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Penn State Football Pro Day a Strong Recruiting Tool

By Alec Whitaker

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 28: Micah Parsons #11 of the Penn State Nittany Lions kisses the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Championship trophy after a 53-39 win against the Memphis Tigers at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 28: Micah Parsons #11 of the Penn State Nittany Lions kisses the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Championship trophy after a 53-39 win against the Memphis Tigers at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Penn State Football pro day has come and gone.

While the showcase is an important part of the draft process for former Nittany Lions, the coaching staff is hoping the showcase will bring in new Nittany Lions.

With Micah Parsons and Jayson Oweh putting on a show during pro day, the Nittany Lions became the talk of social media for the better part of Thursday. Both ran 40-yard dash times under 4.40 seconds, numbers almost unheard of for humans of their size.

Defensive end Shaka Toney also had a strong day, with a 4.45 40-yard time and 39 inch vertical jump.

Although much of their success has to do with natural born ability, Penn State Football’s strength and conditioning program played a role in their development and athletic capabilities.

The next step for Parsons, Oweh, Toney and the rest of the Penn State draft prospects, will be to get drafted. That will be another opportunity for Penn State to brag about the players that they’ve developed.

In the meantime, James Franklin and his staff will hit the recruiting trail, virtually, showing top targets the results of the pro day. Obviously, thanks to social media, recruits will see what happened on Thursday without the staff having to tell them.

https://twitter.com/TykSmith/status/1375107566930382849?s=20

One target who took notice was Tykee Smith. Smith isn’t a high school recruit, he’s a transfer target from West Virginia. The pro day showing may be more influential on Smith than recruits though. He’s looking for an opportunity that will help him get drafted as high as possible, with only one season to do so.

With Smith announcing his intentions to transfer on Wednesday night, Thursday’s pro day was at a perfect time.  As one of the best safeties in the country, Smith would fill a large void for Penn State.

Penn State’s 2022 recruiting class has been successful to date, with eight 4-star commits in the fold. Thursday’s pro day, along with draft day later this Spring, will only help the top 10 class rise even further up the rankings.

Having a chance to get drafted is one of the most important things a recruit weighs when deciding where to go to college, Penn State is trying to make that decision easier for them.

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