Penn State Football recruiting: What’s left for Nittany Lions to do in 2022?

Linebacker

While the holes to fill on offense look like luxuries, the ones on defense are needs.

Penn State Football only has one linebacker committed in the 2022 class, 3-star Keon Wylie. They will need to compliment him with at least one more.

Brent Pry took two linebackers in 2021 in Kobe King and Jamari Buddin, but both of them project best as inside linebackers. The goal in 2022 is to find outside guys.

There a few options for Penn State Football to target to fill these needs.

The first is 4-star Abdul Carter from Philadelphia. The athletic outside linebacker has grabbed the attention of some Southern schools as well. Carter looks like a prototypical Will linebacker at Penn State, maybe not  to the extent Micah Parsons was, but getting an athlete like Carter would be a big victory.

Regardless of whether Penn State lands Carter, they will keep the heat on for 4-star Jaishawn Barham from St. Frances Academy in Maryland. Rated as a top 100 recruit, Barham is one of the best linebackers in the country and Penn State has had their eyes on him for a while. This recruitment has been a quiet one, but the longer it goes, the more the Nittany Lions have a chance to pull this one out.

Another notable linebacker is Wesley Bissainthe, who officially visited back in June. It may be a tough pull for Penn State with so many Southern schools after the Florida 4-star, but with Ja’Juan Seider on the staff, Penn State always has a shot with a Florida recruit.

Carter and Barham could both end up Nittany Lions, but if things trend in a different direction, the linebacker board may widen in the Fall.