Penn State has been placing a heavy emphasis on beefing up its offensive line in the Class of 2023. The Nittany Lions have already lined up commitments from some top offensive line recruits including [autotag]Alex Birchmeier[/autotag] and [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag], and the recruiting efforts are still focused on improving the overall quality of the offensive line. But the first couple of crystal ball predictions being submitted for one other hot commodity on the recruiting trail have not gone Penn State’s way.
Kadyn Proctor, of Iowa, has been predicted to be staying close to home by a pair of crystal ball picks that have been submitted to 247Sports recently. Sean Bock of Hawkeye Insider was the first to cast his prediction for Iowa. And, more recently, Parker Thune of OU Insider followed suit with his official prediction of Proctor to the Hawkeyes.
It’s only two crystal ball picks, but it is an early indication that it may prove to be difficult for Penn State to lure away one of the top offensive line recruits from the state of Iowa from one of the state’s two FBS programs, and a Big Ten foe at that.
Iowa is also the calculated favorite to land the commitment of Proctor according to the On3Sports prediction machine. According to the method employed by On3Sports’ analytical breakdown of the recruiting outcome, Iowa has an 81.3% chance to receive Proctor’s commitment. Penn State has the second-best chance but with just a 6.1% chance according to the prediction machine. Notre Dame is third on the board with a 6.0% chance. So yes, Iowa is a landslide favorite in the recruiting battle for Proctor.
Proctor perhaps always seemed like a tough get for Penn State anyway. Iowa’s tradition of offensive linemen is difficult to challenge, especially for an elite offensive lineman right in the state of Iowa. The writing may also be on the wall as Proctor has made many trips to Iowa, either officially or unofficially. He has yet to step foot on Penn State’s campus but is scheduled to do so on April 22, the weekend of the Blue-White Game in Beaver Stadium. Proctor is also scheduled to make visits to Alabama and Iowa in the month of April prior to his trip to State College.
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