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Penn State Football prepares for massive recruiting weekend

By Alec Whitaker

Dec 12, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin signals from the sideline during the third quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Michigan State 39-24. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2020; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin signals from the sideline during the third quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Michigan State 39-24. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Penn State Football is coming off a successful first recruiting weekend in the June visiting period, but the second weekend may be the most important to the future of the program.

The Nittany Lions are set to host 13 official visitors this weekend. The 13 are so highly ranked that they would make up the third ranked class in the nation, if they were in the same class.

The group is highlighted by Penn State Football’s top target on defense, Dani Dennis-Sutton, and the top target on offense, Nick Singleton. Both play a position of need in the 2022 cycle, with Dennis-Sutton being a defensive end and Singleton a running back.

Dennis-Sutton is coming off of a visit to Georgia, so the Penn State staff knows they will have to impress him this weekend to stay ahead of the pack.

Joining Dennis-Sutton and Singleton this weekend will be; 4-star DB Keenan Nelson Jr, 4-star DB Jaedan Gould, 4-star DT Joe Strickland, 4-star LB Wesley Bissainthe, 4-star RB Ramon Brown, 4-star DT Alex VanSumeren, 4-star WR Nicholas Anderson, 3-star DT Kaleb Artis, 3-star DB Jayden Bellamy, 3-star DE Joshua Josephs,  and 3-star DB Kevin Winston.

This is an impressive group, and all of the 3-stars are high 3-stars with quality offer lists, so the staff would likely welcome any of these 13 into the 2022 class.

Nelson Jr. is visiting for the second time in a week, after being on campus for an unofficial visit last Sunday. That is certainly good news for Penn State. Brown is one of multiple running backs that James Franklin and running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider are hoping to pair with Singleton, if they can land him as well.

Strickland, Artis and VanSumeren are the three defensive tackles at the top of Penn State’s board. They will likely only take one due to needs at other positions, so if all three come away from the visit with Penn State as the leader, it may be a race to who calls Franklin first.

Gould and Bellamy are high school teammates in New jersey and both are Rutgers legacies. Franklin can land a devastating blow to Rutgers recruiting efforts by landing the duo. Despite being rated as only a 3-star, Bellamy has one of the more impressive top groups around, with his top six being Penn State, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Rutgers.

Bissainthe is visiting from Florida, a highly regarded prospect like him is tough to pull away from the South, but with Seider on their side, the Nittany Lions may have a chance with a good visit. Winston is a safety target from one of Penn State’s best pipelines, DeMatha Catholic in Maryland. The Nittany Lions are once again battling Notre Dame in a recruitment, as they also like Winston.

Anderson and Josephs are probably the two visitors this weekend that Penn State fans know the least about. Anderson is a wide receiver from Texas who has already visited USC and has visits planned to Notre Dame and Oregon after his Penn State one. The Nittany Lions will get their other two top receiver targets on campus in the weeks that follow in Darrius Clemons and Cristian Driver, with only one spot likely remaining. The Nittany Lions dipped into Texas in 2020 and got receiver Parker Washington, that turned out just fine for Penn State.

Josephs is from Georgia, but the other school in hot pursuit of him is Michigan. He, like many targets for Penn State in this class, could be an edge rusher, but could also be a linebacker. Between edge and linebacker, Penn State still has to fill roughly five spots, so they will try to move past Michigan this weekend for Josephs. He is expected in Ann Arbor the following week.

Franklin and his large recruiting staff have their work cut out for them this weekend. With many targets hoping to make a decision before their senior season starts, this will be their last chance to meet with the staff on campus before making that decision.

Penn State’s 2022 class currently has 11 commits and ranks seventh nationally.

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