Penn State Football: 3 recruiting takeaways from July

Penn State football had another eventful July on the recruiting front. rnrnAlthough it was not nearly as crazy as July of 2021, this month brought plenty of joy and pain for Penn State football.rnrnThe Nittany Lions added to their 2023 class, but they also lost a few commits along the way. The roller coaster that is recruiting was certainly on full display this month.rnrnAt the end of the day, Penn State's 2023 class ranks eighth in the nation with 18 commits. The blue-chip recruit ratio in the class is 78%, which is an elite number. It is critical that James Franklin and his staff continue to stockpile talent to keep up with Ohio State, Michigan and eventually USC.rnrnWith the month of July ending on Sunday, we're going to take a look back at what went down this month and how it impacts the future of the program.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Takeaway%20No.%201" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_81172" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Manny Diaz, defensive coordinator, enters Holuba Hall during Penn State Pro Day in at State College. 032422 Pmk Penn State Pro Day[/caption]rnrn 1. LBU rnrnPenn State football landed its top two linebacker targets in the month of July.rnrnOn back-to-back days, 4-stars Tony Rojas and Ta'Mere Robinson committed to the Nittany Lions.rnrnThe duo had been Penn State's first choice at linebacker for almost a year now.rnrnThe two had totally different recruitments though. Robinson is a highly regarded recruit since he arrived on the scene his freshman year of high school. A serious knee injury put a dent in his junior season and caused his ranking to drop a bit. A bounce-back senior year is expected for Robinson.rnrnOn the flip side, Rojas has been steadily climbing up the rankings. In December, Rojas was the No. 421 player in the 247 Sports composite , he's now No. 96. A strong senior season could put him in the 5-star discussion.rnrnIn addition to these two, Penn State has another possible linebacker committed in DaKaari Nelson. Listed as a safety, the 4-star is already 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, so it's likely he moves down to linebacker.rnrnAlso keep an eye out for 4-star Kaveion Keys, who is on the Nittany Lions' radar.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Takeaway%20No.%202" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_82950" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Venice defensive back Elliot Washington (21) wrestles the ball away from West Orange receiver Jayden Gibson (1) on a mid-air interception in the end zone during Class 8A-Region 3 playoff football action in Venice. MATT HOUSTON/HERALD-TRIBUNE Fbh Venwo 112821 01[/caption]rnrn 2. You win some and you lose some rnrnPenn State had a tough go of things early in the month when 4-star quarterback commit Marcus Stokes flipped to Florida . Stokes took Penn State running back target Treyaun Webb with him to the Gators.rnrnTowards the end of the month, athlete Yazeed Haynes flipped his commitment from the Nittany Lions to Georgia, leaving Penn State with one wide receiver commit.rnrnJames Franklin and his Penn State football staff did not let these events damper their momentum.rnrnJust two days after losing Stokes and Webb, Penn State flipped 4-star Alabama corner back commit Elliot Washington. This was a big-time win, especially with Washington being from Florida, the same state as Webb and Stokes.rnrnThe Nittany Lions also quickly replaced Webb as less than a week later, 4-star running back London Montgomery committed to Penn State.rnrnThese two, along with the linebackers, showed Penn State would not slow down after a few bumps in the road.rnrn[nextslide teaser="Takeaway%20No.%203" /]rnrn rnrn[caption id="attachment_82776" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Penn State head coach James Franklin leads the Nittany Lions onto the field at the start of the 2022 Blue-White game at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, April 23, 2022, in State College. Hes Dr 042322 Bluewhite[/caption]rnrn 3. Questions remain rnrnJuly maybe wasn't as wild as we all expected.rnrnGaining four commits and losing two certainly isn't nothing, but some holes remain.rnrnThe Nittany Lions still need to replace Stokes. The main target looks like Tulane commit Jaxon Smolik, who was on campus this weekend . The 3-star gained a lot of national attention after a great showing at the Elite 11 Finals.rnrnPenn State also needs to find a wide receiver or two to pair with 4-star Ejani Shakir. Haynes was a tough loss, especially with Cam Seldon and Rodney Gallagher committing elsewhere. Considering the success Jahan Dotson had as a Nittany Lion, you would think recruiting wide outs would be easy, but so far it hasn't been in the 2023 cycle.rnrnThe last order of business is what's going on with the two tackle targets.rnrnPenn State has the best interior offensive line haul in the country with 5-star Alex Birchmeier and high 4-star Jven Williams. They just need to land a tackle or two to complement these two and 3-star Anthony Donkoh.rnrnThe two names to keep an eye on are 4-stars Evan Link and Stanton Ramil.rnrnWhile it's unlikely Penn State ends up with both, they cannot go 0-2 here. Landing just one of these guys would be a huge victory. It's somewhat surprising that neither has made a decision yet after taking multiple official visits in June.rnrn

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Penn State Football: 3 recruiting takeaways from July

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