Penn State is looking to make a push heading into their official visit calendar to put together another solid recruiting class in this cycle after things have progressed relatively slowly in comparison to ones in the past.
Sitting with just 13 commits as of now, there are plenty of players at different positions they can still pursue.
The breakdown is four defensive recruits compared to nine offensive ones, so the defensive staff has their work cut out for them heading into this portion of the calendar. [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag] has some work to do as well, with zero defensive line commits as of yet.
However, some things have started to progress and the Nittany Lions got some good news when elite four-star edge rusher [autotag]Mariyon Dye[/autotag] included them in his top eight list.
Other schools that made the cut are Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Tennessee, and Purdue.
NEWS: Four-Star EDGE Mariyon Dye is down to 8️⃣ Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’5 250 EDGE from Elkhart, IN is ranked as a Top 40 Recruit (No. 5 EDGE) in the ‘25 Class (per On3)
Where Should He Go?👇🏽https://t.co/DXMA3Qukro pic.twitter.com/EVlqFnwbE5
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 23, 2024
The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder from the state of Indiana is listed as the 164th-best player in the country according to On3’s Industry Rankings, but On3 themselves are much higher on him, rating him No. 40 in the class and the fifth-best at his position.
Dye has only taken one visit to Penn State, coming back in March of this year.
It seems like a major uphill battle for the Nittany Lions as the talented edge rusher has five visits upcoming on his schedule and none are to Happy Valley.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Buckeyes as the overwhelming favorites to land the four-star, listing them with a 93.3% chance.
There is no commitment date set by Dye as he goes into these visits.
“I’ve been feeling good about my recruitment. I know that I’m really blessed to be in the position that I am now. I’m trying to get a really good feel about some of my top schools … I will be ready when I get that gut feeling. It will also be when I have a good feeling about my relationship with the coaches and when we have bonds that go beyond football. These relationships will be important, as well as how I fit in their scheme,” he told Hunter Shelton.
Penn State still has time to get further onto his radar, but it seems like they are going to be on the outside looking in barring a major change in his recruitment.