Penn State Football Recruiting Roundup: Junior Day on tap, new offers, and more

Welcome back to the weekly look at all things Penn State football recruiting here at Victory Bell Rings – the recruiting roundup

It has been a busy week in the world of Penn State football recruiting. Additionally, a very busy weekend is on tap for James Franklin and his coaching staff.

In the past week the Nittany Lion coaching staff has been busy handing out a plethora of new offers, while also hitting the road to recruit. On top of that, Penn State is also set to host its first Junior Day of 2018 this weekend. The Nittany Lions also picked up a big preferred walk-on (PWO) on Monday.

There is a lot to discuss this week, so let’s begin this week’s Penn State football recruiting roundup.

Recapping last weekend’s official visitors

We will start by recapping last week’s official visitors. Four-star wide receiver signee Jahan Dotson and four-star offensive lineman Juice Scruggs both officially visited Penn State this past weekend. Dotson and Scruggs were joined by kicker Vlad Hilling from Hollidaysburg.

Despite holding offers from Army and Rutgers, following his visit, Hilling has decided to be a PWO at Penn State.

The Ukranian native will get to campus in June and will have the opportunity to see playing time as a true freshman in the fall.

Junior Day on tap

This weekend will be a huge recruiting weekend in Happy Valley. The reason is due to the Nittany Lion coaching staff preparing to host their big Junior Day event this weekend.

Noteworthy visitors to campus this weekend will include linebacker Andre White, offensive lineman Caedan Wallace, tight end Jahleel Billingsley, wide receiver John Metchie, and defensive back Tyler Rudolph. In total, the Nittany Lions will be hosting more than 30 recruits this weekend.

Class of 2019 commits Keaton Ellis and TaQuan Roberson will be in town as well.

It would not be a surprise to see Penn State pick up a commitment this weekend. Even if they do not, a lot of the players on campus this weekend will most likely end up in the Nittany Lions’ 2019 recruiting class when things are all said and done.

New offers go out

This past week James Franklin and his staff have been busy handing out new scholarship offers to players in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 recruiting cycles.

One assistant coach who has been especially busy has been new running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider. The Florida native and ex-Gator assistant has hit the Sunshine State hard extending new scholarship offers. Wide receivers Frank Ladson and John Dunmore, safety Josh Sanguinetti, cornerback Kaiir Elam, athlete Mark Richards, and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson are all among the class of 2019 Floridian prospects to be offered by Seider this past week. Dunmore had previously been committed to Florida where Seider was his primary recruiter.

Each of these players offered held a previous relationship with Ja’Juan Seider. Now the Nittany Lion coaching staff will work to get them on campus for a visit. Anytime that happens, a school will have a chance with a player.

Five-star class of 2019 running back Noah Cain out of IMG Academy in Florida also picked up an offer this week. Cain then told Tyler Donohue of Land of 10 that he plans to visit Penn State this spring.

The Nittany Lion coaches were also busy in the DMV this past week. Five-star class of 2019 running back Marshawn Lloyd from national powerhouse DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, class of 2020 wide receiver Rakim Jarrett from St. John’s College in D.C., and class of 2021 quarterback Caleb Williams also from D.C. were all offered this past week.

Getting in early on Williams could pay dividends for the Nittany Lions as he is shaping up to be one of the best quarterbacks in the country in the 2021 recruiting cycle. Look for the Nittany Lions to be among the teams to beat for Lloyd and Jarrett throughout their recruitments.

Coaches hit the road

As they made known on Twitter, the Nittany Lion coaching staff was all over the place this week. On top of making stops in Pennsylvania and the DMV, coaches also made stops at schools in the Midwest and in Florida.

According to Lions 247, one player the coaching staff visited this week was class of 2019 offensive lineman Darnell Wright. The top-100 offensive tackle is a native of Huntington, West Virginia, and was also offered by the Nittany Lions this week.

The battle for Rasheed Walker

The war that has been top-100 Rasheed Walker‘s recruitment is closing in on its finish. The Waldorf, Maryland, native is set to announce his commit and sign his letter of intent on signing day this upcoming Wednesday. While Virginia Tech remains in the mix, Walker will choose between Ohio State and Penn State.

Justin Fuente, Urban Meyer, and James Franklin all did their in-home visits with Walker this past week. He has also taken an official visit to all three schools. Each coaching staff has done all they can and now it is time to play the waiting the game.

Right now, the signs seem to be positive for Penn State. Not only have the Nittany Lions long been Walker’s leader, the recent movement in the 247 Sports’ Crystal Ball has been in favor of the Nittany Lions.

It appears that James Franklin is on his way to adding another top-100 player to his highly touted class of 2018 recruiting class, while also, once again, beating Urban Meyer on the recruiting trail in the process.

Next: Class of 2018 signee profile: Judge Culpepper

That will do it for this week. As always, stay tuned here at Victory Bell Rings for all of the latest news in the world of Penn State football recruiting.