Penn State football got the short end of the stick for a batch of recruits, starting from the end of June to beginning of July. It only received good news scattered here and there. Now, the Nittany Lions have another reason to celebrate.
After waiting patiently for the first commit of the month, Penn State finally landed one.
Three-star offensive tackle Marlen Bright commits to Penn State
Marlen Bright, an offensive tackle from Wayne, N.J. pledged the Nittany Lions his commitment on July 5. He is a three-star recruit ranked No. 567 overall in the country. Bright is also the No. 47 offensive tackle from his class and No. 8 recruit from New Jersey.
Penn State beat out Illinois and West Virginia for the three-star. Bright took visits to Rutgers, Stanford, Illinois, and Happy Valley. However, the Nittany Lions, Illini, and Mountaineers were his final threee schools he considered.
Bright took many unofficial visits to Penn State. After receiving his offer on Jan. 21, 2024, he visited campus eight times. He took five unofficial visits, one official visit on May 30, attended Junior Day in Happy Valley on Feb. 1, and attended the Nittany Lions' School Camp on June 6. Bright was evidently in touch the most with Penn State, so his decision is not as shocking.
According On3, Bright's father, Michael, was impressed with the way the staff handled the family's official visit and the consistency in offensive line coach Phil Trautwein's recruitment is what put the Nittany Lions over the edge. Bright knew he was a priority target of the Nittany Lions, and Trautwein made sure there was no confusion there.
"I think Penn State has done a great job of, in advance, asking us, 'What haven't you seen yet? What else can we show you?'" Michael Bright said to On3. "For this [official visit], we were able to have a great sit-down with some of the heads in the engineering department . . . learn more details on the different disciplines. Marlen wants to be an engineer, so it was helpful for us to try and figure all that out and have a backup plan."
He's now the fifth offensive lineman on head coach James Franklin's class of 2026 roster. The group is headlines by four-star Kevin Brown followed by three-stars Roseby Lubintus, Benjamin Eziuka, and Jack Fuchs.
Penn State has a few more targets it's looking to land. This includes three-star edge Tyson Harley who is projected to commit to the Nittany Lions.