Penn State Football Recruiting: Early Signing Day a success

Penn State football recruiting made the most of Early Signing Day

It finally arrived. Penn State Football recruiting prepared for a big day as the Early National Signing Day period began Wednesday. The early period runs through Friday.

Let’s check out some updates.

Already Committed Players

Here is a full list of players who had committed prior to Wednesday: Five-star LB Brandon Smith (Mineral, Va.), Four-star OL Caedan Wallace (Princeton, N.J.), Four-star DE Adisa Isaac (Brookly, N.Y.), Four-star RB Devyn Ford (Stafford, Va.), Four-star WR John Dunmore (Hollywood, Fla.), Four-star LB Lance Dixon (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Four-star S Tyler Rudolph (Oakdale, Conn.), Four-star QB Michael Johnson Jr. (Eugene, Ore.), Four-star OL Saleem Wormley (Smyrna, Del.),  Four-star QB Taquan Roberson (Wayne, N.J.), Four-star CB Keaton Ellis (State College, Pa.), Four-star DE Hakeem Beamon (Midlothian, Va.), Four-star CB Joey Porter Jr. (Wexford, Pa.), Four-star OL Anthony Whigan (Great Mills, Md.), Four-star CB Marquis Wilson (Windsor, Conn.), Four-star TE Brenton Strange (Parkersburg, W.V.), and Three-star S Jaquan Brisker (Monroeville, Pa.).

Signed, Sealed, Delivered 

Players began signing the Letters of Intent as early as 7 a.m. Wednesday. Here is the most current list of signees: Four-star CB Keaton Ellis (State College, Pa.), Five-star LB Brandon Smith (Mineral, Va.), Four-star OL Caedan Wallace (Princeton, N.J.), Four-star RB Devyn Ford (Stafford, Va.), Four-star CB Joey Porter Jr. (Wexford, Pa.), Four-star DL Hakeem Beamon (Midlothian, Va.), Four-star OL Saleem Wormley (Smyrna, Del.), Four-star QB Michael Johnson Jr. (Eugene, Ore.), Four-star DE Adisa Isaac (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Four-star CB Marquis Wilson (Windsor, Conn.), Four-star S Tyler Rudolph (Oakdale, Conn.), Four-star LB Lance Dixon (West Bloomfield, Mich.), Four-star OL Anthony Whigan (Great Mills, Md.), Four-star QB Taquan Roberson (Wayne, N.J.), Four-star WR John Dunmore (Hollywood, Fla.), and Four-star TE Brenton Strange (Parkersburg, W.V.)

Running All Over The Competition

This year’s Penn State football recruiting cycle sees the addition of two of the nation’s best running backs coming to Happy Valley. Four-star running back Devyn Ford has been part of the Class of 2019 for a while, but big news came today when IMG Academy star Noah Cain announced that he’ll be joining Ford as the second star running back in the class.

Cain is considered the seventh best running back in the Class of 2019, according to 247sports.com. He’s an instinctual, quick runner, with a compact frame. He’ll cause all kinds of problems in the open field for would-be tacklers.

He was considered a heavy Texas lean, but chose the Nittany Lions at the last moment.

As for Ford, he’s considered the fifth best running back in the country by 247sports.com, and brings an equal amount of talent. James Franklin and his staff have done an excellent job at bringing some of the best running backs to State College.

Missed The Mark

A few Penn State football recruiting targets chose to take their talents elsewhere. Four-star wide receiver Cornelius Johnson (Greenwich, Conn.) committed to Michigan. He recently visited Penn State and would’ve been a great addition at receiver. Five-star defensive end Zach Harrison (Lewis Center, Ohio) selected Ohio State over Penn State and Michigan.

The Return of Linebacker U

The additions of five-star linebacker Brandon Smith, and four-star linebacker Lance Dixon, signal the return of Linebacker U for Penn State. With Micah Parsons coming back after a monster freshman year, it will be interesting to see how the chemistry forms between the linebackers. Smith is a monster. He recently won Virginia’s Gatorade Player of The Year after racking up over 130-plus tackles. Oh, he supposedly can run a 4.38, 40-yard-dash as well.

It’s safe to say that Wednesday was an eventful one for Penn State football recruiting.