With Penn State looking to fortify their 2025 recruiting class, there are plenty of positions the coaching staff is pursuing heading into their official visit portion of the calendar.
Ever since [autotag]Phil Trautwein[/autotag] took over as the offensive line coach in 2020, the Nittany Lions have started stacking highly-ranked prospects in their classes that has completely changed the profile of that unit.
With the ultimate goal of Penn State competing for a national championship, being able to dominate in the trenches was very much needed.
As the Big Ten gets set for their first season of the expanded conference in 2024, it’s even more important that the Nittany Lions continue to recruit the offensive line at a high level.
They got some great news when it was revealed they had made the top four of one of their top 2025 targets, [autotag]Michael Carroll[/autotag].
The other schools who made his final list are heavyweight programs Michigan, Alabama, and Georgia.
Where’s Home 🙏🏽 https://t.co/jJOiTDQO3N
— Michael Carroll (@BIIGMIKE_55) May 18, 2024
The 6-foot-6, 300-pounder is ranked as a four-star recruit according to On3’s Industry Rankings which has him as the 183rd-best player in the country. What’s interesting, though, is that On3 themselves see him as the No. 27 recruit in the 2025 class and second-best player at his position.
As an instate recruit, it’s safe to say that [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] desperately wants to land this one, especially considering the other three schools the Nittany Lions are competing against.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Penn State the edge right now with a 29.3% chance to land Carroll. Michigan is second with a 20.0% chance, followed by Alabama at 12.3% and Georgia at 8.2%.
The four-star is going to take official visits to all four campuses, with his first coming on May 31 to Georgia before he hits Alabama on June 7, Penn State on June 14 and then ends with Michigan on June 21.
This is going to be a big time battle for the Nittany Lions, and one that could signal they are able to compete against top programs in the country for coveted recruits.
Trautwein has done a fantastic job on the recruiting trail during his tenure. Landing Carroll would solidify that.