With the early signing period for the 2021 recruiting class in progress, Penn State Football will begin to look forward to the 2022 recruiting class
Penn State Football’s 2022 recruiting class currently ranks second nationally, with seven 4-star commits. They include: QB Beau Pribula, WRs Kaden Saunders and Anthony Ivey, TEs Jerry Cross and Holden Staes, OT Drew Shelton and LB Ken Talley.
Penn State’s 2021 class is a small one, currently holding 15 signees with the Nittany Lions looking to add only 2-3 more to the class by February’s signing day. With that said, the 2022 class is expected to have close to 25 spots, meaning 18 are open.
Here are the top ten recruits that Penn State should be looking at for 2022.
10. Abdul Carter
The 4-star outside linebacker from La Salle College in Glenside, Pa had a productive junior season that saw his recruitment expand. He went from a lowly ranked 3-star to a 90 overall 4-star, with the chance that increases before he signs next Winter.
Penn State is one of his early offers along with the likes of Michigan, Maryland and Ole Miss. This is one the Nittany Lions are trying to get to the finish line quickly, before bigger players extend offers.
His size, 6 foot 3 and 220 pounds, along with his plus athleticism makes him exactly what Penn State wants in a linebacker. With him being an in-state kid as well, this is one that James Franklin and his staff wants to win.
Pairing him with another Philly area linebacker in Ken Talley would be a nice haul by the Nittany Lions.
9. Keon Sabb
Sabb is a 5-star safety from New Jersey, but he ranks a little lower due to the Nittany Lions not being seen as the final destination as of now. Sabb has kept things quiet in his recruitment, but he’s already amassed 32 offers.
That list includes Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Penn State will have their work cut out in this one.
At 6-foot-3, Sabb has the frame to be a physical safety, but one still capable of making plays in the passing game thanks to his above average talent.
Sabb is more of a wish than a real possibility, as things stand today. But, the Nittany Lions are desperate for elite safety play, so they could sell Sabb on early playing time and not being too far from home.
This one is not close to being over, it’s barely begun, but it will be a battle for the Nittany Lions.
8. Jaishawn Barham
Another uphill recruiting battle will be the one for Barham. The highly ranked 4-star linebacker is probably the top linebacker on Penn State’s board.
He’s big, 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, and is quick and physical. He may eventually draw comparisons to Micah Parsons from Penn State fans due to his size and talent.
Despite being from one of Penn State’s better recruiting regions, Maryland, the Nittany Lions will have a tough time with Barham due to his school. Barham attends St. Frances Academy, the one Maryland high school power house that James Franklin hasn’t been able to crack into yet.
St. Frances Kids often head to the SEC, and now Franklin has to worry about the hometown Maryland, who has some momentum in recruiting thanks to their win over the Nittany Lions this season.
If there’s a prospect Franklin would like to reverse that trend for, it’s Barham. This one won’t be easy, but a successful 2021 season, and a win over Maryland, should give the Nittany Lions a swinging chance, especially if Micah Parsons is drafted high and it gives them some credibility at the position. We are talking about Linebacker U, after all …
7. Keenan Nelson Jr.
The Nittany Lions took two cornerbacks in 2021, and they may add a third before February, so the position is not a major need in terms of numbers in 2022.
Regardless, Nelson Jr., a product of St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, should be near the top of the defensive board.
The 4-star is large for a corner, at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds as a junior in high school. He’s already collected offers from the likes of Georgia, Notre Dame and Oregon. That list should expand before his senior season.
Penn State has gotten by with good corner play over the years, with multiple getting drafted over the past couple of seasons. That seems fine, but with the talent that Ohio State continues to bring in at wide receiver, Penn State is going to have to start to get elite play from the corner position to keep up. A top 100 guy like Nelson Jr. is exactly what the Nittany Lions need to compete with Ohio State.
This one won’t be easy, St. Joe’s kids, like St. Frances, don’t exactly come banging on the doors of Beaver Stadium. The staff has made more of an effort to make an impact in Philadelphia, and getting Nelson Jr. would be worth the work.
6. Mehki Flowers
Flowers has been towards the top of the board for about a year now. The Steelton High School product is a dominant force on both sides of the ball.
The 6 foot 1, 187 pound, prospect runs right by defenses as a wide receiver and brings the pain as a safety. The Nittany Lions are currently recruiting Flowers as a receiver, but between the great play of freshmen wide receivers this year, and a combined five 4-star receiver commits in the 2021 and 2022 classes, he my be best served on defense.
As mentioned with Sabb, Penn State is desperate for better play from the safety position and adding an athlete like Flowers would surely help.
The Harrisburg area has been kind to the Nittany Lions, and it is believed that they currently lead for him, but nothing is a given in recruiting.
5. Nicholas Singleton
The 4-star running back is arguably the top skill position player on Penn State’s board.
The Reading, Pa product has good size for a running back at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds. He has solid speed, last clocked at 4.59 40-time, although that number is from the Summer of 2019, so it’s most likely quicker now.
