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Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from Tomarrion Parker’s Commitment

By Alec Whitaker

STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after a play against the Ball State Cardinals during the first half at Beaver Stadium on September 11, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates after a play against the Ball State Cardinals during the first half at Beaver Stadium on September 11, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 03: Head Coach James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 38-31 in the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 03: Head Coach James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrate after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 38-31 in the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. Big Boy Recruiting

If Penn State Football wants to become an elite program, they need to recruit at an elite level.

The program recruited at an elite level in the 2022 cycle, ending up with the No. 6 class in the nation. They won some big recruiting battles as well. They beat out Alabama and Georgia for Dani Dennis-Sutton, Notre Dame for Drew Allar and Notre Dame, Alabama and Texas A&M for Nick Singleton.

Before Tomarrion Parker, the Nittany Lions hadn’t really been involved in a big-time recruiting battle in 2023. Most of the commits were local products who the Nittany Lions were seen as the favorite for. The lone exception is Andrew Rappleyea, who they flipped from Michigan.

Parker is the definition of a big-time recruitment. He plays a premium position, is rated highly and lives in the heart of SEC country. His offers include Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas A&M. That is a legit offer sheet.

Seeing Penn State go down south and pull this one out is just something we haven’t really seen before. Yes, the Nittany Lions do well in Florida, but landing a top 80 recruit from Alabama is a power move from the Nittany Lions.

Maybe the on-field results haven’t been great lately, but the Nittany Lions are recruiting at a level we haven’t really seen before.

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