Penn State Football: The impact of Joshua Miller’s decommitment

Penn State Football lost a commitment on Monday when 3-star OL Joshua Miller announced he was flipping to Georgia.

The decommitment was the second for the Nittany Lions in the 2023 class, as Miller joins Neeo Avery in the decommit category.

Penn State Football is in the middle of the June official visit window, so losing a commit during that time is never good for momentum. Luckily, the Nittany Lions landed 3-star wide receiver Yazeed Haynes on Sunday, so it evens out.

Penn State’s class as a whole will be just fine. The class still ranks fifth in the national rankings and the official visits have been going well.

The question is now with offensive line recruiting.

The Nittany Lions now have three offensive linemen committed and they are a great trio. The group is highlighted by 5-star Alex Birchmeier, the highest rated interior offensive lineman in this cycle. Joining him is swing lineman Jven Williams, the top prospect in Pennsylvania, and 3-star tackle Anthony Donkoh.

The fact that Birchmeier and Williams are both studs and both project as interior linemen in college really helps lessen the loss of Miller as he was also projected as a guard. Make no mistake about it, Penn State liked Miller and would’ve loved to keep him. The fact that he was good enough for the defending national champions also says a lot about Miller’s talent.

Between Birchmeier, Williams and 2022 signees Vega Ioane and Drew Shelton, who both project as inside guys, the future of Penn State’s offensive line interior is in good hands.

While losing Miller isn’t ideal, the fact he isn’t a tackle makes it easier to swallow. The tackle position is one offensive line coach Phil Trautwein would like to see a little more recruiting success at. The Nittany Lions are a bit thin on tackle depth and could definitely use a few more bodies.

The Nittany Lions need to close on 4-star offensive tackle Evan Link and then put their best foot forward when 5-star offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor visits campus later this month.

As long as Penn State has success recruiting tackles in this class, most won’t worry about the loss of Miller. This was a tough loss for the Nittany Lions, but it’s difficult to recruit against Georgia right now and it’s hard to blame Miller for taking advantage of the opportunity.