penn State football recruiting is about to get very busy. The reason for this is the start of spring practice for the Penn State Football team. As spring practice starts, so will the visits to campus for class of 2018 and 2019 recruits.

Spring practice is a great opportunity for the team to get better, but also for the coaches to make a splash in recruiting. Hosting recruits for spring practices and the Blue White game are great recruiting tools. James Franklin and company are about to put these tools to use. In fact, the flurry of visits has already begun.

With all of that said, welcome back to our weekly look at all things Penn State football recruiting here at Victory Bell Rings.

Multiple Players Visit Campus

In the past week, the Nittany Lions have hosted four class of 2018 recruits on campus for unofficial visits. These four visitors were made up of three un-committed recruits and one committed one. First off, the committed recruit.

The committed recruit was the prized jewel of Penn State’s 2018 recruiting class — five-star defensive lineman Micah Parsons. The Harrisburg native was on campus this past Friday.

For Parsons, this was his first visit to Happy Valley since October. Prior to this past weekend, his last visit to Happy Valley was for Penn State’s thrilling victory over Ohio State back in October. Since then Parsons has visited Georgia, Ohio State, and West Virginia.

Keeping Micah Parsons committed will continue to be a dog fight. That is just the way it goes when one of the five best high school football players in the country is committed to your program. However, the Nittany Lions remain in a good spot.

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Parsons has been committed to Penn State for over a calendar year. Despite visiting other schools, his commitment has not wavered. This will be a fight to the very end, but the Nittany Lions are doing all they can to keep Parsons in the fold.

The Nittany Lions also hosted two other talented defensive linemen this past weekend. These defensive linemen were Tyreke Smith and Tobe Umerah.

For Tyreke Smith, this was his first visit to any campus since the last time he was in Happy Valley which was back on December 10. The Nittany Lions are currently in a very good spot for the four-star Cleveland native.

His home-state Ohio State Buckeyes are always going to be difficult to beat for Smith. However, if any program can do it that program is Penn State. In fact, the Nittany Lions may currently be the team to beat for Smith.

As for Tober Umerah, this was the Georgia native’s first visit to Penn State. The Nittany Lions made a very good impression on Umerah and have put themselves firmly in the thick of things in his recruitment. If he returns to Happy Valley again this spring, then it is game on for James Franklin and company.

One other visitor in the past week was three-star cornerback Trent Gordon. The Manvel, Texas, native visited Penn State last Wednesday. This was his first visit to Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions made a great first impression.

Most likely, Penn State will only take one cornerback in this recruiting class. James Franklin and his staff would love for that one cornerback to be Trent Gordon.

Ricky Slade Set To Return To Campus

On Wednesday, five-star running back Ricky Slade will visit Penn State.

Ricky Slade committed to Penn State back on February 3. However, this will be Slade’s first visit to campus since then. Ricky Slade is one of the leaders of Penn State’s highly touted 2018 recruiting class, as well as one of the best recruiters in that class. The more Penn State can get the Virginia native on campus the better.

A Top Defensive Tackle Target Set To Visit

Ohio native Aeneas Hawkins will visit campus on Thursday and Friday of this week. The three-star defensive tackle is one of Penn State’s top defensive tackle targets, and he is set to announce his commitment on May 10th.

While Hawkins is a Cincinnatti, Ohio, native he has family ties to Pennsylvania. His dad, former NFL player Artrell Hawkins, is a Johnstown native. This is just one of the many reasons why the Nittany Lions are in Hawkins’ top group.

His two day visit this week will be a great chance for the Nittany Lions to make a move with Hawkins. Especially with his commitment being just a little over a month away. Penn State would love to make a big move here this week.

Next: Early Position Preview: Defensive Line

That will do it for this week. As always, stay tuned here at Victory Bell Rings for all the latest news in the world of Penn State Football recruiting. Especially as the spring visit period prepares to rev up.