With the college football season officially over, Penn State can turn their attention towards making necessary upgrades to their roster that will help them compete in the Big Ten and nationally moving forward.
Michigan hoisted the trophy and new conference opponent, Washington, was the opponent.
Adding four teams from the Pac-12 conference puts that much more importance on landing some of the best talent in the country to field a competitive team who can accomplish what their goals are.
That’s why the news coming out that surrounding one of the best players in the class of 2025 was so huge.
On Monday, four-star edge rusher, [autotag]Ari Watford[/autotag], cut his list down to six schools and included the Nittany Lions in that decision.
The others were Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.
CO/25 4 ⭐️ DE Ari Watford ( @ari_watford ) has cut his list down to 6️⃣‼️
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Watford is a 6’5 ( 234 LBS ) DE out of Norfolk, VA. He ranks 131 NATL., 2nd in VA and the 8th ranked DE in the nation according to rivals.
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Let him know what’s the move?! 🤔⬇️ pic.twitter.com/g4Fi5Gqetb— Steezo (@SteezoDsgn) January 8, 2024
Watford is rated as the No. 20 overall player in the 2025 class according to On3’s industry rankings which takes into account all four of the major recruiting sites. He also is the No. 1 player in Virginia and the best edge rusher in the country.
The 6’5″ 240 pound prospect spoke with Greg Pickel of BlueWhiteIllustrated about Penn State and his recruitment process so far.
“Penn State was cool … I watched practice and everything. Overall, it was a good experience. I like Penn State. I love the D-line coach,” he said after his visit last spring.
Deion Barnes isn’t the only coach who left an impression on Watford, however.
“I love Coach James Franklin. He has a lot of energy. I just think overall, we have a good connection. I would say that about the whole coaching staff,” he told Pickel.
Watford has visited Penn State one time, while he’s been to Virginia Tech three times and Clemson twice.
According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, Virginia Tech is in the lead to land the four-star with a 27.1% chance, while Penn State sits at a 6.0% chance.
There’s still plenty of time left in his recruitment as he won’t commit until after he’s able to take official visits later in the year.