Penn State’s backfield took a hit this year due to Journey Brown’s retirement, Noah Cain’s season-ending injury and Devyn Ford’s numerous ailments, along with a death in his family. So, this year the depth has been bad, but Cain and Ford along with freshmen Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes should all be back next year. The problem comes after 2021.
Both Ford and Cain are eligible to leave and the Nittany Lions did not sign at running back in2021, although they are waiting to hear from Deshun Murrell. If they don’t get Murrell, it’s possible that Lee and Holmes are the only scholarship running backs in 2022 with any playing experience. Singleton becomes a necessity for the Nittany Lions in that situation.
Now, he’s not the only running back on Penn State’s board, but he’s the highest rated one, and he’s an in-state kid, he’s a need, not a want.
Penn State is locked in a head to head battle with Ohio State for Singleton, and with the way Ohio State has been recruiting, the staff better bring their A-game. Ohio State did sign two highly rated running backs in 2021, so Penn State may have the advantage in terms of selling early playing time Singleton.
4. Tyler Booker
The Nittany Lions signed two talented offensive linemen in the 2021 in Landon Tengwall and Nate Bruce, but both are considered interior guys to start their careers. Penn State has a 4-star offensive lineman in their 2022 class already, in Drew Shelton, but he is also seen as a guard at the next level.
With that said, Penn State will need to bring in some highly touted tackle prospects in 2022 and Booker fits that description. Booker, who attends IMG Academy in Florida, is ranked as a top 36 player in the class.
Due to him going to school in Florida, all the SEC powers are after him, including Alabama, Georgia, Florida and LSU. The only northern school making any noise in this recruitment is Penn State.
Due to the pandemic, first year offensive line coach Phil Trautwein hasn’t been able to make many relationships on the recruiting trail. The hope is that as time goes, he can do so, and with his impressive coaching resume, talented recruits will want to play for him.
Booker is a big time talent, and landing him would go a long way in the Nittany Lions taking a step forward as a program.
3. Dani Dennis-Sutton
Penn State is in some trouble at defensive end going forward. Shaka Toney and Shane Simmons probably won’t take a sixth year in 2021, and Jayson Oweh may enter the draft. That leaves Penn State with Adisa Isaac and Smith Vilbert as the likely starters for 2021. Next year will be an issue, but 2022 and the years after may be worse.
If Isaac was to have a good season, he is eligible to leave, and it’s a position that the Nittany Lions did not recruit well in 2020 and 2021. Talent and depth may be an issue in 2022.
Enter Dennis-Sutton, a highly ranked 4-star coming in at 6 foot 5 and 250 pounds. He has the build and talent to play right away as a true freshman, and the Nittany Lions may need him to.
He’s got schools like Alabama and Michigan hot on his trail, but the Nittany Lions should feel good about this one. The reason, he attends McDonogh High School in Owings Mills, Md, a school that has produced current Nittany Lions D’Von Ellies, Curtis Jacobs and PJ Mustipher. Penn State has built a pipeline with McDonogh and that relationship should help them here.
Not only is the relationship there, but so is the possibility of playing early and playing with some former teammates. It’s far from a done deal, but it’s not hard to imagine Dennis-Sutton in blue and white.
2. Gunner Givens
As mentioned with Booker, Penn State will be looking for elite offensive tackles, and they don’t get more elite than 5-star Gunner Givens.
The 6-foot-6, 275 pound Virginia product is considering the top offensive the second best offensive tackle prospect in the class.
He hasn’t been able to meet much with Trautwein due to the pandemic and it has hurt Penn State’s chances. It also doesn’t help that Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama are hot on his trail.
This is one that would be hard to picture the Nittany Lions winning, but when you have a talent like Givens in one of your best recruiting regions, you have to go for it. The longer this recruitment goes on, the better chance Trautwein has to build a relationship. If he takes his recruitment into next season, and Penn State is playing well, that could help, too.
Givens would be a cornerstone on Penn State’s offensive line and the early playing time pitch would work here as well. He most likely ends up elsewhere, but the Nittany Lions will stay involved.
1. Enai White
As discussed with Dennis-Sutton, Penn State faces some future issues at the defensive end position. Nothing would fix that problem quicker than adding the 5-star Philadelphia product.
White attends Imhotep Institute in Philadelphia, a school that produced Penn State’s current defensive end starter, Shaka Toney. So, there is a history with the school.
The 6-foot-5, 230 pound White is considerer one of the top prospects in the country and has the likes of LSU and Alabama after him. This will not be an easy pull for the Nittany Lions, as lots of Philly kids like to head south for school.
Penn State is trying to reestablish a presence in Philly, commit Ken Talley is from there and two other targets on this board, Carter and Nelson Jr., are as well. If Penn State can get those two in the fold, White may want to join the other Philadelphia products in Happy Valley.
White would be a day one impact player for the Nittany Lions, and he and Dennis-Sutton could give Penn State one of the best defensive end duos in the country.
This one will be a battle, and likely a long one, but if the staff can pull this off, they will have filled a big need and regained dominance of the state of Pennsylvania.