June has been a busy month for schools across the nation. It’s the first time that members in the class of 2024 are able to take their official visits to football programs they are interested in attending.
It’s been an especially busy time for Penn State as they try to solidify and add to their top 10 recruiting class. The first weekend in June resulted in multiple commitments from players high on their target list. The second weekend was full of players who had already verbally committed with some officially enrolling in school.
This weekend will be different.
Eight players are taking their official visits to State College and none of them are committed to Penn State or any other school.
It’s also a big weekend for new defensive line coach, [autotag]Deion Barnes[/autotag]. Only one defensive lineman has committed out of the 2024 recruiting class so far after [autotag]Xavier Gilliam[/autotag] announced his commitment on June 4th.
sneak peek 👀🎬 pic.twitter.com/Ibnj4y95f6
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) June 14, 2023
That could change in a major way this weekend. Three out of the eight prospects visiting are defensive lineman. Two are four-star prospects and one is a three-star.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Penn State favored to land 6’5″ 240 pound Benedict Umeh and 6’3″ 255 pound DeAndre Cook. Umeh is a four-star prospect and Cook is a three-star.
T.A. Cunningham was a late addition to this official visit weekend. He’s a 6’6″ 275-pound prospect from Georgia who plays his high school football in Miami, Florida. The Miami Hurricanes are the major favorites to land Cunningham according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, meaning Penn State will have a lot of work to do this weekend.
Wide receiver is another position that needs some work in the 2024 class. There are currently zero commitments for new receivers coach [autotag]Marques Hagans[/autotag]. However, three-star wide receiver Peter Gonzalez is taking his official visit.
Penn State is ba ig favorite to land Gonzalez according to On3 with an 88.3% chance. Gonzalez is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native who is 6’2″ and 200 pounds. He has a visit scheduled with Virginia Tech the weekend after he comes to State College.
Overall, six out of the eight players visiting this weekend are four-star players. On3 doesn’t have Penn State very likely to land the majority of the players who are visiting this weekend.
Official visits are a way to turn the tide so this could be the biggest weekend during the month of June in order to bolster the 2024 recruiting class.
Follow Brad Wakai on Twitter and TikTok
[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=12]