Penn State misses out on key defensive recruit in Class of 2023

Penn State came up short on the recruiting effort for this son of a former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker.

Entering today, Penn State had the fourth-ranked recruiting class according to 247Sports, and they will end the day with the same ranking as they missed out on a coveted four-star recruit.

Class of 2023 linebacker Josiah Trotter, out of St. Joseph’s Prep School in Philadelphia, committed to West Virginia after naming Temple, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Penn State as finalists along with the Mountaineers. Trotter was a highly coveted linebacking recruit with 14 listed offers from big-time schools on 247Sports.

Trotter announced his commitment to West Virginia with an image on his Twitter account on Friday afternoon.

The name Trotter and linebackers should sound familiar to some fans. He is the son of former Eagles All-Pro linebacker Jeremiah Trotter so the NFL bloodlines run thick with him. He was the No. 7 prospect in the state of Pennslyvania and the No. 32 player at the linebacker position.

While it would have been nice to land Trotter, Penn State has still made solid ground on the defensive side of things in recruiting in recent years. Penn State continues sending players to the NFL under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag], and perhaps even more so now with new defensive coordinator [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] coaching them up.

So far the 2023 class has a heavy focus on the offensive line, four of nine recruits, whereas on defense they have just one player. This would have served as a nice kickstart to things but they are still in on several top recruits. Landing any one of players like four-star Semaj Bridgeman or three-star James Heard, both are located within Pennsylvania so that always lends a helping hand to recruiting.

Those are just two of many names that Penn State is still in on. Nittany Lions Wire will continue to keep you up to date on all signings as they happen. In the meantime, as Penn State looks to bulk up its roster, be sure to follow the transfer portal as well. Things are constantly happening and pieces are constantly moving so stay tuned!

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