National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 2nd, but Penn State Football’s class is nearly complete.
National Signing Day is the deadline for prospective players to sign their National Letter of Intent(NLI), but much of Penn State Football head coach James Franklin and the program’s work is done.
Penn State Football currently has twenty-four commitments for the 2022 recruiting cycle. Nine of those commitments have enrolled early at Penn State, and are already on campus.
Meanwhile, 14 recruits have signed their NLI and will enroll in the fall. That leaves one recruit, Tyrece Mills, that has not signed his NLI.
Franklin locked up most of the 2022 recruiting class before the season started and held onto the vast majority of the recruits.
The recruiting class is currently ranked sixth in college football and stands to be one of The Nittany Lions‘ best under Franklin. Since the recruiting class has been intact since late summer, Penn State will only have a couple of recruits to keep an eye on.
The previously mentioned Tyrece Mills is expected to join the 2022 recruiting class. The only issue holding up his commitment is some academics. Mills is signing from Lackawanna Community College. The safety is trying to follow the same path as former Nittany Lion Jaquan Brisker and current Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown.
The wildcard recruit for Penn State Football on National Signing Day is offensive lineman Olaivavega “Vega” Loane.
The interior offensive lineman is a three-star recruit out of Washington. Penn State started recruiting Vega late in the cycle. Even with the late start, offensive line coach Phil Trautwein has made enough of an impression to get Vega to include Penn State in his final three choices.
Vega Loane is deciding between his hometown Washington University, Minnesota University, and Penn State University. Penn State was able to bring Loane in for a campus visit in January and was his final official visit. The crystal ball predictions all favor Washington, but until pen meets paper, nothing is final. Vega could propel Penn States’ class to a top-five ranking depending on how other teams finish this recruiting cycle.
Regardless of the outcomes of Mills and Loane, James Franklin is building momentum again on the recruiting trail. The 2022 recruiting class will finish in the top seven and be labeled a success for a Penn State staff that struggled in 2021. If Mills and Loane sign, it will be the cherry on top for the 2022 recruiting class.