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Lamont Payne Commits to Penn State Football During Whiteout

By Alec Whitaker

Sep 11, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ball State 44-13. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on from the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ball State 44-13. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Not only did Penn State Football pick up a signature win over Auburn, but a top target on the recruiting trail saw enough during the White Out to commit to the Nittany Lions at halftime

Penn State Football landed a 2023 commit on Saturday night, during the Whiteout win against Auburn, in 3-star corner back Lamont Payne.

Payne tweeted his decision a little after 9 p.m. on Saturday night, as he and everyone else, were watching the Nittany Lions beat Auburn 28-20. Payne was in attendance for the game on an official visit.

The second member of Penn State’s 2023 class, Payne is from Bridgeville (PA) and attends Chartiers Valley High School. He is listed as the No. 308 player in the nation according to the 247 Sports composite rankings and the 33rd best corner back.

https://twitter.com/Lamontpayne18/status/1439397974115766274?s=20

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, Payne already has solid size for a corner back, considering he is just a high school junior. His other early offers include Pitt, Rutgers and Syracuse. With the way Penn State is recruiting, it is fair to believe that Penn State is very high on Payne, considering how early in the process they took his commitment.

The whiteout environment clearly had a huge impact on Payne, considering he didn’t even want to wait until the game ended to commit.

Head coach James Franklin is hoping that other recruits came away feeling the same way Payne did. With the way this program is playing and recruiting, Franklin should feel good about Payne being the start of something big.

With the success Penn State has had with in-state recruiting in 2022, the hope was that momentum would carry over to the 2023 class, and it looks like it may be headed in that direction.

Payne joins 5-star offensive lineman Alex Birchmeier in the 2023 class, which ranks 12th in the nation according to the 247 Sports composite.

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